Community Corner
Whiz Kid Ben Breiner: His Hit Won The Game
He hoped to end his 0-for-3 day, and he did.
- Name: Ben Breiner, 18
- School/Church: Parkland High School, 12th grade; member of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Orefield.
- Greatest Accomplishment: As catcher for the Parkland baseball team, a game-winning, two-run single in a recent game against Governor Mifflin. It was the bottom of the seventh-inning, the bases were loaded and Parkland was down a run. The game-winning stroke was a shot straight up the middle into center field, sending the runners on second and third base home to win the game, 4-3. “I was pretty relieved because I had been 0-for-3 and was looking for some kind of hit,” he said. “I was happy when the first runner crossed, and shocked when everyone came running out after the second runner crossed home. I realized then that we’d won.”
- Key to awesomeness: His unpretentiousness. Speaking with him, Ben still doesn’t realize that he was the hero of the day. He saw what needed to be done, and he did it, with no fanfare. But baseball hasn’t always been his sport of choice. He was originally a soccer player; it wasn’t until after his sophomore year that he decided baseball was more to his liking. Ben’s first venture into baseball came when he started playing fall ball for Parkland, so that game-winning hit came after just a few --- not many--- years of playing the sport. Aside from baseball, Ben says he doesn’t really have a long list of hobbies. Like most teens, what he enjoys is hanging out with friends. Academically, he says his favorites subjects are “math and science, but just a ‘little’ science,” and he’s a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. As for future plans, Ben says he’s undecided about a college major, although he’s leaning toward a career in business, but he’ll have lots of time to decide when he begins his freshman year this fall at Lehigh University.