BY JEFF FALK
Drew Bene has committed his athletic life to the game of baseball. Recently, that commitment paid its biggest dividend to date.
Last week, Bene, a senior catcher on the Northern Lebanon baseball team, signed a national letter-of-intent to accept a partial grant-in-aid that will allow him to continue his athletic and academic pursuits at Division One Stony Brook, which is located on Long Island, New York. Bene intends to pursue college course work in business and accounting.
As a junior this spring, Bene hit .429 for the Vikings out of the three-hole, with a dinger and nine RBIs. But a student of the game, a great handler of pitchers and a tough pitch-caller with a cannon for an arm, Bene may be known better locally for his defensive prowess.
Northern Lebanon went 4-16 in 2013. The 5-11, 195-pound Bene also starred for the Fredericksburg entry in the Lebanon County American Legion baseball league this summer.
Before settling on Stony Brook, Bene was also contacted by Wake Forest and Radford.
Stony Brook, which boasts an enrollment around 25.000 students, competes in the America East Conference. Last season, the Seawolves went 25-34.
But the season prior, Stony Brook compiled a 52-15 overall record and qualified for the College World Series.