BOYS OF SUMMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Christian Marcin from Palmerton and Penn State

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

CHRISTIAN MARCIN, Blue Mountain Hawks

When he was a little kid growing up in Palmerton, Christian Marcin’s family had Penn State football season tickets.

“I thought it was a great place and it would be awesome if I could play at that level one day,” Marcin said.

Marcin was a standout wide receiver while playing football at Palmerton, but two separated shoulders and a torn MCL in his knee derailed his hopes of playing college football.

But didn’t give up baseball and didn’t give up his dream of playing at Penn State.

He had two solid seasons at Penn State-Berks and this past spring, he got to play baseball for the Nittany Lions after walking on.

“Just coming from Palmerton, I never thought it was going to happen,” Marcin said. “But sure enough I made the team and I had an amazing experience.”

Although Marcin is a strong hitter and a fleet-footed outfielder, he made the Penn State roster as a pitcher after catching the eye of the PSU pitching coach. He made two appearances.

Marcin, a member of the Lehigh Valley’s 2011 Carpenter Cup championship team, will return to the team next year as an outfielder and is using his summer with the Blue Mountain Hawks in the Blue Mountain League to finetune his skills.

So far, so good.

Marcin, who was also a four-year starter in basketball at Palmerton,  is batting .419 over 13 games with three extra-base hits and 15 runs.

“I’m trying to get back to being an outfielder and working on what it’ll take to play at Penn State next season,” he said. “I love playing with this team and I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more. To still be playing sports as I approach the end of my college career is awesome and my dream is to still be playing after college.”