Martin – Berks Sports Report

Kamren Martin-Exeter

Paul Roberts — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 13:51:24 +0000

In six career starts, Kamren Martin has thrown two no-hitters. The Exeter junior continued to impress with another quality outing against Twin Valley on Wednesday in Reiffton. The 6’3 righty allowed one earned run on six hits over 6.1 innings as the Eagles held off the Raiders 3-2. “I definitely could’ve located my off-speed [pitches] a little better. They couldn’t hit the fastball and that’s what took me all the way,” explained Martin. He struck out seven and walked four to improve to (3-0) with a 0.98 ERA. Martin has 22 strikeouts over 21.1 innings, while giving up just a dozen hits. Twin Valley put together three singles in the first inning, but only managed one run. Luke Wagner, a senior catcher who’s committed to Alvernia, delivered a RBI single through the left side with two outs. Brandon Weller helped Martin by throwing out two runners attempting to steal second base in the first two innings. The promising sophomore catcher is hitting .321 with a team-high five doubles and ten RBI. Exeter put two runs on the board in the 3rd. Aiden Rhoades, the No. 9 hitter, led off with a double to center. Jake Hafer followed with a triple to deep right field. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Chase Youse to make it 2-1. Hafer is off to a red hot start to the year. He has a .469 batting average with three doubles and three triples. Hafer went 2-for-3 on Wednesday. The 6’2 southpaw is (2-0, 0.88) on the mound. “He’s definitely a dog on this team,” said Martin. The (8-2) Eagles added an important run in the 5th. Rhoades scored on a double steal to give them a 3-1 advantage. The (4-3) Raiders made things interesting late. Logan Crunkleton ripped a RBI double to left-center with nobody out in the top of the 6th. Wagner then hit a ball down the third base line that could’ve been trouble for Exeter. However, Brenton Feathers dove to his right, knocked down the ball, and then threw out Crunkleton who was trying to get back to second base. “That’s definitely a game changer. If he doesn’t get that, they could score a lot more runs,” emphasized Martin. Luke Raines grounded into a double play to end the inning. Martin walked two in the top of the 7th and was taken out after throwing 97 pitches, 61 for strikes. Junior Liam Porter earned the save with back-to-back strikeouts of Brody Majeski and Stevenson commit Ben Vaughan. “It’s huge to have a closer that can come in and finish your work for you,” replied Martin. Kooper Zdimal went the distance for Twin Valley. He limited the Eagles to two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. Zdimal (3-1, 1.17) is headed to Kutztown University where his brother Kannon is a sophomore pitcher. The Eagles’ extended their winning streak to four. Gavin Miller hurled a gem in a 10-2 victory over Muhlenberg on Tuesday. “We definitely have a really solid rotation this year,” stated Martin. Miller (3-0, 1.58) is committed to Division II Shepherd. The senior has piled up 27 strikeouts with only two walks in 17.2 innings. Exeter only had two seniors in its starting lineup last year when the Eagles finished (11-9, 4-8). They’re now second in the District 3-5A power rankings behind Palmyra. “I hope to go all the way. We definitely have the talent,” said Martin.

Ayden Martin-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 19:16:00 +0000

If you saw him throw down a windmill dunk, you might think Ayden Martin is going to college to play basketball. The football field, however, is where the rising senior at Gov. Mifflin excels. Martin recently committed to Division I Monmouth, an FCS program in the Colonial Athletic Association. Martin narrowed his choices down to Monmouth, Lehigh, Duquesne, and New Hampshire. He selected the Hawks because of the coaching staff, family atmosphere, and business program. The 5’11, 185-pound safety told me that location was also a primary factor. Monmouth is in West Long Branch, New Jersey, a little over two hours from Shillington. Martin stressed that it’s important for his family and friends to be able to see him play. He gave credit to his mom for pushing him to be the best. Gov. Mifflin head coach Jeff Lang said, “What makes Ayden a special player is the effort, attitude, and extra work he puts into his workout regimen. On top of being a really good athlete, he puts in a lot of time in the weight room.” Martin is one of the strongest pound-for-pound players that Lang has ever coached, and he’s been with the Mustangs’ program for three decades. Gov. Mifflin finished (10-1) last season. The Mustangs averaged nearly 48 points and allowed less than 16 per game. They rolled over the competition until coming up short against Exeter 31-28 in the District 3-5A championship. We talked about what it was like playing with Penn State freshman Nick Singleton. The Gatorade National Football Player of the Year set Berks County records with 116 career touchdowns and 6,326 rushing yards. We joked about what would happen if Monmouth played the Nittany Lions and Martin had to tackle Singleton. Although Singleton has moved on, Martin still believes Gov. Mifflin will have another very good season. He mentioned several young players, including some running backs, to keep an eye on. Martin will likely be getting more carries as well. He ran 14 times for 119 yards and 2TD in 2021. The second team DB in Section 1 of the Berks Football League also chipped in with three catches for 93 yards. Martin had a pair of touchdown receptions in a 49-13 victory over Harrisburg. He made more than 40 tackles last year (5TFL) to go along with 14 pass breakups and 2INT. Martin took a pick 41 yards to the house in the season opener against York High. The Mustangs will be in Section 2 of the new Lancaster-Lebanon League. They’ll be joined by Exeter, Muhlenberg, Manheim Central, Warwick, Conestoga Valley, and Lebanon. Gov. Mifflin will meet Exeter on September 16th. “I’m looking forward to that game a lot. That District championship game was a tough loss, but now we got to bounce back for the whole community,” he said. Martin had some fun talking about his favorite food, rapper, football team, video games, and teachers. He also revealed his favorite NFL player.

Ayden Martin-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:06:00 +0000

Ayden Martin is a three-year starter for the Mustangs. The outstanding safety is playing a bigger role this season on offense. Martin had two catches for 69 yards in a (49-13) win over Harrisburg last week. He ended up in the end zone after both receptions. The 5’11, 180-pound junior is one of the strongest players on the team. Wait until you find out how much he can bench press! Martin has an offer from Temple and he’ll be visiting Penn State on Saturday. Martin told me that he was a fan of the Oregon Ducks when he was younger. We also talked about his favorite classes at Gov. Mifflin. The (4-0) Mustangs are ranked #1 in the state in Class 5A.