Ben Beck commits to play baseball at Lewis & Clark

Every year in Ben Beck’s competitive sports life he has played multiple sports.

The Estancia High senior, who played football, basketball and baseball for the Eagles, has decided to concentrate solely on one sport in college. Beck has committed to play baseball at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore., he said Friday.

He was also recruited to play football there. Beck said the door is open to join the football team if he changes his mind, but he doesn’t plan to do so.

“I wanted to focus on one sport for once,” Beck said. “I never really played just baseball. I want to see how good I can get at it and see where I can take it.”

Beck picked Lewis & Clark over Willamette (Salem, Ore.), which also wanted him for baseball and football, as well as Chapman, which recruited him for baseball. He was also accepted into Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.), a NCAA Division 1 school, but he decided to pass up the walk-on opportunity.

As a junior, Beck earned first-team All-Orange Coast League honors in baseball. He had a .364 average with 14 runs batted in, 23 runs, three doubles and two triples. He led the team with 16 steals in 18 tries.

Beck pitched a no-hitter against Saddleback March 26, when he struck out eight and walked three in an 18-0 win.

Earlier this year in football, Beck earned first-team all-league honors as a wide receiver, defensive back and special teams standout. He had 17 receptions for 384 yards and three touchdowns. He finished with 20 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.

This past winter, he was named to the all-league second team, as he averaged 13.1 point per game for the Eagles’ basketball team.

Beck said he’ll enter Lewis & Clark with an undeclared major.

— Steve Virgen

Twitter: @SteveVirgen