Player Profile: Ben Carew
Photo credit: GRB Rays
Heading into his senior season, Ben Carew is looking to stay on track and propel himself along with his Kimberly Papermaker teammates back to Appleton. The Kent State University commit has had quite the decorated high school career on and off the baseball field. As a sophomore, Carew earned 2nd team All-Conference as a third baseman in the highly competitive Fox Valley Association. Carew’s junior year was when he began to make an even bigger impact.
His season line speaks for itself: .422 batting average, 21 RBIs, .538 on base percentage, .542 slugging percentage, 6 stolen bases, 3 triples, 8 doubles and 28 runs.
With those numbers to go along with his leadership, Carew was awarded with unanimous 1st team All-Conference Outfield, 2nd team All-State Outfield, and Academic All-State honors.
The 2014 and 2015 seasons ended in heartbreak for the Papermakers, losing to Sun Prairie and Janesville Craig respectively. The losses have only fueled the fire for Carew and his returning teammates.
“This year we are definitely going to have a little extra motivation behind us as we push to get over that hump and win a state championship,” he said.
Kimberly finished with a 16-2 record in the FVA last year and they have lofty expectations for the upcoming spring as well.
“Our goal is definitely to win the conference once again this year. We did lose a handful of great seniors but that should not hold us back this season,” Carew said. “We have our starting catcher, Steven Jacobson returning along with pitcher, Tanner Haessly, outfielder Zach Carney, and infielders Danny VandenBoom and Max Anderson. We also have many younger players that can step up and make an impact this year. Apart from aiming to win a conference championship this upcoming season, we want to get back to Appleton and finish the job after finishing second the past two seasons.”
When the multi-skilled Carew is not playing with Kimberly, he is showcasing his talents for the Greg Reinhard Baseball Academy (GRB Rays). Throughout his time with the Rays, Carew excelled in his opportunities while college coaches across the nation took notice. Head man Jeff Duncan and the rest of the Kent State coaching staff took a liking to his leadership, right-handed bat, arm strength and speed. Carew immediately connected with the staff and facilities of the Division One program, located in northern Ohio.
“I knew they would push me to be the best baseball player I could be for the next four years. I was also really impressed with the baseball facilities, the academic programming, and the overall atmosphere of the campus and surrounding area,” said Carew, who will enroll at the University in the fall of 2016.
Throughout his successful baseball career, Carew has had many positive influences.
“My family has inspired me throughout my career because they have sacrificed many things in order for me to keep playing the game I love. Also, my youth baseball coaches through the years because they have given me an opportunity to play at a high level at a young age and develop many of the skills I possess today while making baseball fun. Also, I am very fortunate and grateful to play for such a successful baseball program and have the opportunity to play for one of the best high school baseball coaches in the state,” he said.
Extra Innings: When asked about his most memorable game with Kimberly, Carew said “The most memorable game with Kimberly came last year during conference play against Oshkosh North. We were at home and had already lost to North earlier in the season but we had fought our way to the top of the conference alongside them. The game was a big one because the winner was in the driver’s seat and controlled their destiny when it came to a conference championship. The game ended up being the most incredible game I’ve been a part of. Late in the game, there were two innings where we had given up runs in the top half of the inning and had to answer back in the bottom half to stay alive. Coming into the bottom of the 14th we were facing a one run deficit when we were able to tie it up on an infield single with two outs. Two batters later, Brice Swick ended the game with walk-off 3-run homerun.”
This answer might change once late June of 2016 comes around. Carew and his teammates are poised for a stellar 2016 campaign and look to get back to the state final and bring Kimberly its first baseball state title since 2007.
