Ben Maycock earns the NB Herald Athlete of the Week

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Every program needs players to build around.

Newington baseball’s Ben Maycock and Berlin girls lacrosse’s Olivia Curtin are those types of players. Although the two are at different points in their high school careers, they both bring talent and leadership to their respective teams.

The Indians are off to their best start since the 2011 season and it is easy to see why. After losing just four players from last year’s team, Newington returned a talented roster of veterans looking to build off of last season’s playoff appearance. Leading the way for the Indians is Maycock.

A UConn commit for baseball, Maycock is coming off a year in which he hit close to .500 and has been a big part of the team’s strong start, not only in field, but as a leader in the dugout. He continued that trend Saturday afternoon, when Maycock was instrumental in helping his team earn a win in a tough back-and -forth game against Manchester. As Newington’s starting pitcher, he threw the first 3.2 innings of the game, striking out four. He was even better at the plate, going 2 for 2 with an RBI and a stolen base. Maycock was also intentionally walked out of Manchester’s fear of him doing more damage at the plate.

“My approach is I know my opponents are going to throw me a lot of outside, off-speed stuff,” Maycock said. “So with me it’s about staying humble and not trying to hit it over the fence and trying to pass the baton because we’ve got two great hitters after me in Lenny [Ogando] and Brett [Frank] and I know they’ll do the job like they did after I got the intentional walk.”

His manager, Ben Alaimo, said Maycock is always the first one to arrive at the field and the last one to leave and the combination of being talented with his leadership intangibles makes Maycock a great example for the rest of the team to follow.

“If you’re going to say anything about Ben, it’s No.1 he’s a great person,” Alaimo said. “A really nice guy. Really generous, helpful and wants to give his best all the time. The one thing that bothers him is when he lets his team down. He knows that all eyes are on him and when he’s at the plate, on the mound, his teammates have confidence and he provides that for us. He’s the centerpiece of the program right now. He’s been with me for four years now and I’ve had him in the classroom. He’s just a great kid.”

Always one to talk about the team, however, Maycock likes the direction the Indians are heading in after the strong start and said the sky is the limit for the Indians.

“We’ve got a really talented team,” he said. “A lot of young guys, seniors. We have some experience here at the varsity level, so everything falls into place. But I don’t think we’re even at our full potential.” 

Sunday, April 17, 2016
Baseball adds W against Manchester
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Sunday, April 24, 2016
Baseball walk off victory against Middletown highlighted of Fox 61
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