Athlete of the Month: MLB draft pick Carey made his last month as an amateur count

Aug. 25—Kyle Jackson did not have enough words to describe what Owen Carey provided the Nashua Silver Knights this summer.

In his final month as an amateur, Carey batted .341 (14-for-41) in July with two home runs, 14 RBIs, 11 runs scored and eight walks over 12 Futures Collegiate Baseball League games for Nashua.

The Atlanta Braves selected Carey, who graduated from Londonderry High School earlier this year, in the 15th round with the 461st overall pick in this year's MLB draft on July 16.

Carey was named the July New Hampshire Union Leader Apple Therapy Services/Bedford Ambulatory Surgical Center/Express MED Athlete of the Month by the Union Leader Board of Judges.

"(He has) raw talent, he's got a great love for the game," said Jackson, who resigned as the Silver Knights' manager earlier this month. "He plays it 110% every time he gets out there ... a great teammate, full of energy."

Usually batting in one of the top four spots in the order, Carey posted five multi-hit games and had at least one hit in nine July games for the Silver Knights. Carey, who won the NHIAA Division I championship with Londonderry last year, logged a month-high five RBIs alongside a home run and two runs scored in Nashua's 12-4 victory over Norwich on July 10.

"When he steps up, he's someone that the other opposing teams (have) fear of," said Jackson, who is from Hudson.

Carey, an FCBL All-Star Game selection, credited his July offensive success to having fun and not pressing during games.

"I know at first, after I hit my first home run (with Nashua), I was trying to do way too much — trying to go yard continuously," Carey said, "but if you just calm down, stay to your approach, it makes it a lot easier to just play, just swing."

Over 31 games with Nashua this summer, Carey batted .308 with four home runs, 24 RBIs, 22 runs scored and 18 walks.

Carey said facing college pitchers with the Silver Knights was valuable experience that will help him in the minors. He officially signed with Atlanta on July 23 and has not yet been assigned to a minor league team.

Jackson, a former Boston Red Sox draft pick, said he expects Carey will do great at the next level once he gets comfortable. For example, Carey will need to turn his hitting weaknesses into strengths considering he will face the same pitchers frequently in the minors, Jackson said.

"I think he can only go up from here," Jackson said.

Other athletes considered for the July award were Portsmouth Booma Post 6 baseball players Jason Pinsonnault and Elliot Miles, Salem Youth Baseball 10-12-year-old All-Star Colton Johnson and golfers Rob Henley, Sam Maurice and Amy Dickison.

Pinsonnault, a Hampton resident, posted a 4-0 record and 0.28 ERA over four starts, two of which came in the American Legion senior state tournament, last month. In Portsmouth's 2-1 triumph over Nashua Coffey Post 3 in the senior state championship game on July 23, the righty allowed five hits, no walks and no earned runs with six strikeouts.

Miles, a Portsmouth resident, recorded 17 hits, a home run, 17 RBIs, six runs scored and one walk over nine July games, including three playoff bouts, for Post 6.

Johnson earned the win on the mound in Game 1 and went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two walks over Salem's two best-of-three state championship series games victories over North Manchester/Hooksett in July.

Henley, a 37-year-old New London resident, won the 121st New Hampshire Amateur Championship at Concord Country Club last month. The Lake Sunapee CC member clinched his first State Am title with a 2-and-1 match-play triumph over Stephen Goodridge on July 15.

Maurice, 18, won the three-day Mike Ryan Memorial Junior Golf Tournament at Derryfield CC, his home course, last month. The Auburn resident defeated Harry Garland, 2 and 1, in the match-play final on July 24.

Dickison, a 63-year-old Portsmouth resident, won her first New Hampshire Women's Mid-Amateur championship with a 4-over 148 (73-75) over the two-round tournament at Nashua CC July 17-18.

Previous 2024 winners: January, Zach James, Pelham (basketball); February, Anika Scott, Bedford (indoor track); March, Jackson Marshall, Hooksett (basketball); April, Anthony Paolicelli, Henniker (baseball); May, Emma Wheeler, Meredith (heptathlon); June, Elisabeth Kearney, Londonderry (softball).

To submit a nomination for future Athlete of the Month consideration, email the Union Leader Sports Department at sports@unionleader.com and enter "Athlete of the Month" in the subject line.