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Sawyer Carroll started in every game during his two years at Kentucky – except one when he had a final exam in an Italian class.
“I was decent when I was taking the class,” Carroll said of speaking the language. “I can understand it way better than I can speak it. I can’t really speak a lick of it.”
Carroll may not be fluent in Italian, but he knows the language of hitting.
The outfielder is third on the TinCaps in batting average at .316. He was one of five Fort Wayne players in Clinton, Iowa, on Tuesday for the Midwest League All-Star Game. He went 4 for 4 to win the MVP award as the East defeated the West 6-3.
“It’s a good honor, I’m pretty excited to get to go to Clinton and represent the TinCaps,” Carroll said. “We’ve had a great first half.”
Carroll is also second on the team in doubles (20) and stolen bases (14). He has five home runs and 40 RBI and leads the TinCaps with 79 hits.
A third-round pick in 2008, Carroll was named the Midwest League Hitter of the Week last week after going 12 for 25 (.480).
“He’s having a great year,” manager Doug Dascenzo said. “He knows how to hit a little bit. When he has a day off, he always comes back and gets three hits. We’ve been saying that for a long time. He’s a good, solid player.”
Carroll has a simple hitting philosophy.
“The main thing is to swing at good pitches and try to hit the ball hard,” he said. “If it falls, it falls. Obviously, you would like for it to, but you can’t get frustrated when you do things right and hit it well and it doesn’t fall. It’s more just pitch selection more than anything else.”
Carroll is all over the Kentucky record book. He set the school record with a .386 career average during his two seasons. He set a school mark with 83 RBI as a senior and became the first consensus first-team All-American baseball player in school history.
“It was great (playing at Kentucky),” Carroll said. “Being from Oklahoma, I didn’t know anything about it. I was nervous about it, but I absolutely loved it. UK is a great school, it’s a great conference. It was a great experience overall. I absolutely loved it.”
The Henryetta, Okla., resident kept on hitting after he signed last year. Carroll was a Northwest League All-Star for San Diego’s short-season team in Eugene. He hit .299 before getting the call-up to Fort Wayne and put together a nine-game hitting streak for the then-Wizards.
“I’ve been playing my whole life, I really enjoy it,” Carroll said. “It’s something I love to do and hopefully, I’ll be able to do it for a long time.”
