By Nate Thompson
LocalSportsJournal.com
North Muskegon senior Ben Meyers is admittedly quiet, and would much rather deflect any attention away from himself onto his teammates.
But for a player who amassed 229 career hits over four seasons at the varsity level, the spotlight was always simply too bright to avoid.
Meyers, who split time between catcher and shortstop, has essentially re-written the North Muskegon baseball record books, as his name now stands atop of the program list in hits (229), runs (207), triples (16), stolen bases (81), and runs batted in (154). He’s also second all-time with a .454 batting average, as well as 40 doubles.
What’s more impressive is that his career hits mark ranks sixth all-time in the state of Michigan, while his RBI total is the 10th best mark.
He became a rare four-time all-state selection after his senior season concluded, as he was an Honorable Mention pick as a freshman, a second-team all-stater as a sophomore, a first-team honoree as a junior and was named first-team in Division 3 again as a senior on June 18. During his final season at North Muskegon, Meyers hit .425 with 49 runs scored, 40 RBIs, and four homers.
Although proud at what he’s accomplished on the diamond, Meyers treats the milestones with his typical ‘ho-hum’ demeanor. What’s more important, he insisted, was his team’s win-loss record, which finished at an impressive 32-8. Unfortunately, the Norse ended their season on a somber note after they were upset in the Division 3 district finals by rival Montague on June 2, losing 3-1.
“It’s crazy. My freshman year just seemed like a year ago,” he said. “It all just flew by. I’ve been a leadoff hitter all my life, but once I got in the weight room, I started to add a little more power to my swing, so I moved to the 3-hole the middle of last year. I’ve been playing since I was really young, and I’ve always had really good hand-eye coordination. And I’ve always been aggressive at the plate.”
And as his coaches have pointed out – varsity football coach Larry Witham and baseball coach Garret Moyer – what makes Meyers truly special is his work ethic, a key aspect in helping him earn a rare honor of a team captain as a sophomore in baseball.
Witham went as far as calling Meyers one of the most dedicated and focused athletes he’s ever coached, high praise considering Witham has coached on and off at North Muskegon for more than 30 years.
“He’s so selfless,” added Moyer, who is in his third season leading the Norse hardballers. “Everything he does is for the betterment of the team and his teammates. I’ve played at the high school and college level and Ben fits right up there as far as talent goes. But he’s also, by far, one of the hardest workers I’ve been around and that feeds off to the other kids. He’s not that ‘rah-rah’ type, as he’s pretty quiet, and we wish he was a little more vocal sometimes. But he still has a lot of influence on his teammates just from the way he prepares and goes about his business.”
Meyers’ influence must have washed off on his teammates, as each of the football and baseball squads have enjoyed outstanding seasons recently, while the basketball squad also had an eye-opening season this winter.
Witham’s football squad reached the Division 7 state semifinals this fall, with Meyers excelling as a battering running back and linebacker; the basketball squad completed a perfect regular season before losing an overtime heartbreaker to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Division 3 regional semifinals; and baseball recorded a school record 35 wins last season before losing to Lansing Catholic Central in the regional finals.
Baseball didn’t drop off at all this spring, despite losing five seniors. The Norse were ranked No. 1 throughout a large portion of the season in the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
“We’ve been lucky, because we’ve had a lot of really good athletes in classes close together,” Meyers said. “And with a lot of these guys, we’ve all been playing together since kindergarten. It’s just been a fun group of guys to play with.”
One of those teammates also happens to be Meyers’ brother, Charlie, a junior. Charlie also excelled at linebacker this fall for the Norse, but a broken wrist wiped out his baseball season. Ben and Charlie are the sons of Katie Brewer and Dan Meyers.
If his pedigree on the diamond with the Norsemen wasn’t enough, Meyers also caught the eyes of college coaches while playing on summer league teams the Shoreline Stix and Cage 52 Bananas. Although he considered smaller schools such as Kalamazoo College, Aquinas and Lansing Community College, Meyers said he was sold when he visited Division 2 Davenport University in Grand Rapids.
“I visited there late last summer and everything felt right,” Meyers said. “I really like Coach (Kevin) Tidey. He’s just a normal dude that I could talk with about anything.
They’ve got a good program and they’ve got a good business school, which I plan on going into. And it’s close to home.”
Meyers will join senior pitcher Ryan Delora as a senior slated to play the game at the next level. Delora, the Norse’s ace pitcher with great command on his fastball and off-speed pitches, has committed to Lansing Community College.
North Muskegon had more of a youthful feel this spring, and while the lineup didn’t have as much pop, Moyer said they shifted their attack to utilize the team’s speed and athleticism by playing more small ball. And with Meyers’ speed on the base paths, he was often the catalyst for their success.
“We like to put pressure on people by getting some runners in motion and stealing some bases,” Moyer said.
North Muskegon also had a luxury with outstanding depth on the mound. Aside from Delora’s talent, they also threw sophomore Logan Slimko – whose fastball has topped out in the low 90s – as well as sophomore Jaxon Bean and junior Ace Anderson, and they did not miss a beat. At the plate, the Norse had three players hit over .400 –
Meyers, Delora at .427 and sophomore infielder Kylan Nielsen, who led the team with a .433 average.
When asked what’s the biggest hit he’s had through his 220 of his career so far, Meyers had to pause to think.
“I hit a grand slam off my travel ball teammate at districts last year. I blasted one,” Meyers said. “Nick Moss from Montague. He came up to me after the game and gave me a high-five, so it was all good. No hard feelings.”
LocalSportsJournal.com
North Muskegon senior Ben Meyers is admittedly quiet, and would much rather deflect any attention away from himself onto his teammates.
But for a player who amassed 229 career hits over four seasons at the varsity level, the spotlight was always simply too bright to avoid.
Meyers, who split time between catcher and shortstop, has essentially re-written the North Muskegon baseball record books, as his name now stands atop of the program list in hits (229), runs (207), triples (16), stolen bases (81), and runs batted in (154). He’s also second all-time with a .454 batting average, as well as 40 doubles.
What’s more impressive is that his career hits mark ranks sixth all-time in the state of Michigan, while his RBI total is the 10th best mark.
He became a rare four-time all-state selection after his senior season concluded, as he was an Honorable Mention pick as a freshman, a second-team all-stater as a sophomore, a first-team honoree as a junior and was named first-team in Division 3 again as a senior on June 18. During his final season at North Muskegon, Meyers hit .425 with 49 runs scored, 40 RBIs, and four homers.
Although proud at what he’s accomplished on the diamond, Meyers treats the milestones with his typical ‘ho-hum’ demeanor. What’s more important, he insisted, was his team’s win-loss record, which finished at an impressive 32-8. Unfortunately, the Norse ended their season on a somber note after they were upset in the Division 3 district finals by rival Montague on June 2, losing 3-1.
“It’s crazy. My freshman year just seemed like a year ago,” he said. “It all just flew by. I’ve been a leadoff hitter all my life, but once I got in the weight room, I started to add a little more power to my swing, so I moved to the 3-hole the middle of last year. I’ve been playing since I was really young, and I’ve always had really good hand-eye coordination. And I’ve always been aggressive at the plate.”
And as his coaches have pointed out – varsity football coach Larry Witham and baseball coach Garret Moyer – what makes Meyers truly special is his work ethic, a key aspect in helping him earn a rare honor of a team captain as a sophomore in baseball.
Witham went as far as calling Meyers one of the most dedicated and focused athletes he’s ever coached, high praise considering Witham has coached on and off at North Muskegon for more than 30 years.
“He’s so selfless,” added Moyer, who is in his third season leading the Norse hardballers. “Everything he does is for the betterment of the team and his teammates. I’ve played at the high school and college level and Ben fits right up there as far as talent goes. But he’s also, by far, one of the hardest workers I’ve been around and that feeds off to the other kids. He’s not that ‘rah-rah’ type, as he’s pretty quiet, and we wish he was a little more vocal sometimes. But he still has a lot of influence on his teammates just from the way he prepares and goes about his business.”
Meyers’ influence must have washed off on his teammates, as each of the football and baseball squads have enjoyed outstanding seasons recently, while the basketball squad also had an eye-opening season this winter.
Witham’s football squad reached the Division 7 state semifinals this fall, with Meyers excelling as a battering running back and linebacker; the basketball squad completed a perfect regular season before losing an overtime heartbreaker to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Division 3 regional semifinals; and baseball recorded a school record 35 wins last season before losing to Lansing Catholic Central in the regional finals.
Baseball didn’t drop off at all this spring, despite losing five seniors. The Norse were ranked No. 1 throughout a large portion of the season in the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Division 3 poll.
“We’ve been lucky, because we’ve had a lot of really good athletes in classes close together,” Meyers said. “And with a lot of these guys, we’ve all been playing together since kindergarten. It’s just been a fun group of guys to play with.”
One of those teammates also happens to be Meyers’ brother, Charlie, a junior. Charlie also excelled at linebacker this fall for the Norse, but a broken wrist wiped out his baseball season. Ben and Charlie are the sons of Katie Brewer and Dan Meyers.
If his pedigree on the diamond with the Norsemen wasn’t enough, Meyers also caught the eyes of college coaches while playing on summer league teams the Shoreline Stix and Cage 52 Bananas. Although he considered smaller schools such as Kalamazoo College, Aquinas and Lansing Community College, Meyers said he was sold when he visited Division 2 Davenport University in Grand Rapids.
“I visited there late last summer and everything felt right,” Meyers said. “I really like Coach (Kevin) Tidey. He’s just a normal dude that I could talk with about anything.
They’ve got a good program and they’ve got a good business school, which I plan on going into. And it’s close to home.”
Meyers will join senior pitcher Ryan Delora as a senior slated to play the game at the next level. Delora, the Norse’s ace pitcher with great command on his fastball and off-speed pitches, has committed to Lansing Community College.
North Muskegon had more of a youthful feel this spring, and while the lineup didn’t have as much pop, Moyer said they shifted their attack to utilize the team’s speed and athleticism by playing more small ball. And with Meyers’ speed on the base paths, he was often the catalyst for their success.
“We like to put pressure on people by getting some runners in motion and stealing some bases,” Moyer said.
North Muskegon also had a luxury with outstanding depth on the mound. Aside from Delora’s talent, they also threw sophomore Logan Slimko – whose fastball has topped out in the low 90s – as well as sophomore Jaxon Bean and junior Ace Anderson, and they did not miss a beat. At the plate, the Norse had three players hit over .400 –
Meyers, Delora at .427 and sophomore infielder Kylan Nielsen, who led the team with a .433 average.
When asked what’s the biggest hit he’s had through his 220 of his career so far, Meyers had to pause to think.
“I hit a grand slam off my travel ball teammate at districts last year. I blasted one,” Meyers said. “Nick Moss from Montague. He came up to me after the game and gave me a high-five, so it was all good. No hard feelings.”
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