College Baseball: Karstedt helping UB turn around baseball program
By Michael J. Petro
In high school, Charlie Karstedt broke virtually all of Eden’s baseball records. Now, he’s just trying to help the University of Buffalo back to respectability at the Division I level.
A catalyst for Section VI champion baseball and football teams during his playing days with the Raiders, the junior at UB is hoping to get a feel for the same type of success during his college career.
UB is starting to make some headway in that direction. Before going out to the West Coast for an eight-game set starting March 6, the Bulls were off to their best start at 4-3 since returning the discontinued Division I program to the field in the 2000 season following a 13-year hiatus.
In UB’s first seven games, Karstedt solidified his starting spot in right field by hitting for a .379 average (11 of 29) and .544 slugging percentage with three doubles, one homerun, a triple, 10 RBIs and five runs scored.
“The team has looked real good and has a good opportunity to make a run in the conference and advance to the conference tournament,” said Karstedt, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound left-handed hitter, who, in his first year as a regular starter, has been moved up to the three hole in the lineup. “I’m happy to be a big part of that.”
The Bulls have yet to start its schedule in the 12-team Mid-American Conference, but to eventually qualify for the conference tournament, they would need a top eight finish. That has not been an easy task since UB baseball entered the conference in 2001. The Bulls best season in that time was a 19-30 record in 2005, the same year Karstedt graduated from Eden. Last season, UB finished 14-38 overall and out of contention for the MAC Tournament.
“There is a confidence around the whole team,” Karstedt said. “A lot of guys have been through the downhill times of the program. At one point a few years ago, we lost 17 straight games. These guys never want to let that happen again. We’ve all put our heart and soul into getting this thing into the right direction.”
Karstedt has made his contributions with a steady glove and cannon for an arm in the outfield and a monster first two weekends at the plate. After red-shirting in his first season and spending much of his time getting bigger in the weight room, Karstedt started 14 games in 2007 as a freshman, then got his first chance for substantial playing time last season. In 2008, Karstedt started the final 20 games of the season, finishing with a .389 average with 25 hits, including nine doubles, one triple and one homer, 17 RBIs and 11 runs scored in 93 plate appearances.
“I was given a consistent opportunity and took off,” Karstedt said. “I was waiting and waiting because we had some good players here. I really was able to turn it on and I haven’t looked back yet.”
He proved to UB second-year head coach Ron Torgalski that it was no fluke with his start to this season.
“It was not only big for the coaches to see but also big for myself to prove that I belong there,” Karstedt said. “I’m confident in my ability to grow into one of the best players in the conference.”
Karstedt’s success has been no surprise to two of his former Eden High School coaches, Doug Beetow (football) and Eric Cooper (baseball).
“He always had the drive to do this,” said Beetow, now the school’s athletics director, who watched as Karstedt helped lead Eden to the Class B football state semifinals in 2003. “He has a competitive spirit that helps him to get better. When he first started as a quarterback in his sophomore season, he was as good as any senior in the division.”
Cooper coached Karstedt three of the standout’s four years at the varsity level. By the end of his career, Karstedt had led Eden to four ECIC Division titles, another trip for the school into the state playoffs and made his name a fixture in the school’s record book.
Playing in 95 career games, Karstedt finished with school marks of 133 hits, a .401 batting average, 110 runs scored, 100 RBIs and 17 triples, eight of which came in 2004, a state-single season record. He was also an All-Western New York honorable mention as a sophomore, second team selection as a junior and first team honoree as a senior.
“He knows the game of baseball with all of its nuances and intricacies and plays the game aggressively,” said Cooper, who also pointed out Karstedt’s unselfishness, noting that the natural center fielder agreed to play shortstop as a senior for the best of the team. “His instincts were unmatched in his time at Eden...Charlie was also quite confident in his abilities and was always vocal in building up his teammates and wanting more out of them.”
Both coaches also lauded Karstedt’s toughness, saying he played on at least a few occasions through injuries. Most notably, a mild concussion during the state football playoffs and a shoulder injury that restricted Karstedt’s throwing ability, forcing him to be moved to wide receiver as a senior.
“He was a leader off the field and handled himself on the field perfectly,” Beetow said. “He always knew what was going on and hardly ever let his emotions get out of control which is important in handling the quarterback position...When he decided to play baseball, I thought it was a no-brainer and knew he’d do fine playing at the next level.”
That decision wasn’t as easy for Karstedt, though. He loved the game of football, but realized playing baseball would create more opportunities for scholarships and possibly to continue a career professionally. UB recruited Karstedt heavily after his outstanding play at the Empire State Games in the summer after his junior year. The school made Karstedt an offer that he couldn’t refuse.
Now, with his own success and that of UB, Karstedt’s decision seems to be paying off.
“I still miss football but I’m glad I made this decision,” Karstedt said. “We’re having a lot of fun and we’ve got a lot of guys out there in our lineup and on the mound that you can have confidence in and don’t have to be crossing your fingers when they’re out there.”
Other athletes playing locally at the Division I level include freshman infielder Jon Van Remmen, an Elma resident and St. Francis High graduate, and freshman infielder Katie Medina, a Hamburg native and Hamburg High graduate, both at Canisius College. Playing softball for St. Bonaventure University are third baseman Samantha Rajski and outfielder Shelly Seeger, both Hamburg natives and Frontier High graduates. The sophomores were both members of the state-semifinalist team in 2007 for Frontier.
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