THIRD IN A SERIES (see more below)

By Christina Easter

PARMA, May 6 — Two years ago, Brendan Hazuda called a perfect ending when he made the decision to attend Cuyahoga Community College to play baseball for head coach Kyle Stahlberg. In his initial year at Tri-C, the team finished in first place and won the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) Championship.  

But the best was still to come.

This season, the team set a school record with 40 straight wins and stands at No. 25 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Baseball Rankings. Hazuda has a .374 batting average, four home runs, 45 RBIs, 42 runs and 5 stolen bases. The Tops’ success has given him a lot of motivation to keep going as hard as he can as he hopes to earn a scholarship to a four-year college.

For now, Hazuda and the entire team are focused on winning in the post-season and making it to the NJCAA World Series in Oklahoma at the end of May.

“The season has been great,” Hazuda says. “This is something that has never been done before at this school and it has been great to be a part of something like this that was unexpected, for sure.

“We were expecting to have a successful season, but I don’t think it was quite to this extent,” Hazuda adds.

Hazuda grew up in Toledo and started playing baseball at the age of eight. When he started playing travel baseball, his coach put him at the catcher position because he thought he had a good grasp of how the game was supposed to work.

“Something clicked with me at the catcher position, and I’ve done my best to not look back,” Hazuda says. “My old catching coach used to say, ‘there’s a reason you’re the only one facing that way and it’s your job to get everyone in their position.’”

Tri-C’s Stahlberg thinks very highly of his catcher.

“Brendan is the centerpiece of our defense.  His consistent and steady ability behind the plate with numerous pitchers has been a key factor for our success,” Stahlberg says. “He is a great receiver, blocker, and he has the tools to keep runners at bay. At the plate he has been a power force in the middle of our lineup.”

Hazuda graduated from Clay High School and was a “huge” Detroit Tigers fan as they were the geographical team to root for. He really liked Tigers catchers Ivan Pudge Rodiguez (2004-2008) and Alex Avila (2009-2015). He also “really appreciated” Gerald Dempsey Buster Posey III, catcher for the San Franciso Giants (2009-2019, 2021).

As receiver for the Tops, Hazuda is responsible for his offense and defense as well as helping his teammates get into position defensively. Because he’s involved in every pitch, he helps the pitchers with their strengths and how those work with the batters’ strengths and weaknesses.

Hazuda adds that the Tops’ success is a testament to the way the coaching staff structures practice, games, and off-the-field activities. The coaching staff  has brought in great players, student athletes who are also really great people, too. While the team is not looking ahead, it is trying to turn this into a great second season. 

 “We’ve been trying not to look ahead as much as we can,” he says. “We are focused on the pitch and game in front of us because if we shrink it down to the small things, the big things will fall into place.”

Easter is student in Professor Kerezy’s MJS 2070 sports reporting class, and is also a frequent contributor to eyeoncleveland.com

GAMES ARE SET: The 41-5 Cuyahoga Community College men’s baseball team will host the 26-15 Mid Michigan Lakers in the opening series of the NJCAA Region XII playoffs on Thursday at Ron Mottl Field. Game times are 4 and 7 p.m. If necessary, the third game in the best-of-three series will be played on Friday.

Mid Michigan went 17-8 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association this season, and they come to Cleveland to oppose the Triceratops after winning three games in a row.

STILL TO COME: Stories on Diddy Farrell and Keagan Gilbride.