Nick Hudson closes out East Bay career

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Photo | Chris Valentine

Nick Hudson finished his senior year with an 8-2 record.

Jacob Kiley,
Contributor

Nick Hudson has been playing baseball since he was four years old, and has ended his last season here at Cal State East Bay.

Hudson, senior pitcher for the Pioneers, leads the team with eight wins this year, tied for second in the CCAA. He has had one simple goal his senior season.

“This is my last year and I just wanted to leave it all on the table,” said Hudson.

CSUEB’s baseball team has had back-to-back 30 win seasons and has set a school record for CCAA wins with 30.

“I truthfully believe we have the best starting rotations in all the CCAA, and that rotation is lead by Nick Hudson,” said Head Coach Bob Ralston.

Leading on and off the field is a role he has come to accept, but he does not take on this role by always being the most vocal as some leaders do.

“Teaching the team the right way to do things [and] really putting in the extra work in practice [is important], but I’m not a huge talker, I simply try and lead by example,” said Hudson.

Teammate and fellow senior pitcher, Sean Becker, talks about something that is always a definite with Hudson.

“The whole team knows he is always going to go out there and compete. He is responsible for setting the tone for the whole weekend,” said Becker.

Hudson started his first two years at the University of San Diego, but played high school baseball at Bay Area powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif.

Coming from such a dominant program really shaped Hudson.

“I give a lot of credit to De La Salle,” said Hudson. “They really prepared me to be successful at the next level. I had a great coach by the name of David Jeans who taught me how to play ball flat out, and he was the one who connected me with East Bay.”

Ralston admittedly appreciated the work ethic instilled in his starter early on.

“Nick has really shown the team what conditioning can do to help your game. He is one of the hardest workers in the weight room that I have ever coached,” said Ralston.

Surprisingly it was not in the weight room or field that helped Hudson pitch, it was while in a class working on his kinesiology degree.

“Bio mechanics was a class that really jumped out to me, for understanding the science of movement allowed me to really understand how I could master my game,” said Hudson.

Hudson has one year left to finish up his bachelor’s degree. He has several career options in mind, but is considering graduate school to be a certified athletic trainer. He is also entertaining the idea of landing a college coaching job in the Bay Area, or pursuing firefighting with teammate Becker.

Hudson said he would be interested in helping the team next year despite this being his last season.

“If the coaches would have me back I would love to still be involved with the program, and help it with its continued growth next year for the 2015 season,” said Hudson.