By: Ariana Page
From pool parties and little league travel ball to being in the Kennesaw State baseball starting lineup together, seniors Nick Hassan and Brayden Eidson have been batterymates for the past 12 years.
"We've been able to see each other grow from middle school to high school and now to college and still continue to get closer," Hassan said, reminiscing on their friendship. "Some of my favorite memories are when we would just hang out at Brayden's house with other teammates just for fun when we were younger."
This senior duo is an absolute force to be reckoned with. During the season, Hassan became one of 10 Owls in KSU D1 history to reach 200 career hits and is third on the team with 55, five of them being home runs. Following closely, Eidson leads the team in hits with 66 including four homers, and 38 RBI.
Eidson credits Hassan for his college career as he is a part of the reason the utility man got the opportunity to be recruited by Kennesaw State.
"While Coach Trey Fowler was recruiting him at the time, he noticed me, so I give thanks to Hassan for that," Eidson said.
With a friendship like Hassan and Eidson, it is often that they feed off of each other's energy during games. If one of them is having a good game, then the other tends to as well.
"With Eidson being leadoff and I've been batting second through fourth, I can piggyback off of his energy and it usually helps me play better," Hassan said.
One thing this duo will always do is push each other to their fullest potential by always celebrating each other's successes.
These players are not short of high-and-low moments, but with their friendship they always know just the right thing to get each other out of the slumps. Whether it's a light-hearted joke or laughing about being in a slump, they always try to keep their spirits up with a smile on their faces to get themselves ready for the next time at-bat.
Both Eidson and Hassan have hopes to stay close to the game after their final season with the Owls in 2024, whether that's continuing to play or coach.
"I definitely want to stay around the game, maybe be a coach and hopefully go into amateur scouting," Hassan said in agreement with Eidson. "I want to help these younger guys by being an advocate and a role model for black catchers, as it's scarce to the game."
After over a decade of friendship, there may have been a few funny injuries and one tooth short from a wild pitch, but that will never stop these two from cheering for each other's achievements - even after their time at KSU.
Fans can catch this dynamic duo in action with the Owls for the final game inside Stillwell Stadium Saturday, May 18 at 1:00 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.
