“I’ve been told since day one that I’ve always had a love for baseball,” said Eastern Michigan University catcher Matt Hitt.
When Hitt was a little kid, he loved to play catch with his dad just about anywhere and soon fell in love with the game. When he turned six years old he began to play in an organized league in his hometown of Fishers, Ind.
Learning new things was one of the reasons Hitt was so intrigued by the game when he was younger. He also just wanted to be better than all the other kids out there.
“As a little kid, I knew that I had a special talent and the game of baseball could take me a long way,” Hitt said.
During Hitt’s high school years, he was a three year letter winner in baseball and as a freshman he won the MVP award for his team. Hitt also enjoyed getting invites to schools and working out for scouts.
“I just think that when I realized I had the ability to play baseball at the collegiate level was my biggest accomplishment [in high school],” said Hitt. “I was asked to play in the Mr. Baseball Classic as a candidate for Mr. Baseball in Indiana.”
When it came time to choose a college, Hitt instantly knew EMU was the best school for him. He knew he could learn a lot from the coaching staff and he wanted to be the guy who could fill in a big time role for the team.
“I love that our program competes,” Hitt said. “We are not afraid to go out and play any team in the country. We know that whether you are the first or last place team in the country we can and will beat you. Our coaches push us to excel and we all push each other to get better. We have a very unselfish team and I believe it’s a big contributor to our success.”
Hitt’s biggest achievement in college is being able to play baseball every day at the Division 1 level. He is also happy that he is trusted as the team’s go-to guy behind the plate.
Like any normal college kid, when Hitt isn’t busy with playing baseball or practicing, you can typically find him talking to friends and family, watching movies, eating, working out or catching up on some much needed sleep.
However, for Hitt, the game of baseball will always be his favorite pastime.
“This game motivates me to come to the field every day because you can always learn something and get better,” he said.
