Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Hubbard junior Braydon Songer fires a pitch during a game at Poland on May 8. He struck out 11 Bulldogs in the 4-2 Eagles win.

CANTON — In the winter, Braydon Songer broke his left wrist while playing basketball. The injury left him in a cast, but, most importantly, more motivated than ever.

The Hubbard pitcher, unable to put on a baseball glove, was determined to come back better and stronger than the last time he had been on the mound. To compensate for being without his non-dominant arm, Songer built up his lower body with weight training and continued to throw from a bucket of baseballs.

It did not take long for Songer to realize how much better he had gotten.

“When I had my first outing and when I went out to pitch, I got off the mound. My arm felt great, and I just knew I it was in condition,” Songer said. “I felt like I was throwing harder, and everything was ahead for my season.”

From there, Songer delivered one of the greatest seasons – if not the best – in Hubbard baseball history. In addition to a 0.33 ERA, the junior struck out 100 batters, breaking a program record that had been set by William Ruby in 1957. He also claimed the school wins record, earning eight victories.

He threw consecutive five-inning no-hitters. The first came against Niles on May 13 and the other came against Salem. He fanned 11 in both games.

He proved to be invaluable to the Eagles, who had never won a district championship. With Songer as its ace, Hubbard went 23-7 and defeated Norton 3-0 in eight innings to capture the Division IV, Northeast 1 district title on May 29.

In that game, Songer threw as many pitches as the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) would allow, striking out 12 batters and allowing three hits and no runs in seven innings.

Songer was so dominant this season that Hubbard head coach John Schiraldi considered starting him for the Eagles’ regional semifinal game vs. Canfield on June 3, five days after he threw more than 120 pitches against Norton, even though Hubbard senior Gabe Rusnak also had a sub-1.00 ERA going into the Canfield game.

Ultimately, Schiraldi decided against starting Songer, with the coach saying he feared running Songer “into the ground” with another long, tough game on the mound. The Eagles lost the regional semifinal 10-2.

Fortunately for Schiraldi and Hubbard, they have one more year of Songer.

“He’s a hard worker, a very hard worker,” Schiraldi said. “He’s always working to improve his craft. He understands the game. When he’s pitching, he’s not just out there aimlessly chucking it. He has an idea of what pitch he wants to throw in what counts.

“He works batters well. He works ahead of a lot of guys. Sometimes, when they throw hard, they’re a little bit all over the place. But he commands the zone well. He changes speeds well, he throws hard. He has a nasty curveball. He has a real changeup, which a lot of high school pitchers don’t throw a true changeup. And his is very good. So he’s a three-pitch pitcher. He just – I run out of things to say about the kid. Honestly, he’s just kind of a freak.”

Songer said that he would like to improve on his strength, keep his arm “in shape” and continue to refine his fielding during the offseason.

Schiraldi sees a bright future ahead for his ace, who he called an “easy thrower.”

“He’s not one of those guys who’s grunting and diving, throwing it,” Schiraldi said. “I think his velocity is only going to go up as he grows. He’s a teenager; the ceiling is pretty high for what he’ll be able to do.”

That’s what opposing teams fear, too.

“Hopefully we don’t have to see Songer next year in a similar situation,” Canfield coach Matt Weymer said after the regional semifinal.