Rebecca Shapiro | WJW Intern
On May 11, the Berman Hebrew Academy middle school baseball team won the first championship in its history.
Berman defeated Sandy Spring Friends School by a score of 6-5. With the win, head coach Zak Kalusin is retiring after 10 years at the helm.
“It was such a blessing to end my coaching career on these terms,” said Kalusin, who is staying at the school as a guidance counselor.
The season went well, and Berman entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. In the quarterfinals, Berman secured a 12-1 victory over Washington Waldorf School.
In the semifinals, Berman took on Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, scoring five runs in the sixth inning on the way to an 8-3 win.
“We struggled early in that game, and made a lot of mistakes. It could have easily unraveled … Everyone picked themselves up and each other up [and] stayed in the game,” Kalusin said.
The teams faced off earlier in the season, with JDS winning. Because of this, Berman eighth grader Ethan Minzer said in an email to Washington Jewish Week that he was “even more determined to redeem myself … When I took the mound against them again, I knew I had something to prove, and I was able to do just that.”
In the championship game, Minzer pitched seven innings and struck out 13. In the final inning, Berman eighth grader Eitan Cattan’s third hit of the day drove in the winning run. After bringing home the winning run, Cattan said he was “very happy and excited, [because] not a lot of players get to hit a walk-off that wins the championship.”
“In the championship game, I felt much more relaxed. I was simply grateful for the opportunity to pitch and help my team compete for the title and win the title,” Minzer said, adding he “felt relieved, knowing that we had secured the win and that I wouldn’t have to go back out and pitch another inning.”
The response from the community was a “shared [sense] of happiness and this shared sense of accomplishment,” according to Kalusin. “The vibes around the school were really exciting, and the community was really happy.”
“The next day, Berman was hyped and everyone congratulated us in the hallways, even the teachers,” Cattan added.
“One person even told me that I was the best pitcher ever to come through Berman, which was a huge compliment and meant a lot to me,” Minzer said.
When Berman won the championship, the school community took to Facebook and Instagram, many expressing excitement for the team. Kalusin said players, parents and former players reached out to congratulate him and the team.
The reaction from the team and Kalusin was “pure bliss,” he said.
Kalusin has been coaching Berman’s varsity and middle school baseball teams for a decade, spending most of his time with the middle school team. He said his love for the game came from playing on the Berman team when he was a student there, in 2006, according to the Berman Hebrew Academy Alumni Facebook page.
After winning the championship, Kalusin said “it kind of feels like a full-circle.”
Kalusin encouraged his players to never give up.
“You don’t win a championship, or even in life, if everything goes smoothly all the time,” he said.
