PHS’ Zink gets to finish what she started

Sophomore fires second no-hitter for softball squad

By: Justin Feil
   Dylan Zink knew only a few things in the seventh inning of her Princeton High softball team’s game against Princeton Day School on Friday.
   The sophomore pitcher knew that the Little Tigers really needed to win. She knew that hitting the first two batters to start the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate wasn’t ideal. And she knew that, as much as she likes her teammates, she didn’t want to have to exit for reliever Maeying Medalia, who already was warming up.
   "It wasn’t working," Zink said. "I started to freak out. I saw the other pitcher was warming up. I want to finish something I start. I knew it’s got to be done."
   Zink came back to retire two of the last three batters by strikeout to preserve not just a 3-1 win but also the second no-hitter of her high school career.
   "I didn’t know I was throwing a no-hitter," said Zink, who had a no-hitter against Hamilton last year. "At the end of the game, they told me. And I thought that’s cool.
   "The defense was on fire against PDS," she added. "They caught absolutely everything they hit to them. There were no mental errors. Sometimes we can make mistakes. But everything we went through in practice seemed to happen. It really worked out."
   Jin Yi and Rebecca Katz each drove in a run in the first inning to stake Zink to a lead. The win helped PHS improve to 8-8 heading into a four-game week in which the Little Tigers must win two games to make Friday’s state tournament cutoff for being .500 or better.
   "It makes us think we have to be on our game the whole week," said Zink, who was scheduled to play Mercer County Tournament runner-up Allentown on Monday. "We can’t afford to not make that catch or not hit that ball. States is our biggest goal. The whole team wants it. We know if we play our best, we have a chance to beat anybody. We have to stay on our game as long as possible. Hopefully it lasts the whole week."
   PHS has already surpassed one goal in winning eight games. The previous best for the Little Tigers was seven wins. They’ll attempt to add to their win total today against Hightstown, Wednesday against Steinert and Friday against Freehold.
   "They played real well last week," said PHS head coach Steve Eisenstein of his team. "We’re in the driver’s seat. Two of the games are real tough. Two of the games, we’re in a good spot to win those and we need to make sure we do."
   A state tournament berth would be something new to the Little Tigers. But it’s something that Zink and the players, along with Eisenstein, have been looking forward to since coming up short last year.
   "I think it would be the first time a Princeton High team has made states," Zink said. "It was a goal last year, but we didn’t make it. It has to get done this year. It seems that for some reason, we have worked so hard and it’s finally come down to the last week. If we made states, it’d be like we accomplished so much. It would be like everything we’ve worked for paid off."
   Zink has been working toward getting to this point since last season. A year-round pitcher, Zink has come back with a better arsenal for Colonial Valley Conference opponents. She used a mixture of pitches to keep PDS off-balance.
   "This year I added an off-speed pitch that I didn’t have last year," she said. "I only had a change-up last year. Now I have a change-up and off-speed. It was hard to learn over the winter. Once I got it, it was like great. My change-up isn’t that good. It’s kind of working to my advantage. We are better at placing the ball better inside, outside, up and down. I work all winter. I pitch all year-round. The more I work, the better I get."
   "Dylan, when she settles in and is a little relaxed, she throws well," Eisenstein said. "She needs to settle and hit her spots. She’s tough against any teams."
   Eisenstein doesn’t foresee that progress stopping any time soon. He’s been thrilled with what a year’s worth of progress has brought for Zink.
   "She’s going to continue to grow," he said. "Maturity and experience are going to help her along. She’ll start to learn the teams we play. She’ll learn the hitters. That will help her get even better as we see the schools more and more."
   Zink sees it as a necessity that she improve as the schools see more and more of her, though it hasn’t helped many teams this year. Instead it’s her that’s grown more comfortable this season while enjoying increased success as one of the upcoming stars.
   "Last year no one had seen me pitch," Zink said. "I was new to everybody. I was kind of throwing them off. They didn’t have past records or how they hit against me. I was coming in new to the game.
   "I heard about Melissa Hodge and Jackie Sasko. I played with Jackie Sasko when we were younger. I knew I’d have to pitch against her. Now I’m more used to it. I’m more comfortable with the big shots of the game."
   Zink is quickly cementing her name as one of the big shots. She can take a few more steps in that direction by riding the momentum of her second career no-hitter. But Zink has never been one to think about the hits she’s allowed. She focuses only on the pitches she’s throwing and how the defense is playing behind her. That will be the simple key again as the Little Tigers seek a state tournament berth.
   "I think we have a chance to beat every one of the teams next week as long as we play the way we know we can," she said. "You have to go out there and play your hardest. You can’t go out and think you’ll just win or lose. We have the potential to beat anybody in the conference. It just depends on how hard we try."
   Trying hard shouldn’t be a problem as the Little Tigers face a potential historical triumph with at least a split this week.
   "It gives us more drive," Zink said. "We’re 8-8, we have to win. That makes you want to win even more. I’m going to keep pitching like I always do."
   Right up to the end, where Dylan Zink and the Princeton High softball team hope to finish strong like they did in a win over PDS on Friday.