By: Rich Fisher
ALLENTOWN Dylan Zink is anything but an airhead.
But she likes to think like one when it’s time to pitch a softball game.
"To be honest, in a game, I never know what inning it is," Zink said. "I don’t know what’s going on. I know that I’m supposed to pitch, I pitch when I’m told to. I know if I get the ball I know where to throw it. That’s basically all I do.
"When there’s runners on base, it doesn’t really make a difference to me. I just focus on the glove. That’s all I ever do."
Zink’s comments came after last Friday’s 10-0, six-inning loss against Allentown, in which the junior right-hander struck out eight and allowed just four earned runs against one of the top teams in the Colonial Valley Conference. Zink stranded nine other runners or the score could have been a lot worse, a lot quicker.
"She’ll say she doesn’t pitch any differently with people on base, but she definitely buckles down a lot more," said first-year Princeton coach Craig Haywood. "She takes control at that point."
Although Zink (and the Little Tigers) will only carry a 1-3 record into Monday’s game with West Windsor-Plainsboro North, the Cranbury resident could be in the running as one of the top hurlers in the CVC now that Hamilton’s Melissa Hodge has graduated.
Zink had the most strikeouts last year of any returning player and, after a rocky start against Hodge-less Hamilton in the season opener, she has struck out 28 in Princeton’s last three games.
If Zink can get in a groove, the Tigers will be competitive. Haywood certainly realizes his good fortune of inheriting such a hurler.
"She’s a great kid," the coach said. "As a pitcher, she can take a lot of control of a game very quickly. Even though this is my first year working with her, she and I are doing what we need to. We’re very much keeping the lines of communications open.
"Between each inning, we come in, we talk about all the pitches that were called while she was out on the mound, making sure we’re both on the same page, that we’re throwing what we need to throw. Dylan’s smart enough that she knows if I call a pitch that isn’t the right pitch to call, she’ll shake it off. Then I know for next time."
Zink has made her mark in the circle ever since starting for the Cranbury School as a sixth-grader. Even then, she was getting her share of strikeouts, and it’s only gotten better.
"I started playing softball with her when I was in seventh grade, and she’s definitely improved every year since then," PHS third baseman Sue Westock said. "She’s definitely gonna keep improving until she stops playing softball."
If she ever does stop.
"Yeah," Westock said with a laugh. "She’ll be old and crippled and still throwing.
"But she’s not only improved with her pitching, she’s also improved with her team spirit and the bonding. She’s gotten really close to the team."
Of course, being a freshman or sophomore on a team of upperclassmen makes it a bit tough to bond. But now, Zink has to be one of the leaders off the field and on it.
This season, she has added a riser to her repertoire. Well, kind of.
"It’s a riser, but it’s not really a riser," Zink said. "I just throw a fastball, but the way that my hand moves, it rises anyway. So I just kind of lift it a little more than usual."
Zink’s improvement is nothing she takes for granted, as she played non-stop since the 2005 high school season ended.
She pitched once a week with famed pitching coach Jerry Herrara and also threw with Allentown’s outstanding hurler, Katie Santouci (It never hurts swapping secrets with another good pitcher). After playing with the Central Jersey Tornadoes travel team last summer and fall, Zink continued to work out with them in the winter.
"I have so much better endurance and stamina, I can pitch four games in a row and it won’t matter," Zink said. "I’m always playing. I never stop."
No wonder she doesn’t know what inning it is.
When you pitch that many, anybody can lose track.
As for Princeton’s start, Westock and Zink both feel things will turn around.
"We’re very spunky," said Westock, who reached base every time up in Princeton’s first two games. "We definitely have a lot of pep.
"Once we start getting our act together early in the games, getting runners on base and getting ahead in games, we’ll start beating people."
Zink agreed, saying "We’re better than last year. We’ll start putting it together soon."

