When Katie Ziliani stands in the pitcher’s circle facing a bases-loaded situation in a tight game, fans probably think the pressure is enormous. According to the Robbinsville High senior, that’s nothing compared to her average weekend night.
“I work at DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies on Saturdays, it’s like the worst day,” said Ziliani, who serves as hostess at a restaurant famous for having large groups waiting for a table. “We don’t do digital, it’s all pen and paper. It gets pretty crazy. I’ve been working there for two years and it’s like a reflex in my brain.”
So in the big scheme of things, protecting a one-run lead in the last inning is nothing compared to making sure a rabble of hungry pizza aficionados get a table.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “That helps me with some high-pressure situations.”
Ziliani has kept those situations to a minimum for the Ravens this season. Through a 6-1 start – which featured a 1-0 win over No. 1 state-ranked Notre Dame – she allowed just 18 hits, eight walks and two earned runs in 39 innings. That computed to a 0.36 ERA to go along with 40 strikeouts.
“She’s been awesome so far for us,” coach Christine Levering said in mid-April. “Her mental game has gotten stronger. When she’s down on the count she’s been able to fight back so she hasn’t had as many walks this year.”
Part of the reason is that she pitches to contact. She’s also in tune with her batterymate, which is always key.
“I think the relationship she has with (catcher) Tuleen Ali has helped,” Levering said. “They played travel together and have been pitching and catching for a while. That helps.
“Tuleen knows how to calm her down and help with certain pitches and when she’s on certain pitches. She knows when to talk to her and give her that confidence that she’s able to come back in a count and get the strikeout or pop out.”
The results have been impressive.
Last year, Ziliani went 18-5 with a 1.49 ERA and 149 strikeouts in pitching Robbinsville to the Mercer County Tournament and Central Jersey Group III finals. But she also allowed 70 walks in 155 innings, which is about one per every 2.1 innings pitched. In her first 39 innings this season, Ziliani yielded eight walks, which was roughly one in every five innings.
“I think just working with Tuleen before every game helps,” Ziliani said. “Just figuring out which batters are going to be the most efficient, which pitches we’re gonna throw depending on what team we’re playing. Also not giving them anything too good in the strike zone, keeping them on the corners and mixing in off-speed too helps with my control.”
But when painting the corners, isn’t there the danger of missing by one inch and throwing a ball?
“Yeah but being a senior I’m just more comfortable throwing,” Ziliani said. “I just know I can trust my pitches. There’s always that scary feeling of ‘Oh they’re gonna hit it or I’m gonna miss my spot.’ You have to trust it and you can go with it. I think that’s making the difference this year.”
Ziliani is not an overbearing strikeout pitcher such as Notre Dame’s Rylee Michalak, but she does pick up her share of Ks. What has been noticeable this year is her ability to run deep counts and still get outs.
“Her change-up has gotten pretty consistent, and her being able to get those last-pitch strikes has been big for us,” Levering said. “I always say trust your defense. When she’s behind she knows she has great defensive girls back there that can help her out if she needs to throw a strike.”
While not wishing to give away trade secrets, Ziliani admitted that she has altered some things with her change-up that have helped.
“I’ve been working on trying to switch up my levels,” she said. “Normally I go side-to-side. With my change-up it’s a lower pitch, but I’ve been trying to work more on going up and down with it instead of only side to side. I just want to switch it up and give batters something they aren’t used to compared to last year.”
Pitching has been a lifelong venture for the right-hander, who started with Robbinsville Little League in second grade.
“When you’re younger, pitching is something every player goes through and you either stick with it or you don’t,” Ziliani said. “I grew up in love with (Olympic/collegiate star) Jennie Finch. I idolized her and once I started pitching it was something I fell in love with quickly. I knew I wanted to stick with it in the future.”
In her youth, Ziliani took lessons from former Steinert great Jackie Sasko, who helped teach her the basics “and was a really great mentor when I was younger.” The hurler helped the RLL 12-year-old All-Stars to a state championship before pitching for Pond Road Middle School.
When she arrived at RHS, Ziliani began taking lessons from Jacelyn Peterson, coach of the Sportika Nightmare travel team.
“She really helped me at the start of high school,” Ziliani said. “She tweaked my mechanics to make my velo go up. She also helped me to learn different pitches, how to hit spots, how to keep myself mentally sound and just dealing with pressure.”
As a freshman, Ziliani befriended junior pitcher Shea Krebs, who she considered a true mentor. Krebs pitched Robbinsville to the Group II title that season and Ziliani said “I watched and learned how she handled herself and what it takes to be a pitcher that wins the state championship.”
Ziliani pitched 34.1 innings that season with a 4.08 ERA and 24 strikeouts in what she considered a learning year. Levering was an assistant then and immediately saw potential.
“She seemed very composed,” the coach said. “She was hitting her spots well in practice. I knew she had it in her, it was just getting her the experience in those big varsity games. I thought the more experience she had she would only get better. I always had that belief that she’s strong but I wasn’t expecting how good she’s been pitching for us this year.”
Ziliani shared the load with Krebs and Cheyanne Weigand as a sophomore, dropping her ERA to 3.31 and raising her strikeouts to 31 in 42.1 innings. She stepped up as the number-one hurler last year and admitted “it was a little scary, I had to handle pitching by myself without Shea. But it was better to just jump into things, so this year I feel a lot more comfortable since I was able to get myself settled last year.”
A major boost came when Ali transferred to Robbinsville, reuniting Ziliani with her travel partner.
“I would literally be nothing without Tuleen,” she said. “She has a sixth sense about everything. We’re really close outside of softball so it makes playing with each other easier. She calls the pitches, we bounce ideas off each other. It’s like she makes pitching easier for me. She’s a brick wall.I just love having her behind the plate.”
Levering feels that a major difference this season is that Ziliani has taken a great deal of pressure off herself by just going out and enjoying the game.
“Playing for fun has helped her mentally when pitching,” Levering said. “She knows what she can do instead of putting that added pressure on herself that she has to do this or accomplish that. It’s more just having fun with your friends and playing softball.”
Ziliani also plays field hockey for fun. She devotes most of her training to softball but enjoyed playing a fall sport, meeting new teammates and playing under Jennamarie Calicchio who “teaches us a lot of things outside the sport.”
Which is quite a coincidence since Ziliani is fairly busy outside of sports. In her early high school years she was a member of Robbinsvile’s Italian Club, Interact Club and Environmental Club. She is still in the Play For United Club for Special Olympics and, with a 4.25 grade point average, is a member of the National Honor Society.
Her next stop is the University of South Carolina, where she might play club softball. Ziliani was recruited by several programs but wants to attend a big school and focus on academics as an Exercise Science major.
“Her resume is a lot,” Levering said. “When I had to put her up for a scholarship she was sending me stuff and I was like ‘Oh my God it’s never ending!’ All her volunteering, and then she works in a pizza place in her somewhat free time.”
Not just any pizza place. One of the busiest around. And a perfect breeding ground to help Ziliani deal with any pressure situation in the circle.
Ravens softball pitcher Katie Ziliani poses for a quick photo before a recent start.,
