In the previous two seasons, it was Tuleen Ali who would nurture and encourage Katie Ziliani in the circle during Robbinsville High softball games. Earlier this year, the graduated pitcher returned the favor.
Ali’s senior campaign started with her going 1-for-11 in the Ravens first four games. After an 0-for-3 against Immaculata, she reached out to her friend on the bus ride home.
“I texted Katie and said ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’” Ali said. “At the time I was going up there without any confidence. I don’t know if it was because of all the girls graduating last year, or what.
“I told Katie it’s my last year, I want to do good and I’m just not productive at the plate. She told me, ‘It’s your last year, you have to go up there with confidence.’ I feel like she gave me that confidence because after that talk, I started doing good.”
She has done better than good, going from an .091 average on April 17 to a .394 mark as of May 16. In the 17 games since Ziliani’s pep talk, the catcher went 27-for-60 (.450) with six home runs, four doubles, three triples, 23 RBI and 17 runs scored. She led the Ravens in six offensive categories.
It is the kind of hitting—coupled with outstanding defensive skills behind the plat— that has Ali headed for Drexel next year. Coach Dave Boehm knew all about her defense when she transferred from Burlington City High prior to her sophomore year.
Since then, she has become a complete player.
“She had a little trouble with her offense,” said Boehm, who was an assistant when Ali arrived. “She’s pretty much a gap hitter. She works hard, she’ll work on every part of her game and this has increased over the years. Now she works on every part of her game every day. She wants to get behind the plate and block balls, she wants to hit, she wants to throw out runners.”
She was doing it all while helping the Ravens to a 16-5 record entering the May 19 Colonial Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. (The team ultimately lost on May 19 in the semifinal game against Notre Dame, 10-8).
Ali was never a bad hitter, as she batted .318 and .319 as a sophomore and a junior. Last year she hit three home runs, and this year she doubled that total through 21 games.
Those are a lot of happy accidents.
“I feel home runs come by accident,” Ali said. “I wasn’t really expecting the home runs. I did lose about 30 pounds from last year. I’ve been in the gym a lot more; and I was more consistent with my hitting lessons and just batting on my own.”
Ali’s offensive contributions were a necessity after the Ravens lost centerfielder Ariana Tomlinson and her .488 career batting average for the season when Tomlinson hurt her knee in March.
As for Ali’s defense, it just gets better.
“She played for Burlington City in the Carpenter Cup and she looked OK there as a freshman,” Boehm said. “Defensively she was always really good. She frames well. We don’t even call the game anymore, she calls it and is pretty good at it. There’s times I’m saying I would throw a change-up, and she’s right there with it. We agree on a lot of stuff. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have to do the defense and the pitches.”
Like any catcher, Ali takes her lumps behind the plate with foul tips, balls in the dirt and other nuisances. But she’s used to it, having caught since she was a youth playing for the Edgewater Angels.
“I also played shortstop and third,” Ali said. “Once I was around 13 one of our catchers left I was forced to catch and I just fell in love with it.”
What exactly was there to love?
“I can show a lot of energy back there,” she said. “I enjoy stealing balls to make them strikes (by framing) and Lexi (Lopez) makes that really easy for me. I just enjoy it back there. I enjoy taking charge of the field.”
After leaving Edgewater, Ali played for the Hamilton Hurricanes and Jersey Outlaws, who morphed into the Lady Dukes. While there, she was teammates with Robbinsville players Sorella Galucci, Caroline Walls, Hailey Krebs and Ziliani (who have all graduated).
Having that connection made things smooth when she transferred from Burlington.
“It was pretty easy since I played with all of them,” Ali said. “I knew what the atmosphere was gonna be like in practices and how we would go about games and warm-ups and how serious it was gonna be.”
It was a far cry from where she came from.
“A big difference competitively; it was a mess at Burlington City compared to what Robbinsville is,” Ali said. “It was a big change for me. I had to get used to it quick. It was hard at the beginning but it worked out in the end.”
The biggest issue was having to sit for 30 days due to New Jersey transfer rule.
“It was really rough because I’m sitting on the bench like ‘Oh my god I need to get in there!’” Ali said. “I just love playing. It was hard but I was glad I got to come back at the end.”
Once she started playing, she never stopped. Ali has gotten more power and more speed while also transforming into a solid team leader.
“She’s probably one of the fastest kids on the team,” Boehm said. “If she had a weak spot when we got her, like most catchers she was a little slow afoot. But now we don’t even put a runner in for her. At the plate she’s gotten stronger, her bat’s a little quicker. She’s really worked on her game as far as the aspects of being healthier and being a little lighter in the box.”
In acknowledging her leadership qualities, the coach said “She’s really taken it over, especially with the loss of the five seniors we had last year. She goes out and settles Lexi down when she needs it. We’ll have her warm up the freshmen and give them tips.”
Ali is also good at taking tips. She credits her defensive prowess to her travel coach, Lauren Gaskill, a former Rancocas Valley and Virginia Tech player who was a Gatorade Player of the Year in high school.
“She taught me everything,” Ali said.
The catcher also learns her lessons in class as she sports a 3.4 grade point average. She chose Drexel for her likely major of sports management, and she also enjoys Philadelphia.
But for now, Ali is focused on the state tournament as Robbinsville has dropped to Group II and was second in Central Jersey power points near the cutoff.
She is ready for her team to make a run, and if her rejuvenated bat makes a difference, give Katie Ziliani a little credit.
RHS senior Tuleen Ali has increased her batting average over the course of the season from .091 on April 17 to .394 as of May 16. (Photo by Julie Lawandy.),
