By Jim Hague
When Mike Zibrin was a freshman pitcher at Rutgers-Newark, he suffered from a severe lack of confidence.
“I had it in my mind that I couldn’t get anyone out,” Zibrin said. “My confidence was way low.”
But then Scarlet Raider assistant coach Jake Campbell pulled Zibrin aside and the two had a little chat.
Campbell also helped Zibrin develop a pitch that would become the right-hander’s signature pitch - the change-up.
“Jake taught me the change-up and that totally changed me,” Zibrin said. “I would take it to bullpen sessions and definitely saw my change-up get better and better.”
Zibrin said that he actually learned the change from Mike Eckert, the assistant baseball coach at Middletown North High School.
But the meeting and impromptu workout session with Campbell changed Zibrin forever.
“My change-up was always a secondary pitch,” Zibrin said. “But then it became my out pitch.”
Zibrin also knew that confidence was going to be a major factor moving forward.
“In order to be successful in the NJAC (New Jersey Athletic Conference), confidence is the biggest key,” Zibrin said. “You have to be mentally ready at all times.”
Zibrin said that he struggled somewhat last year during the Scarlet Raiders’ trip to California.
“I got shellacked a few times in California,” Zibrin said. “(R-N head) Coach (Mark) Rizzi pulled me aside, sat me down and asked, ‘Where is the confidence that I saw when I recruited you in high school?’ It showed that he still had faith in me.”
“His senior year of high school, I thought he was very good,” Rizzi said. “I thought he was going to help us.”
Zibrin won three games for the Scarlet Raiders as a sophomore and began this season as one of the team’s top starters.
“He has a very good change-up,” Rizzi said. “His fastball is deceiving. He’s developed into a good college pitcher. His change-up makes him a very good competitor. He’s learned to be competitive and established that kind of edge as a starting pitcher.”
The junior right-hander Zibrin was one of the Scarlet Raiders’ top hurlers in 2017, posting a 5-3 record with only eight walks to 41 strikeouts in 63 innings. Zibrin earned wins against NJAC foes Rowan and New Jersey City and tossed a three-hitter in Myrtle Beach early in the season against Albertus Magnus.
Zibrin was one of the main reasons why the Scarlet Raiders had an impressive 24-15-1 record in 2017, the school’s best baseball season in several seasons and particularly remarkable since the team played 30 games before their first home game.
Zibrin recalls the reasons why he chose Rutgers-Newark.
“Everyone hears Newark and thinks bad things,” Zibrin said. “For me, it was a perfect balance of academics and athletics. Rutgers has a great business school and a degree from Rutgers in business is huge. In baseball, the NJAC is one of the toughest leagues in the nation. It’s great competitive baseball.”
Zibrin is already on his way to a successful business career. Since his sophomore year, Zibrin has had a working internship with Prudential in Newark.
“It was huge for me to be able to get in there,” Zibrin said. “It’s definitely going to help me in the future.”
Zibrin works in Prudential’s operational and systems department, dealing with risk management.
“I have to make sure that if a problem happens, it never happens again,” Zibrin said.
Rizzi is pleased with the progress Zibrin has made, both on and off the field.
“He’s turned into a good pitcher,” Rizzi said. “He’s tall, lanky, has good mechanics. I think his intelligence helps him as a pitcher. Nothing seems to rattle him. He’s in his own world when he’s on the mound. And he’s already a success, on his way to getting a degree in business.”
Zibrin was happy to be a part of a vastly improved Scarlet Raider team this season.
“I think it was a boost for all of us to go from 12 wins to 24 this season,” Zibrin said. “A lot of guys got the chance to play a lot and that was helpful. I know I’ve become a better pitcher.”
Zibrin has improved from one win as a freshman to three last year and five this year. Who knows what a solid senior year will bring? Certainly gives Rizzi and his coaching staff something to look forward to.
Zibrin doesn’t know what his future holds, maybe a position somewhere in accounting. At least he has a very good head start.
“Having Prudential is a great thing to have on my resume,” Zibrin said.
So will be a solid senior season on the mound for the Scarlet Raiders.
