Playoff no-hitter highlights big year for Pine-Richland grad at Penn State Behrend

Thomas Zbezinski first realized he had a no-hitter going in the fourth inning of Penn State Behrend’s AMCC quarterfinal game with Pitt-Greensburg on May 8.

It was a fleeting thought. He went right back into his routine.

A couple of innings later, however, the reality of the situation started to set in.

“Going into the sixth, I kind of realized what was going on and said to myself, ‘Wow, I still haven’t given up a hit yet.’ By the seventh inning, I just wanted to get those last three outs and get it over with,” Zbezinski said.

After hitting a batter with one out in the seventh, Zbezinski induced a ground ball for a double play to complete his first collegiate no-hitter. It was an exclamation point on what has been a strong junior season for the Pine-Richland grad.

“The biggest thing for me is that it was a playoff game, and I was glad that we got the first win,” Zbezinski said. “I also had a feeling of relief to get the pressure away. A lot of my teammates were saying afterwards that they knew that I had a no-hitter going, so there was focus on it, but the biggest thing was getting that first playoff win out of the way.”

Zbezinski was part of a combined no-hitter in a summer league game when he was in high school, but getting one on his own at the collegiate level was special.

He credited his defense with helping him achieve it and pinpointed three key plays.

“Early in the game, there was a really impressive play by our right fielder, Tanner Cicchini. It was a line drive toward the gap, and he got a great jump on it to get there and make the catch,” Zbezinski said. “Later on, our center fielder, Anthony Slate, had to run down a ball that was hit over his head, and he made an impressive play. The double play for the last two outs was also impressive.”

Penn State Behrend went on to win the best-of-three series 2-1 and advanced to a semifinal series with Mt. Aloysius.

Zbezinski, a left-hander, sported a 5-1 record in seven starts with a 2.34 ERA through May 12. He had 51 strikeouts to 12 walks in 41²⁄₃ innings pitched.

“TZ is an incredible worker that constantly tries to get better and improve,” Penn State Behrend coach Paul Behim said. “He is a tremendous role model for his teammates by taking care of his business each and every day. That coupled with his performance, he acts and performs like a true ace of a pitching staff. We are happy he’s a Behrend Lion.”

A good example of Zbezinski’s work ethic came during the cancellation of last season because of the pandemic. Instead of taking a break, he used the downtime to work with some of his former Pine-Richland teammates on improving his velocity and adding to his repertoire.

“My sophomore year, I was a low-80s pitcher that really only had two pitches: a fastball and a splitter. I tried to bring in a cutter, but it was inconsistent,” Zbezinski said. “Last summer, I worked with a lot of my buddies from back home. We threw pretty much every single day, and I got my velocity up into the mid-80s and developed a changeup. I’m still working on bringing in a fourth pitch, too. Through all of that, I’ve kept my command, so that’s a big part of it too.”

Zbezinski came to Behrend after leaving Newberry (S.C.). He sustained an injury at Newberry and left the program unsure of whether he would continue playing baseball, but he has found a home at Behrend. He is hopeful he can help the team win the AMCC title and advance to the NCAA Division III Regionals and beyond to the D3 World Series before starting a summer internship at Harmony Castings in Harmony.

“When I first came here, it was during the spring semester while the team was already playing, so I was a little shy at first, but everyone here took me right in,” Zbezinski said. “I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends here and have met a lot of great people.”