BEHREND'S ZBEZINSKI OVERCOMES INJURY & TRANSFER TO SHINE IN AMCC

Gibsonia, Pennsylvania; home to one of the state’s largest high schools in Pine-Richland High School. The school has produced phenomenal baseball talent through the years, and most famously produced current big leaguer Neil Walker. Looking back at the 2017 Pine Richland baseball team, the Rams could field a team and reserves who went on to play collegiate baseball. It is no surprise looking back that this ball team won the WPIAL title. One of the key members of that team is Penn State Behrend ace Thomas (Tom) Zbezinski. From a young age, Zbezinski has loved the game of baseball.

Zbezinski began playing the game at the age of five like most kids growing up. He participated in tee-ball and wanted to be like his grandfather and be heavily involved in the game. His grandfather was an umpire into his 70’s, and it was him who really shared his knowledge about the game with Zbezinski. After a stellar high school career in which he lettered three times, Zbezinski had his sights on heading south to play college baseball. “I loved going south to play baseball with my travel team. The feel and competition is just a little different. I visited Newberry College in South Carolina, and it appeared to be a great fit to maximize my baseball potential. However, academically it was not working out well there and I also hurt my arm. I felt that I needed something fresh.”

Out of high school, Penn State Behrend did recruit Zbezinski, so he reached out to Head Coach Paul Benim who immediately welcomed him with open arms. When talking about Coach Benim, he said “Coach is just such a genuine person. He teaches all of us how to be better ball players, but also far better people. He has had great success as a baseball coach, so I knew Behrend fit what I was looking for in a baseball program. I also was able to pursue mechanical engineering which was a major that interested me greatly.”

The arm problems continued for the southpaw after leaving Newberry after one semester. He was forced to miss the 2018 baseball season because of injury. Heading into 2019, Zbezinski made it his goal to get back on the mound and finally show people what he was capable of. There was some uncertainty on who would be in the starting rotation for Behrend, but Zbezinski immediately stepped up during preseason to cement a spot in the starting rotation. His continued success allowed him to win the 2019 AMCC Newcomer of the Year. It was an award well deserved after he racked up seven wins in just ten starts for Behrend. He struck out 51 in 61.1 innings pitched. The lefty duo of Phil Myers and Zbezinski helped lead the Lions to the AMCC semifinals and an appearance in the ECAC Division III baseball tournament. 

Heading into college season number three overall, Zbezinski will now be asked to be the ace of the staff after three of the Lions top four starting pitchers were lost due to graduation. “I am glad to be taking on a larger responsibility.” Zbezinski said. “I am excited to be a mentor and leader for our pitching staff that is very young but has a lot of potential. Showing them how to prepare and improve as a pitcher is something, I am glad to be doing.” This leadership will go a long way as Zbezinski hopes to coach high school baseball in the Pittsburgh area after the completion of his college career.

When asking what has been key in his improvement over the years, Zbezinski credited to his coaches and also playing a great amount of travel baseball. “It gets old facing the same kids over and over and playing the same few kids does not challenge you after some time. Traveling the country and getting rocked a few times made me better. I got to play so much baseball with such great friends, and without travel, there is no way I would be where I am today as a competitor, person, and pitcher.”

After college, he hopes to work in product design and development. He has always enjoyed building and lists his manufacturing and shop classes in high school as some of the most important courses he has ever and likely will ever take. 

Zbezinski lists Marcus Stroman of the New York Mets as his favorite pitcher to watch. “I feel relatable to him because we are small guys with big arms and each pitch with a lot of emotion.” As for his favorite ball club, Zbezinski remains loyal to the Pirates despite many years of woes from the Bucs. 

Zbezinski is hopeful and optimistic that this is the season the Lions can recapture the AMCC crown from conference rival La Roche. It will take a great level of effort all around, but Zbezinski is optimistic about Penn State Behrend’s chances in 2020. 

Through a transfer and arm trouble, Tom Zbezinski has still found a way to cement himself as one of the AMCC’s most feared pitchers. The remainder of his college career is extremely bright, and that is both on and off the field.

*** This story is part of a year-long series titled Faces of the AMCC: Steis' Stories. Featured writer Nate Steis will spend the year interviewing and reporting on student-athletes and coaches throughout the AMCC to show what makes the "Faces of the AMCC" diverse and unique.