Despite the pressure, Naperville North senior Zach Dinkel prefers the nerve-wracking part of being a closer.
He enjoys pitching in those stressful scenarios of the game where success or failure hangs in the balance.
“You come in during tough situations, with everybody looking,” he said. “If you do well, you save the game. If you do badly, you blow the game.”
Those moments will have to wait for Dinkel, an Augustana recruit who said Tuesday’s announcement by the IHSA of canceling the spring sports state tournaments has created a void for the Huskies’ seniors.
“It is a very hard time for us from top to bottom,” he said. “”We missed out on our senior season and nothing is going to bring that back.
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“We just have to be proud of what we did accomplish while we were together and try not to focus on what we missed out on.”
Dinkel knows what he’s missing out on, too.
He loves the heightened stakes, having demonstrated a poise, savvy and grace natural to the spotlight role of closer.
“I like to perform under pressure,” he said. “I feel like I do better in those situations. I like to have that really big part for the team. That is the best place for me.”
Last season as a junior, Dinkel went 3-0 in 10 appearances with a team-best 0.95 ERA. He had 22 strikeouts.
According to Naperville North coach Jimmy Chiappetta, Dinkel has ideal attributes for the job.
“Zach has a bulldog mentality,” Chiappetta said. “You can always count on him to compete. He is the kind of player and teammate you want to have around.”
Dinkel said his defining characteristics are versatility and an ability to keep hitters off-balance and constantly guessing.
“I think of myself as an all-around pitcher,” he said. “I never try not to focus on just one thing.
“I think that helps me because I get to surprise the hitters a lot more than somebody who is just a speed guy or just an off-speed guy.”
Dinkel is a relative newcomer to pitching. He did not take up that part of the game until he was nearly 13.
He said his adaptability in molding his style to the moment frequently means going against the grain of traditional thinking.
“For example, I love to throw curveballs on 3-2 counts,” Dinkel said. “I also like to come with a high fastball when the hitter is down 0-2. I have a lot of confidence in them.”
Every encounter between pitcher and hitter has its own built-in actions, shaped by the score and situation.
Dinkel pointed out his success can be traced to being able to dictate those terms.
“I force myself on the hitter more,” he said. “That is just who I am. Sometimes, if I am struggling, I try to guess what the hitter is thinking and throw the opposite.
“Most of the time, I am just going with what I feel confident about. And it works.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.