Sophomore Adin Zorn helps lead Sewickley Academy to baseball playoffs for 1st time since ’16

By: Greg Macafee
Sunday, May 9, 2021 | 11:01 AM

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Before the coronavirus pandemic canceled Sewickley Academy’s baseball season last year, Panthers coach Anthony Garofalo saw then-freshman Adin Zorn hitting in the cage and knew he would play a big part in the team’s future.

“Obviously, we didn’t get to play, but just seeing him in the cages and stuff, we were just like, we can’t wait to see him play and get out there on the field,” Garofalo said.

Now, eight games into his sophomore season, Zorn is putting together one of the best seasons in the entire WPIAL. In 28 plate appearances, the sophomore shortstop is hitting .625 and has driven in 18 runs while tallying 15 hits, seven doubles, one triple and two home runs.

Although he is young, Zorn said he hasn’t really been surprised by how he has played. Heading into last year, he said, he was excited to contribute at the varsity level, and the lost season just added fuel to the fire.

“I was really excited to get out there and play, and that really just fueled my focus, I guess you could say, in the offseason,” Zorn said. “I was really working out a lot, training a lot, and just trying to get faster for the upcoming season because I was pretty confident we were going to play this year. So it’s not a surprise just because I knew how hard I worked.”

During Sewickley Academy’s first matchup with Section 3-A opponent St. Joseph earlier this year, Zorn christened the new fence in left field with his first home run as part of a 5-for-5 effort to go with seven RBIs and three doubles, his best performance of the season.

“He’s just done exactly what we thought he was going to do, and that’s just hit everything,” Garofalo said. “I mean that game against St. Joseph is one example. He’s just doing what we thought he was going to do, which is crazy, but he’s doing it.”

Garofalo said for such a young player, Zorn doesn’t get fooled at the plate easily which has helped him excel. Zorn said he could attribute his success to his simplified approach.

“I’m not trying to do too much,” Zorn said. “I’m just trying to get on base, hit guys in if they are on base. I’m really just going up there with a simplified approach and being a tough out to get.”

Zorn’s effort is something that has also stood out. He’s hit, he’s played solid defense, and even though he’s still a sophomore, he’s stepped up as a leader as well.

The sophomore leads by example. He sprints on and off the field between innings and he’s always looking to get his teammates energized for their next at-bats or inning in the field.

“He’s just a baseball player through and through,” Garofalo said. “I mean he plays other sports, but you can tell the love he has for the sport that is unmatched. I mean no matter what happened the inning before, he’s sprinting into the dugout or he’s sprinting out to his position, and that’s just who he is. He’s always hustling. His leadership right now is beyond where it should be for a 10th grader.”

Since he started playing when he was 8, Zorn said he’s always been that way. He’s a high-energy player and always wants to pick his teammates up. He feels like that type of energy is infectious and he wants to do anything he can to help his team win.

“I just love to play in general, whether that’s baseball or anything I do, I’m really competitive and I love to win,” Zorn said. “So that’s why you see that, staying up, staying positive with a lot of energy around the team because guys feed off of that. If you’re going, I feel like you can get a lot of other guys going as well.”

At 6-3 overall and 5-2 in Section 3, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016, and Zorn is ready to help them finish the regular season on a good note.

“I’m beyond proud of what we’ve accomplished this far, and I just want to keep it going,” Zorn said.

“I think we can make some noise in the postseason. I think we have a lot of talent, a ton of work ethic, and I think we can go win some ball games.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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