Charlie Zebig isn’t the biggest guy on the field, checking in at 5-foot-10 and 156 pounds.
The junior shortstop can pack a punch at the plate, however, prompting Marmion coach Aaron Nieckula to turn to the world of boxing to find a way to describe his leading player.
“Evander Holyfield had a great quote — it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” Nieckula said. “I think that embodies Charlie Zebig to a T.”
Zebig stayed hot Thursday with three doubles for the host Cadets in an 8-6 Catholic League White loss to Fenwick. He ended up scoring after all three of those hits and also drove in a run.
Charlie Schweiner added a two-run double for Marmion (13-9-1, 4-1). Matthew Tulley had a hit, drove in a run and scored a run. Kevin Schultz chipped in with an RBI double.
Zebig, meanwhile, is up to .392 after his big day Thursday. He has 24 runs, eight stolen bases, six doubles, a triple and a homer. Not bad for a varsity newcomer who’s being entrusted to lead off.
“Earlier in the season, I left runners on base,” Zebig said of starting off the order now. “What I’ve been doing is treating it as a one-on-one with the pitcher. You just have to keep calm.”
Something that Nieckula has preached even back to his days as hitting coach for the Kane County Cougars is having a good approach at the plate, and that sums up Zebig this season.
It’s the first thing that stood out to Nieckula, leading to him trusting Zebig more and more.
“It all starts with approach,” Nieckula said. “Have a good approach when you go into the box, see the ball, be on time and put a great swing on it and good things will happen.
“He’s a table-setter. That’s exactly what he’s supposed to do.”
That approach has prompted Zebig to spray the ball to all fields, making him even more dangerous.
“He can be a pull guy or he can go to left-center fied,” Nieckula said. “When you can cover the entire strike zone and use the entire field, defenses don’t know where to play you.
“They have to play pretty much straight up.”
It’s not the first time Marmion has enlisted the services of a Zebig.
Jack Zebig was a four-year starter for the Cadets before heading off to NCAA Division II Maryville. After two seasons there, he transferred to Illinois. He’s now the starting shortstop for the Illini.
“A lot of my teammates say that I have an identical swing to Jack,” Charlie said. “I look up to him a lot. He moved from Division II to Division I. He earned his spot, and that’s kind of what I want to do. I want to earn my spot wherever I go and take advantage of whatever I can do.
“I’m looking to play in college too. We’ll see where that takes me.”
Zebig led off the bottom of the first inning Thursday with a double and was driven in by Schultz’s double. A four-run third for Fenwick erased that early lead, though, and the Friars didn’t trail after.
Still, Zebig made a sparkling defensive play to end the top of the seventh and led off the bottom half of the inning with another double, scoring on a balk. It was the end of the Cadets’ comeback.
“We just talked about what we can control,” Nieckula said. “All you can do is come out and play good, solid, fundamental baseball.”
It’s how Zebig has approached this season. He hopes his teammates follow his lead and offer up a strong postseason run.
“I think the coaches know what I do,” Zebig said. “I tend to find a way to score, especially with the guys behind me. We have a lot of hitters. We just have to stay consistent.
“I think we’ll be pretty dangerous in the playoffs.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
