Thanks to Zolk, N-G zooms to victory

Mike "Zoom" Zolk acquired his nickname half a lifetime ago for his combination of speed and energy.

Then came last summer, and the Z-word really became apropos. College interest started to zoom, as in off the charts.

No offense to these two schools, but as the AAU season began Zolk was generating Division 1 interest from Marist and Stony Brook. His next stop? Brace yourself. It'll be the University of North Carolina, and the commitment soon will switch from verbal to written.

"It was nuts," Zolk said. "The craziest day of my life."

First, let's point out that Zolk, a 5-9, 175-pound senior, is a lefty-swinging second baseman (and spot-duty pitcher) at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High, and that yesterday he went 3-for-4 with three runs scored out of the leadoff spot as the Saints quelled visiting Conwell-Egan, 9-1, in a Catholic Blue opener. (Yes, CL baseball still goes by colors.)

Quickly, we now return to Summertime 2010.

Assorted North Carolina staff members saw Zolk on the AAU trail in tournaments in Georgia and Virginia and then, as luck had it, UNC was one of the hosts for a national final.

"They used four schools for that tourney," Zolk said, "and I hit a home run in the championship game that cleared the scoreboard at NC State in right-center. This was after July 1, when coaches can talk to rising seniors, and their whole staff brought in me and my dad for a sit-down meeting.

"I knew they were interested, because they'd been the first school to call me. But to have it happen like that . . . To get called in for a special meeting, and get offered, and realize I'm going to North Carolina . . . Just totally awesome."

Aside from a young man with talent, UNC will be getting a team-first player.

Zolk showed that trait shortly after the victory. The instant coach Lou Spadaccini finished his postgame talk, Zolk grabbed a rake and smoothed the dirt between home and third. All the way down the foul side of the baseline. Then back up along the fair.

Such duties are usually fodder for underclassmen. Often the greenest ones.

Then, there was the game itself.

Zolk opened the home first with a ground-ball single to center. He then thieved second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Marty Venafro's groundout.

In the fifth, with the score at 2-0, Josh Ockimey and John Snyder drew opening walks and Zolk bunted. Yes, he bunted. On his own. About halfway toward third base.

The throw was an instant late and way high. The ball skittered down the rightfield line, two runs scored and Zolk received credit for a single. The Saints proceeded to notch three more runs in that frame as RBI singles went to winning pitcher Joe Gorman and designated hitter Dom Riverso.

With a 2-0 lead, and with two runners on and nobody out, how many D-1 guys are going to go the smallball route?

"On the first pitch, I was going to lay down a drag bunt," Zolk said. "If I didn't get it fair, I was going to do a sac. Tight game still. Figured it was the best play to get something going and help us score more runs.

"I did it on my own. Lou gives me the green light to do whatever I want. He trusts me. I'm a team guy. That's how I've always been."

Zolk's father, Mike, and two of his uncles, Steve and Pat Zolk, were athletes at Frankford. He spent his first two seasons at now-defunct North Catholic, and was even prominent as a freshman, then transferred for the 2009-10 school year.

Talk about a travel grind. Zolk lives in the way-up-there portion of the Northeast, hard by Franklin Mills Mall. His mom, Diane, works in Center City, however, and she helps with transportation (while also serving as the team photographer).

"I'm so glad I came to Neumann," Zolk said. "Best move I could have made."

Gorman, a junior lefty, allowed two hits (singles by Beau Fleming and Matt Wagner) and struck out 13 over six innings and only one ball left the infield through the first five frames. Gorman also went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI singles. Oddly, though Venafro also had two hits and got two runs home, his RBI came on the groundout and a sacrifice fly.

C-E avoided a shutout in the seventh on Fleming's ringing triple and Matt Brach's bunt.

Though N-G returns six starters, its three most dangerous hitters are gone and the hunt- and-peck approach is now in vogue.

"We only have four seniors that really play," Zolk said. "But I still think we're gonna be all right. We had some studs last year with freakish talent. This year we're more of a team."

When Zolk was first tagged with his nickname, by a youth coach, the version was "Zoom-Zoom" after a Mazda commercial. He's now down to one "Zoom," though the handle is hardly fading.

"We have our names on the away jerseys," Zolk said. "I asked Lou if I could put Zoom on mine. He said it was fine with him."