Luann Zullo saw signs that her pitcher Makenna DeJianne was on the verge of a breakout at the end of her sophomore season.
“She really started to come into her own and was throwing very well at the end of the season last year,” Zullo said. “She threw well in Florida (in the preseason), but she wasn’t throwing the way she’s throwing now.”
The way DeJianne is throwing now makes the now-junior look every bit the part of an ace capable of leading the Raiders to a deep playoff run.
DeJianne picked up the win in relief over Glen Ridge on April 8. The next day, she pitched a six-hit gem with eight strikeouts to give the Raiders’ their most notable win of the season, a 4-2 victory over Livingston.
DeJianne followed it up with 11 punchouts in a 7-2 win over Verona and nine in an 11-1 win over longtime rival Bloomfield. Then, this past Saturday against a Paramus Catholic team ranked No. 12 in the state by NJ.com, DeDianne allowed no earned runs in a 2-0 defeat to the Paladins.
DeJianne’s stellar pitching in recent days make her The Observer Athlete of the Week.
Over her last six appearances, DeJianne has yielded just three earned runs for an eye-popping 0.54 ERA. In 39 innings, she’s struck out 49 batters and walked 12 while allowing 27 hits. For the season, Nutley is 6-3 overall and tied for first in the SEC Liberty Division with Caldwell at 4-0.
DeJianne credits the recent run to confidence in herself and her teammates.
“I definitely have a lot more confidence in myself, going out there, knowing that I can do what I put my mind to and just believing in myself, believing in my team,” said DeJianne, who has bounced back in a big way after struggling in her first two appearances this season. “My girls are just so supportive and we just have a lot of fun together. And being able to have a team that backs me up like that, it just really means a lot. It’s just really helpful. And it’s a great confidence booster.”
DeJianne’s stellar pitching came at a time when Nutley desperately needed it due to fellow pitcher Gigi Liola sidelined with an injury that limited her to just hitting.
“I kind of just know that I have a job to do and I have to go in there and do it no matter what,” DeJianne said. “I got a job to do at the end of the day, so I just have to be able to go in and do it and not think about (the pressure).”
For the season, DeJianne is averaging 8.6 strikeouts per seven innings, which is on pace to smash her previous career-high more than a strikeout and a half.
Zullo credits the change to improved command and location of her deep pitch arsenal which includes a fastball, changeup, drop, drop curve, screwball and a rise ball.
“Her freshman year, she threw hard and she’s throwing very hard now, but she threw hard and some pitches got away from her,” said Zullo. “She’s grown into being able to control them and has worked on being able to control them.”
DeJianne credits that to her work this offseason with legendary former Cedar Grove and Seton Hall University softball coach Ray Vander May. In addition, DeJianne said she worked with Jen Mineau at Black Cat Fastpitch in Pennsylvania and played club softball with New Jersey Intensity.
If DeJianne wants to look for further pitching advice, she doesn’t need to go far. Her mother, Kim DeJianne (Higgins) pitched Nutley to a state title and her cousin, Lisa Higgins, starred at Ridgewood before going on to play at Georgia Tech.
“I watched my mom coach and give pitching lessons,” DeJianne said. “And it’s just something I’ve always kind of looked up to.”
The past few games have shown that this Nutley team belongs in the conversation as one of the top teams in Essex County after Mount St. Dominic and Columbia, who are both ranked among the top four in the state.
Even so, there’s a belief that there’s even another level they can reach and DeJianne in the circle is a big reason for that.
“I’m very proud of my team. I think that we’re capable of so much more than we think we are,” said DeJianne. “This week we really showed that.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)