Makenna DeJianne is used to pitching against girls older than her both in travel ball and this past season as a freshman playing varsity softball for Nutley.
Despite that, DeJianne was still in shock a few weeks ago when she was the youngest player selected to play for the Jersey City based Roberto Clemente RBI’s all-star team, heading into the RBI Northeast Regional Tournament.
After a dominant weekend of softball, DeJianne and her Roberto Clemente teammates will be heading to the RBI World Series at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida from Aug. 12 to 17. The RBI program, which is sponsored by Major League Baseball and Nike, was created to revitalize baseball and softball in inner-city areas throughout North America.
“I was really shocked and I was so excited when I found out,” said DeJianne. “I got to find out what a crazy good team of girls I’m with and I think playing with them is really fun, really exciting.
“This is definitely an experience of a lifetime and I’m so excited because I love competing and I get to see competition from farther out of state. Usually I’m used to playing teams closer in the tri-state area so getting to play teams that come from across the country is crazy. I’m really excited to see what the competition’s like.”
DeJianne, one of three pitchers selected to the team, tossed a shutout in her lone start, a 9-0 victory over Passaic RBI on July 27, and also had a scoreless relief outing during the Northeast Regional for Roberto Clemente RBI, which won five-straight games, all in decisive fashion, to repeat as champions.
“She came on in and pretty much shut them down,” Roberto Clemente RBI head coach Gabe Villanueva said. “They could not figure her out.”
While DeJianne may have been surprised by her inclusion on the roster, Villanueva saw a pitcher he knew had the talent and maturity to play at this level.
“She’s been amazing since Day One,” Villanueva said. “Getting to know her has been a pleasure. She’s always having a good time and has a great personality. I saw the competitor in her and she pretty much doesn’t let anything faze her.”
What also separates DeJianne from other pitchers her age, is her ability to throw five different pitches – a fastball, changeup, drop curve, screwball and a rise ball.
“I think it’s great to have multiple pitches just because if you’re having a day where a pitch isn’t working, it’s great to have other options and not just have to worry about perfecting that one pitch,” DeJianne said. “Having different pitches is really great because you’re able to work more openly and you have different pitches to use in the count.”
DeJianne, who also pitches for Untamed Softball during the summer and fall, said she first heard about RBI from some of her teammates. The roughly 60 girls in the league competed in a regular season before the selection of its all-star team. The league is open to girls aged 13-18, making the 15-year-old DeJianne one of the league’s younger players.
“Every time we came out and played, she would call me and tell me, ‘Hey, I’m having a great time.’” said Villanueva. “She wants to get better and when I called her to let her know that she actually made the team, she was excited.”
“I think that I’ve gotten so much experience and I think it’s really great,” DeJianne said. “This is making me a better player and this helps open so many doors of opportunity for myself as a pitcher.”
DeJianne estimates she’s been pitching since the age of 2, as she was taught at an early age by her mother Kim (formerly Higgins), an all-state pitcher while at Nutley.
In DeJianne’s first varsity appearance this spring for Nutley, she tossed a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts against Newark Academy. As a freshman, DeJianne struck out 136 batters with a 3.35 ERA. She also hit .314 with 17 RBI at the plate.
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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.)