Wallington’s Tabaka makes history as N.J.’s 25th pitcher ever w/ 1,000 K’s

Growing up on the softball fields in and around Wallington, Delilah Tabaka never could’ve imagined her career would amount to this.

Heck, she didn’t even know what she did on Saturday night was possible.

She had toed the rubber at Dul Field right off Johnson Ave. in the 1.05 square mile town in southern Bergen County countless times in her youth playing days.

And on that field down the hill, slowly but surely she established herself as a formidable pitcher, even striking out 200 batters one year at the youth level.

But that’s youth softball. There’s no guarantee that that level of success will translate to high school.

And yet, for Tabaka, it has in spades.

Toeing the rubber for the 97th time as a Wallington Panther, Tabaka entered Saturday’s preliminary round Bergen County Tournament game against Mahwah needing three strikeouts to become just the 25th pitcher in state history to record 1,000 in their career.

And as she has so often before at Dul Field and beyond, she recorded strikeout after strikeout — 17 of them all told in Wallington’s 2-0 win. But it was the one to end the top of the first inning that forever etched Tabaka’s place in state history.

“Everyone’s been talking about it, but I just tried not to think about it all season, and just went out there and did my best,” Tabaka said. “I didn’t know people got recognized for hitting these 100, 200 strikeout milestones. So when I started freshman year it wasn’t even a thought in my head. I really didn’t know that it was a thing where you could get 1,000 strikeouts in four years.”

Tabaka hasn’t been on this journey to state history by herself, though.

Morgan Gurdak has caught all of Tabaka’s pitches since the two became battery mates in fourth grade and have been on an upward trajectory ever since.

And along the way, Gurdak — who calls all the pitches — turned Tabaka from a hurler who only used speed and tried to blow the ball by hitters, to a tried and true pitcher who has an arsenal that features that trademark fastball, of course, but also a curveball, screwball, changeup and more.

“I feel like I never realized until we got into high school what an honor it is to be her catcher, going through all these accomplishments with her,” Gurdak said. “She’s always had trust in me. And if she knew I believed in her, she would have full trust in herself, and we would do it [mix pitches], and then she would kind of be like, ‘wow.’”

Tabaka’s thrown every inning of every game this season and in her career, she’s thrown all but 45 1/3 innings over the last four seasons.

As a freshman, she struck out 184 in 149 2/3 innings and at that moment it was clear — Tabaka had arrived and those youth softball days weren’t a fluke.

And when Wallington native Andrea Piela took over the program from now current Wallington AD Charlie Vellis, she wanted to make sure Tabaka knew where she stood.

“I remember their sophomore year, when I stepped in, they were kind of the role players their first year,” Piela said. “I said, ‘guys, we’re switching it up here. You’re, you’re going to be the big guns this year. You’re, you’re our key players this year.’ And they rose to the occasion.”

Piela played at Montclair Kimberley for legendary coach Anthony LaRezza and with the state’s all-time hits leader Lauren Stefanchik. She then played Division I softball at Siena, so she’s been around some of the best of the best.

Unlike her sister, Abby, who plays at Lehigh, or her coach, Tabaka won’t be playing softball in college and will instead attend Rutgers as a student.

But rest assured Piela says, it’s not for lack of ability.

“I think everyone is always shocked that it stops here for her,” Piela said. “But she’s got that mental grit, that mental toughness, the work ethic, the ability to stay composed when the world is on her shoulders. And that’s why she’s been so amazing.”

That mindset has been honed over time and is the place where Tabaka and her teammates feel she’s grown the most.

“She has grown every single year. She wants that ball in her hand,” Piela said. “She wants to be the one to get that strike out if she can. She just seems to get stronger as she goes.”

It’s not long ago that Delilah Tabaka didn’t know what she was capable of or that people didn’t pay much attention to Wallington softball.

And it’s not long ago that Tabaka didn’t realize people got recognized for all these pitching milestones.

Now, hardly anyone will be able to forget it. Above the entrance to the gym at Wallington is a list of the softball career and single season leaders and Tabaka leads nearly every single pitching category.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the best pitcher in school history wears No. 1.

“I went into freshman year and Wallington softball, no one really knew us, and then we started putting our name out there,” Tabaka said. “It’s pretty cool. I was walking in there the other day and there were only two things that didn’t have my name next to them. I didn’t think I could do that.”