Evan Marzilli may play center field, but there’s something else he wants to make the center of his life — his faith.
Marzilli, a center fielder for the Reno Aces, said that over the past two years, faith has become his main priority.
Before being promoted in 2017 to the Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, Marzilli rededicated his life in 2016 when he was playing for Mobile, then the Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate in the Southern League.
That year “was a tough time,” he said. His mother, Karin, learned that she had lung cancer. The diagnosis and her chemotherapy and radiation treatments impacted her family.
But throughout the whole ordeal, his mother stayed strong in her faith, Marzilli said.
“When she got lung cancer she decided to get a resurgence with her faith,” he said. “She is a good example for me in this whole thing.”
Marzilli realized that year that he needed God in more ways than one.
“Jesus means everything to me,” he said. “He is the center of my life. I know that every decision deals with Him. He means everything to me. It’s indescribable.”
Making changes
After he decided to get serious about his faith, Marzilli began to see changes in his daily decisions. He deleted music from his phone. His language changed. Certain habits were broken. He began to have more discussions about life.
He said he wants to be someone who helps his teammates in their faith journey.
“I think God’s purpose for me is to touch as many people as possible and to show what He is capable of,” Marzilli said.
“I think that is why He put me in baseball and let me see the country. I think I can help my family and my friends and help a lot of people I don’t know yet. I think He put me here for a reason.”
Marzilli’s baseball career began to take off when he was in high school in Rhode Island.
He was rated as the No. 1 prospect in Rhode Island in 2009 by Perfect Game. At the University of South Carolina in Columbia, he led the Gamecocks to College World Series championships in 2010 and 2012.
‘Dream come true’
“Winning the College World Series twice was an incredible dream come true,” Marzilli said.
He was named to the NCAA All-Regional teams in 2010 and 2011 and named to the SEC All-Defense team in 2012.
His success on the field has given him the opportunity to interact with a lot of people and share his faith.
Left fielder Stewart Ijames, who teamed with Marzilli in Jackson and Reno, attended baseball chapel and Bible studies with him.
“You can definitely see it,” said Ijames of Marzilli’s faith. “You can tell by the way he goes about his daily routine. He goes about his business in the right way. You know there is no waver in anything.”
Marzilli said he wants his faith to be something he lives out every day.
“I think it is important to read the Bible and pray,” he said. “It is an ongoing process. It is not something that you can forget about for a few days and come back to it. It’s one of those things that need to be part of your life. It is a daily thing. The way you look at things starts to change.”
You have to search and stick with it, he said.
“It does not change in one day,” Marzilli said. “I know that I am going to keep trying to understand God’s Word better and become the person that He wants me to be.”
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