Bellissimo, Mullins Lift Toms River North To SCT Final

Photo above: Winning pitcher Jared Bellissimo

RED BANK – Toms River North utilized its one-two punch of Jared Bellissimo and Brendan Mullins to silence the Monmouth Regional bats in the first game of Wednesday’s Shore Conference Tournament semifinal double header.

The frightening lefty-righty combination of Bellissimo and Mullins was too much for the Falcons to overcome as the two aces combined to toss a four-hit shutout in the Mariners 6-0 win over thirteenth-seeded Monmouth Regional at Count Basie Park in Red Bank.

The eighth-seeded Mariners will now get a shot at defending their title against eleventh-seeded and Class A South rival Central in Monday night’s Shore Conference Tournament final at First Energy Park in Lakewood. They split their season series with both teams winning on their home field.

Central upset second-seeded Wall 1-0 in the second game of Wednesday’s semifinal double header as senior pitcher A. J. Smith hurled a masterful nine-inning four-hit shutout for the win.

The Rutgers-bound Bellissimo started and got the win improving to 6-1 for the year. He faced just two batters over the minimum in his four innings of work allowing two hits without issuing a walk while striking out three on 68 pitches.

The season was on the line in this do-or-die game for the Mariners after losing to A South rival Jackson Memorial 3-0 in the NJSIAA South, Group IV quarterfinals and Bellissimo knew what was at stake being one of the many seniors on the team.

“That was an upsetting loss to Jackson; of course we don’t want to lose to one our crosstown rivals and we didn’t want it to end like this.” Bellissimo said. “We just stuck together after that loss and it was like we got nothing to lose so lets go after the Shore Conference (Tournament title) now.”

Toms River North head coach Andy Pagano knows how much it hurt his team to lose that state game.

“We had some goals and obviously the states were one of them,” Pagano said. “It wasn’t an easy one to get over but they accepted the challenge and realized there was another one out there and it was the Shore Conference, which is almost as good as winning a state tournament. It’s still not a state title but it’s up there with some of best tournaments in the state.”

With Bellissimo approaching his 150 pitch five-day limit his counterpart and Penn St. commit Brendan Mullins took over in the top of the fifth and didn’t miss a beat. He shut down the Falcons on just 34 pitches in three innings to close out the game surrendering just two harmless singles without a walk and getting three Monmouth batters on strikes.

“We work great together and we’re best friends on-and-off the field,” Bellissimo said of splitting games with Mullins. “That was our game plan going in for me to start it and him to come in and finish it.”

The lefty Bellissimo relied heavily on his fast ball in-and-out but also was throwing his curve for strikes keeping hitters of balance while the right-handed Mullins had his four-seam fast ball, two seamer and changeup working like a charm.

“It’s a change of pace,” Toms River North head coach Andy Pagano said. “They are two different kind of throwers. I think Jared started catching a little rhythm and could’ve gone further if he wasn’t on a pitch limit. Having Mullins come in and a couple of other guys who can also throw is nice. It’s good to know we have a bunch of guys who can do the job.”

The Mariners offense staked Bellissimo to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to some shabby play by Monmouth that included three errors in the inning resulting in three unearned runs.

“Of course being out there and being able to pitch with the lead always helps,” said Bellissimo of his team giving him three runs to work with.

Mullins led off the inning with a line-drive single to left followed by junior Sean Aguiar’s fly ball to left that was misplayed into an error putting runners at first and second. Monmouth starter Charlie Kelly then struck out Jonathan Giordano for the first out but Robert Jeans lined an RBI single into short center scoring Mullins with Aguiar going to third.

With only one out and runners on the corners, Kelly then attempted a pickoff throw to first that was wild allowing Aguiar to score the second run of the inning and first baseman Ricky Voss’ throw to second to get the advancing Jean sailed into centerfield allowing Jean to take third.

Junior second baseman Dylan Feigin then laid down a pretty squeeze bunt down the first-base line plating Jean for a 3-0 lead but was just nipped at first base for the second out although he was credited with an RBI.

Toms River North added three more runs in the third to take a 6-0 lead. Senior centerfielder Alex Klalo led off with a walk and Bellissimo followed with a single to left center. Klalo was out at third after Justin Schaff hit into a fielder’s choice but Mullins drilled a run-scoring double into the left-centerfield gap scoring pinch runner Aaron Craig pushing the lead to 4-0.

Aguiar then made it 6-0 belting a two-run single into left scoring Schaff and Mullins while knocking Kelly out of the game in the process.

With five days until the final both Bellissimo and Mullins will be available for the starting assignment leaving Pagano with a tough decision to make on who his starter will be. It is, however, a nice position to be in considering the alternative.

“They’ll both be ready,” Pagano said. “A couple of other guys will be too. We’re just going to have to look at the scouting report and make a decision. Hopefully, I make the right one. But we get a chance to defend our crown and these guys don’t want it to end. They’re a close knit group that has fun and that says a lot about their character.”

It will be the last game Bellissimo and Mullins play together along with fellow seniors Craig Larsen, Alex Klalo and Justin Schaff, who together won the last two Ocean County Tournaments and hope to make it two SCT title in a row on Monday night.

“It means everything,” said Bellissimo on the games importance. “We’ve all been playing together since we were eight or nine so we want to finish it out strong together. We didn’t want it to end yet and we want to go out on top.”

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