Toms River East Little League one win away from state title

Toms River East manager Mike Mendes didn't know what he was going to see for his team's Thursday night matchup with Section 4 Champion Haddonfield in the New Jersey State Little League Tournament.

After cruising to a victory the night before, the only certainty in Mendes' mind was that his team had a more-than-worthy opponent in the opposite dugout at Washington Park of Pequannock Little League.

"After last night's hit barrage, I wasn't sure what to expect today from our boys," Mendes said.

What the players delivered was more than satisfactory - a 10-1 victory that was a lot closer than the final score indicates - and it puts Toms River East one win away from the New Jersey State Championship.

Toms River East, 2-0 in the tournament and outscoring its opponents 22-1, is off Friday but can wrap up the title Saturday. The New Jersey champion will join other state champions in the Mid-Atlantic Region beginning Aug. 7 in Bristol, Connecticut.

'The bats came alive'

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With two outs and no one on base in the top of the fifth and Toms River East holding onto a 3-1 lead, two Haddonfield errors that could have easily ended the inning brought up Christian Mascaro with runners on first and second.

Mascaro's hard-hit ball snuck its way past the infield, driving in a run. A throwing error from the outfield allowed a second baserunner to score and Mascaro to trot over to third.

Toms River East third baseman Jake Gallagher, who had worked a walk to put runners on the corners, hustled to beat out a throw to second on a routine ground ball, allowing Mascarro to score and push the lead to five runs.

Four more runs were scored in the sixth inning, including a mammoth home run from Logan Macchia for the second consecutive night.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game, they're a good baseball team, they put up 14 runs yesterday, so I knew it was going to be a challenge for us and it was most of the game," Mendes. "Then the bats came alive at the end there. I'm proud of our kids they put it together."

Even before the cascade of runs in the final two innings, it was a game of clean, timely baseball for Toms River East from the very first batter.

Centerfielder Michael Mendes led off the game with a double and took a calculated risk by advancing to third on a groundout before scoring the first run of the game on a wild pitch.

In the bottom of the first and with the bases loaded and one out, the outfielder showed off his glove, making a diving catch to limit Haddonfield to a single run in the inning.

"He sets the tone as a leadoff hitter and he did a good job today. He made a great catch in centerfield and helped his pitcher out," Mike Mendes said of his son. "I'm proud of him as a dad, but I'm even more proud of him as a coach. I'm proud of all 13 of these guys."

Dominant pitching... again

A day after throwing the final inning of a combined no-hitter, Brady Gillen started on the mound for Toms River.

With a little help from the defense, Gillen did well to escape the first inning having only allowed a single run and was dominant in the second, passionately striking out the final two batters of the inning, giving him three for the day.

Mascaro was brought in to pitch in relief of Gillen in the third inning.

It was the last pitching change Toms River needed, as Mascaro only needed 57 pitches to strike out five batters in four innings of shutout baseball.

"[I] just try to stay calm, keep my balance and just pump strikes," said Mascaro.

More:Little League: 2022 NJ State Tournament Guide, Schedule, Results

Through two games of baseball against the best competition the Garden State has to offer, Toms River East's pitching trio of Gillen, Mascaro and Macchia has only allowed one run.

"We got three really good pitchers, any one of them could be a number one. I have all the confidence in the world when those three guys are on the mound," Mike Mendes said.

One more win

With both Macchia and Gillen available to pitch, Toms River East plays Saturday at 5 p.m. against the winner of an elimination game between Haddonfield and Rutherford.

After losing to Toms River on Wednesday, Rutherford eliminated West Milford 13-1. The Rutherford-Haddonfield game is Friday at 5:30 p.m.

"We're blessed with the opportunity to take a little bit of a breather and kind of sit back and figure out who we are going to play tomorrow. But the kids are ready to go, they were actually just asking me when practice is," Mike Mendes said.

If Toms River East loses on Saturday, it will face a winner take all game for the state championship on Monday.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River East Little League beats Haddonfield at NJ state tournament