BASEBALL: Holy Cross victorious in Non-Public B title game
TREVOR NEWCOMB
@Trevor_Newcomb
TOMS RIVER - Steve Bowley checked his phone's Google Maps to see how far away the team bus was from Toms River South High School, where he'd be pitching in the Non-Public B state championship game.
When he saw his smartphone say that he'd be there in 10 minutes, that's when it started to set in for the Holy Cross Academy ace. He began to lock in. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter when Bowley flipped the switch. All that mattered is that he did.
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Bowley tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing only three hits to lead the Lancers to a 2-0 victory over St. Mary's (Rutherford).
"It hasn't set in yet," the senior said after throwing the gem. "It'll probably hit me tonight, but it's amazing."
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Bowley struck out nine batters, including the side in the second inning, shutting down any chance for the Gaels to respond to a 1-0 lead that his team had just gained.
"He can hit his spots," Holy Cross coach Steve Paolini said. "The key for Steven Bowley is if his off-speed and his curveball are working he's tough to beat…and that's kind of what happened today."
While Bowley was mowing down batters on the mound, his offense, which has been a run-factory throughout the postseason, could only come up with two runs.
The first came in the second inning from Tom Jillions.
Jillions, the starting left fielder and nine-hitter for the Lancers, dug into the box with two outs and quickly fell into a 0-2 count. He fouled a few pitches off and laid off a few that were out of the zone, working the count full.
He then smacked a single into shallow right field, driving in James Papeika from second base.
Jillions knows that sometimes the last hitter in the lineup doesn't command the respect that other spots do, and he used that to his advantage.
"I get a lot of fastballs," Jillions explained. "I'm not a big kid so I get a lot of strikes and I was just glad that I could help out."
There was a chance that the junior could have been left out of the starting lineup for most of the year, as Jillions is traditionally an infielder. When he saw that he wasn't going to start at second base or third, he jumped on the opportunity to do what was best for his team.
"He asked 'How can I help the team? What do I need to do?,'" Paolini said. "And I asked him to play right and there was no argument about it."
Jillions also was key in the scoring of the second run in the top of the seventh. He singled again, this time through the hole between shortstop and third base. Casey Fitzsimmons pinch-ran and later scored on a single up the middle by Tim Petrucelli.
Petrucelli's single wasn't the hardest-hit ball of the day for the smooth-swinging lefty. In the first inning, the center fielder laced a hanging breaking ball deep to right-center field. The ball hit off a tall, brick wall and ended up a double. Had the wall not kept the ball in the park, it would've landed at least 370 feet from home plate.
"We just had to get one more insurance run for Steve and we would come out with the win," he said.
Paolini said that the state title wasn't just a great thing for his players and himself. It means much, much more.
"I'm so proud of the school, the kids, the alumni and all of these fans who came. We just hope we did our little part to put (Holy Cross) on the map," Paolini said. "These kids are a special group of kids. Their love and trust for each other is only surpassed by the love and trust I have for them."
Trevor Newcomb; (856) 563-5257; tnewcomb@gannettnj.com
Holy Cross 2, St. Mary's 0
Player of the Game: Steve Bowley allowed just three hits in a complete game shutout while striking out nine.
Play of the Game: Tom Jillions' RBI-single in the second inning put Holy Cross ahead 1-0. He worked the count full after starting out 0-2.
Said it best: "These kids are a special group of kids. Their love and trust for each other is only surpassed by the love and trust I have for them." - Holy Cross coach Steve Paolini