There was a point where Christian Bauman and Jason Basilicata thought their baseball careers were over.

In fact, the best was yet to come.

This month, both Shore Conference alums delivered in clutch moments during the NCAA Tournament for their respective college baseball teams. Now Bauman and Felician are headed to the Division 2 World Series, and Basilicata and Kean are on their way to the Division 3 World Series.

The result is a showcase for the sport in the Garden State, which is also sending Rowan to the D-3 World Series. All three teams are loaded with Jersey-grown talent, enough to overcome the weather disadvantages of living in the Northeast.

“It takes grit to play here,” Bauman said.

Grit is a good word for it. Here are the stories.

At Felician, doubt overcome

Bauman grew up in Ocean Township and West Long Branch and attended Shore Regional High School, where he played shortstop. But Covid canceled his senior year there and curtailed his college recruitment opportunities.

“I didn’t have anyplace to go,” he said.

He ended up attending Brookdale Community College as a student, then talked his way onto the baseball team, eventually earning junior college All-American honors. That led to a Division 1 scholarship offer from Radford, which got pulled at the last minute due to a coaching change.

So back to Brookdale Bauman went, using his extra year of eligibility because 2021 counted as a redshirt season.

“It was the best three years of my life there,” he said.

That experience set him up for Felician, where he starts in the outfield and is hitting .259, with five triples, five home runs, 33 RBIs and 44 runs scored for a squad with a record of 43-20. The moment of truth came in the final game of the NCAA Regionals, against Malloy, when Bauman singled down the leftfield line to drive in the winning run in a 6-5 victory.

“I’ve dealt with self-doubt and voices in my head,” he said. “But this last stretch I’m helping the team as much as I can because I’m staying present and playing for the guy behind me.”

Many of those guys are from Jersey:

∎ Senior first baseman Chris Corchado is a Freehold Township High School grad who is hitting .345 with 12 doubles, 38 RBIs, and 40 runs scored.

∎ Junior infielder Rocko Brzezniak is a Matawan High grad who is hitting .393 with 12 doubles and 27 RBIs.

∎ Junior catcher Luis DeLaCruz is a Bergen Catholic grad who is hitting .317 with 290 doubles, six homers and 47 RBIs.

∎ Junior pitcher Kyle Bednarski is a West Milford grad who is 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA.

∎ Seniors Logan Waltz (Raritan High School), Jackson Walsh (Spotswood), Gavin Enright (Indian Hills) and Andrew Gendi (Matawan) are key members of the pitching staff.

This is Felician’s first appearance in the D-2 World Series. The Golden Falcons open against the University of Tampa Saturday in Cary, N.C.

“Getting to the College World Series, it’s a dream come true for me,” said Bauman, who just earned his business degree. “I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.”

At Kean, a love for the game returns

Jason Basilicata has faced his share of obstacles on the diamond.

The Bayville native suffered a chipped growth plate in his throwing shoulder after getting hit by a line drive while at Donovan Catholic High School. Then he had such a bad experience as a freshman at Division 2 St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York, “I didn’t even look at (baseball) the same way anymore,” he said.

He thought about hanging it up, but he had a couple of friends from back home playing at Kean, a perennially strong program coached by Garden State legend Neil Ioviero.

“I got convinced to come here and I’m so glad I did,” Basilicata said. “Being here has brought my love for the game back.”

The sophomore righthander is thriving in the Cougars’ bullpen as a result, posting a record of 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA and nine saves. After overcoming a preseason forearm injury, he was named Fireman of the Year for the New Jersey Athletic Conference, which sent a whopping five teams to the NCAAs and has two (including Rowan) in the D-3 World Series.

“In a great conference like that, it means a lot,” Basilicata said of the honor. “There’s a ridiculous amount of talent out there.”

In the NCAA Regionals, Basilicata earned a two-inning save in a 4-2 win over Husson. Two days later he came on with one out in the ninth with Kean holding a 4-3 lead in the decisive third game, against 19th-ranked Cortland. He gave up a double before forcing a double play to clinch the victory and a spot in the Super Regional.

“That game I didn’t have my best stuff, going on one day’s rest,” he said. “There’s trust that goes both ways there. The coaches have trust I can get us out of the situation, and I trust they’re going to put me in the best spot to succeed.”

Kean takes a 40-9 record into the D-3 World Series, its first since 2013. The Cougars open Friday against Endicott in Eastlake, Ohio. Among the other New Jerseyans in key roles for them:

∎ Senior outfielder Kyle Adorno, an A.L. Johnson grad, is hitting .398 with six triples, 36 RBIs and 57 runs scored.

∎ Senior catcher C.J. Tomalavage, who hails from Edison and attended Union Catholic, is hitting .359 with 12 home run and 43 RBIs.

∎ Junior outfielder Tyler Stone, a Somerville grad, is hitting .344 with 13 doubles and 40 RBIs.

∎ Sophomore first baseman Dan Reistle (Washington Township), sophomore infielder Nick Sellari (Monroe), sophomore infielder Dominic Masino (Central Regional), senior infielder Brett Hilsheimer (Holmdel) and sophomore catcher John Chiusano (Middletown South) also are major contributors to the lineup.

∎ Senior pitcher Jason Gilman, an Old Bridge grad, is 13-1 with a 2.09 ERA. Freshman Lucas White (Monroe) and junior Christian Pareja (Passiac County Tech) are the other starting pitchers.

Rowan (38-10) is in the other D-3 four-team bracket, opening against Dennison on Friday, also in Eastlake.

Senior pitcher Zach Coluccio, a Timber Creek grad, anchors the Profs’ pitching staff with a 9-1 record and a 2.78 ERA. Senior outfielder Phil Sedalis, a Deptford High grad, is hitting .376 with 16 home runs and 72 RBIs to lead a murderer’s row lineup.

All this Jersey success on the college diamond sharpens a point that Basilicata would like to make for high schoolers dreaming of playing college-level ball – a lesson he learned the hard way.  

“Whether it’s D-1, D-2 or D-3, it doesn’t matter,” he said, “as long as you go to a place where you can get better.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.