Zac Bellinger matures into star player for Pioneers
- Thomas A. Edison graduate Zac Bellinger hit 13 homers at the PGCBL All-Star Game Home Run Derby
- He%27s hitting .301 %2840 of 133%29 with 21 RBIs and a team-high four home runs for the Pioneers
- Bellinger will enter his senior year at the College of St. Rose as one of the team%27s key players
Mike Bennett saw early on that Zac Bellinger was destined for success on the baseball diamond.
"As an eighth grader, when I watched him play, I knew he was something special," said Bennett, who coached Bellinger at Thomas A. Edison High School.
Bellinger has progressed to the point where he will enter his senior year at the College of St. Rose as one of the team's key players with a chance to continue his career in the pros.
Bellinger produced a strong junior season at the Albany-based college, leading the Golden Knights in batting average (.348), hits (54), doubles (11), RBIs (24), total bases (71), slugging percentage (.471) and sacrifice flies (six).
He also did the job defensively at first base, fielding at a .995 clip (two errors in 411 chances). That earned him a Rawlings East Gold Glove, and the coaches of the Northeast-10 Conference voted Bellinger second-team all-league.
He is playing this summer in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League with his hometown Elmira Pioneers. Bellinger said he's thrilled to be able to perform in front of family and friends.
The previous summer he competed for the Florence (S.C.) RedWolves of the Coastal Plain League, which has teams in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Bellinger led the Red Wolves with four home runs, 28 RBIs and 61 total bases.
He joined the Pioneers a few games into this season and has given the team a strong bat in the middle of the lineup. He's hitting .301 with 24 RBIs and a team-high five home runs. He's also stolen six bases in seven attempts.
Bellinger's three-run homer Thursday night at Dunn Field gave the Pioneers a 3-1 victory over the Amsterdam Mohawks, the team with the best record in the PGCBL and the defending league champion.
Pioneers coach Matt Burch, like Bellinger an Edison graduate, appreciates Bellinger's work ethic as much as he does his production at the plate.
"Zac has shown tremendous maturity," Burch said. "He's the first one here every day and the last to leave. He carries equipment off the bus. He makes adjustments."
Bellinger said he likes playing for Burch, who was Bellinger's eight-grade English teacher.
"It's pretty cool to play for someone who was such a great player at my high school," Bellinger said.
Bellinger put on a show at the PGCBL All-Star Game at Dunn Field on July 14, whacking 13 balls over the fence during the three rounds to win the contest.
"I know the park. It's my backyard. I know what to do here," he said afterward.
Power hitting has been a part of Bellinger's game for years. In 2011, as a senior at Edison, he belted 18 homers and drove in a New York state-record 60 runs in leading the Spartans to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C semifinals. Bellinger's stellar performance resulted in him being named New York State Class C Player of the Year and a first-team state all-star.
It also got him a scholarship to Division I Virginia Commonwealth University. Burch attended VCU for three years before the Kansas City Royals selected him in the first round of the 1998 Major League Baseball amateur draft.
Bellinger was a catcher for Edison, but was moved to first base at VCU.
"He always wanted to be a catcher, so we put him there. He was a very good high school-level catcher," Bennett said. "The position move from catcher to first base is tough. Managers will say, 'I'll find any place for a hitter.' Zac is the best hitter I've ever coached. His swing will carry him. And he's worked hard on his defense."
Bellinger appeared in seven games as a freshman, going 3-of-8 for a .375 average. He left VCU, citing playing time and a loss of scholarship money.
"I was costing them two in-state scholarships," Bellinger explained. "I wanted to go to a D1 school, but I would have had to sit out a year (per NCAA rules). I didn't play much my freshman year, just eight at-bats. I didn't want to graduate at 24."
Bennett was himself a standout at the Division I level. He is St. Bonaventure University's all-time batting leader with a .365 average, and he was inducted into the college's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. He pointed out that a tragedy played a role in Bellinger's move; Bellinger was recruited to VCU by Paul Keyes, who in November 2012 died from cancer at age 50.
"A new regime was brought in," Bennett said. "There are a lot of pieces that go into the scholarship puzzle. There's moving away from home. Every piece has to fit into place, and not all the pieces fit for Zac."
Virginia Commonwealth's loss was the College of St. Rose's gain. Bellinger hit .287 (45-of-157) as a sophomore, leading the team with five home runs and a .452 slugging percentage and tying for No. 1 in RBIs with 26.
Though it is a Division II college, St. Rose competes in the Northeast-10 Conference, which uses the wooden bat for baseball. Bellinger also noticed the difference between Division I and Division II talent.
"The speed of the pitching and the players," he said. "Most of those guys (Division I) were drafted or close to it."
Bellinger's continued improvement will keep him on the pro radar. Still, he's not counting on a play-for-pay career and mentioned his interest in becoming a state trooper.
"If it's there," he said of a pro career. "I've been playing baseball for 16, 17 years. I've had fun, and I have to accept reality. Someday it will come to an end."
ZAC BELLINGER
BIRTHDATE: Nov. 23, 1992 (21)
PARENTS: Doug and Amy Bellinger
MAJOR: Business Administration
NOTABLE: Zac's father played baseball at the University of Dayton