The Beasts from the East are back, and they’re heading to Bristol.
Toms River East Little League — powered by solid defense, clutch pitching and a three-run homer from Carson Frazier — defeated Hillsdale 8-4 on Sunday night, capturing the New Jersey State title.
The win sealed the 12-year-old All-Stars’ berth to the Mid Atlantic regional tournament in Bristol, Conn, which kicks off Sunday.
“We preach defense and our defense really stepped up yesterday,” coach Paul Mika told The Post. “And 17 of the 18 outs were all on defense. We had one strikeout and that was the last out of the game. It was very impressive.”
Their bats weren’t too shabby either, recording 12 hits in the outing.
The new champs pulled ahead 2-0 in the first inning, but hit the gas pedal in the second when Carson — the nephew of former Met and Yankee Todd Frazier, who in 1998 won the Little League World Series with a Toms River East squad dubbed “Beasts from the East” — hit a three-run homer into left center.
Toms River East exited the second inning with a commanding 8-0 lead.
Along with the moonshot, Carson was the starting pitcher. But during the sixth inning, Hillsdale — a scrappy team that fought its way out of the losers bracket in both the district and sectional play — cut Toms River East’s margin to four.
“Carson’s pitch count was getting up there, and he did what he needed to do,” said Mika, who brought closer Dominic Roma to the mound with one out.
Toms River East’s Max Mika turned a ground out to second base into the second out. Then Roma struck out the next batter solidifying the win and the organization’s first state title since 1999 when it made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
“We brought in Roma to close the game, and the rest is history. It’s extremely exciting. I can’t put it into words at this point. This is something we’ve dreamed about for a long time. We’re pumped and ready to go,” added Mika.
The team will play against the Delaware state champs, Canal Little League on Sunday at 10 a.m. The winner of the tournament will advance to the Little League World Series. Viewers can catch the early games on ESPN+ while the semifinals and finals will be on ESPN.
“We’re all fired up,” Charlie Frazier Jr., Carson’s father and Todd’s brother, told The Post. “I woke up to 170 text messages.”
The Frazier clan including Jeff, Charlie Jr. and their families gathered at their parents’ Toms River home on Monday to celebrate the win and unwind after an intense state tournament.
Todd is now representing Team USA in the Olympics, where his squad fell to Japan in extra innings. But as Charlie Jr, noted, “There’s a loser’s bracket so there’s still a chance for him to get gold.”
Regardless of Team USA’s performance, the Fraziers expect to have a family reunion in Bristol.
The Toddfather told The Post that he’d be following his nephew’s run closely and planned to be in Bristol if they went the distance. “I’m so excited for these guys,” he said.