Edison's Bellinger lands baseball scholarship at Va. Commonwealth

A phone call from former Thomas A. Edison High School and Virginia Commonwealth University pitching star Matt Burch helped get Zac Bellinger a look from VCU's coaching staff.

But the fact that Bellinger, a rising senior at Edison, ended up receiving a scholarship offer to play baseball at Division I VCU is mostly his own doing.

"Ever since his sophomore year, he's set a goal to play college baseball," Edison varsity baseball coach Mike Bennett said. "I told him way back then he can definitely play college baseball. What level is going to be up to how hard he works.

"Ever since the conversation we had, I haven't coached a harder worker. Everything he's going through is not really a direct reflection of anyone except Zac himself and the time and effort he has put into athletics and academics."

Bellinger verbally committed to play baseball at VCU after making an impromptu visit to the campus in Richmond, Va., in early July. He will make things official in November when he signs a national letter of intent. He said the scholarship will cover about half of his costs at VCU, with full scholarships a rarity in baseball.

At the time he made his visit, Bellinger was playing in the All-Star Baseball Classic in Richmond. VCU assistant coach Cory Whitby, made aware of Bellinger by Burch, then invited Bellinger over to see the campus. Whitby was Burch's catcher at Virginia Commonwealth.

Bellinger said he was particularly impressed with VCU's "amazing" baseball field, which the Rams share with the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels minor league team.

Bellinger then impressed VCU's coaches enough at the East Cobb Showcase in Atlanta to receive a scholarship offer from head coach Paul Keyes, who was also head coach when Burch played there from 1996 to 1998.

Burch, a pitcher, was drafted in the first round by the Kansas City Royals following his junior season.

"It's a neat thing to have a kid from the high school I graduated from headed to the university that I attended and played for," said Burch, who was inducted into the VCU Baseball Hall of Fame last year.

"I'm looking forward to following his career there."

Having his college choice squared away more than a month before his senior year starts is a relief for Bellinger.

"I'm more comfortable now. I don't have to worry about any scouts showing up and trying to be on my 'A' game," he said. "There's no pressure. I can just play my game of baseball instead of trying to go all-out for them."

Bellinger's game was good enough for him to win the Harp O'Donnell Baseball Award as the top high school player in the Elmira area. He was later named a third-team Class C all-state pick by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Last season, Bellinger batted .600 with nine home runs to help the Spartans to a 20-2 record and the Section 4 Class C championship.

"He's got one of those sweet lefty swings that people talk about," Bennett said. "The nice thing about Zac is he can hit for power, he can hit for average. He led our team in walks for the past three seasons as well. He's very patient and takes exactly what the pitcher will give him."

Bellinger plays catcher for the Spartans, but he could end up playing first base or outfield at VCU, which had a record of 34-26-1 this year and won its fifth Colonial Athletic Association championship in the last nine seasons.

Although Burch and Bennett said Bellinger's own hard work and talent are the reasons he ended up receiving a scholarship, the 17-year-old from Elmira made sure to thank Burch and Bennett for their efforts.

He said he owes this scholarship to Burch and credited much of his baseball development to Bennett, who was named to the St. Bonaventure Hall of Fame following a highly successful baseball career with the Bonnies.

"He's always been there for me. He's made me do my best," Bellinger said of Bennett. "He's always pushed me to go beyond my playing ability."

It has been a productive summer for the Bellinger family in terms of baseball scholarships. Southside High School's Brad Bellinger, Zac's cousin, verbally committed to pitch for St. John's. Zac's father, Doug Bellinger, played college baseball at the University of Dayton; Brad's father, Joe Bellinger, had a tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I'm seven hours away; he's five hours away from home. It's going to be a lot of travel for the family to watch us, but they're excited," Zac said.

St. John's eliminated VCU from the NCAA Tournament this year and Bellinger said the teams are scheduled to play next year. He's hopeful the teams will see each other in the 2012 season.