With two wins already under their belts, the Toms River Little League All-Stars are settling into the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.

Toms River All-Stars celebrate winning New Jersey's Little League championship
Toms River All-Stars celebrate winning New Jersey's Little League championship (Photo credit Toms River Little League)
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The New Jersey State Champions face West Salisbury, Md., on Tuesday, and Toms River Coach Peter Avallone said he's feeling good about his team's chances.

"We got up here on Thursday; we didn't actually get to play our first game until Saturday, so we sat here for two days and I think the pressure builds because we hadn't been on a field," he said. "But, now that we're two games in, the kids are relaxed. They're ready to go."

Avallone said his team needs one more win to advance to the semifinals this Friday. So even if Toms River loses to Maryland, the team can still move forward if it wins Wednesday's game.

"You got to be a state champion to be here," Avallone said. "Every team here is a good team, but we like our chances. We had not played well yet, and we're 2-and-0. The baseball gods are going to hopefully get us to play a little better, and I like our chances."

The top four teams out of the six in the tournament make the semifinals.

"Three wins will guarantee to get you into the semis," Avallone said.

Toms River second baseman Vinnie Rose said he's excited for Tuesday's game because the team has already won its first two, and he has been sizing up the competition from Maryland.

"I think we could beat them because we saw them play already," Rose said.

Catcher Connor Cino sounded confident too.

"I'm excited. We're ready to go. We're ready to keep going, keep on pushing," Cino said.

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