Updated: Sat., May. 29, 2010, 9:40 PM Say it ain't so, Joe: Fiori throws gem in 2-1 loss


BY DYLAN BUTLER Last Updated: 9:40 PM, May 29, 2010 Posted: 3:50 PM, May 29, 2010


Joe Fiori deserved a better fate.


The Monsignor Farrell ace was outstanding in his best outing of his senior season. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and his lone walk came in the sixth.


Yet, Fiori left Kaiser Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University Saturday afternoon as the hard-luck loser, dropping a 2-1 decision to All Hallows in Game 2 of a best-of-three CHSAA Class A intersectional third round qualifying series.


“Joe was fantastic,” Farrell coach Bob Mulligan said. “The effort he gave was as good an effort as he gave all year. We made a couple of mistakes in the sixth and it cost us.”


Fiori struggled in his last two outings, but he came back in a big way Saturday. Utilizing a devastating curveball and spotting his fastball, Fiori struck out four in six innings. The only base runner that reached in the first four innings was Julian Mateo, thanks to an error by first baseman Pete Guinta.


A bloop single to right by Isiah Reyes with one out in the fifth inning broke up Fiori’s no-hit bid.


“He was getting his curveball over, which makes him a much better pitcher and he’s always got life on his fastball,” Mulligan said. “He threw strikes today, but unfortunately that two-out walk in the sixth came back to haunt him a bit.”


Indeed. Norwood, who lined out to Gary Boardman at third in the fourth, took a Fiori fastball and launched it into left field. Mike DiPaola took a step in and then sprinted back, but the ball sailed over his head. Norwood had an RBI double and the game was tied at 1.


“The ball hit to left field was a tough play, a line drive right at him,” Mulligan said. “They say that’s always the toughest play. He might have taken a step in and before you knew it, it was over his head.”


Boardman then threw away Irwin Zorilla’s chopper, allowing pinch runner James Kane to score. Suddenly, Fiori’s 1-0 lead was a 2-1 deficit.


“[Fiori] had a good breaking pitch so he was changing speeds a lot,” All Hallows coach Ed Gutierrez said. “We basically were pulling off the ball a bit on his breaking ball, but I was trying to get them to be aggressive early with a fastball. We did that later on in the ballgame.”


Farrell, which won the opener, 7-4, Friday night at the College of Staten Island, returns to Kaiser Stadium Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for the decisive third game. Mulligan is unsure who he’ll go with in the elimination game, but he does hope Fiori hasn’t thrown his last high school pitch.


“He pitched great and it was good to see,” Mulligan said. “Hopefully he’ll get another chance in the intersectionals.” dbutler@nypost.com


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