Extraordinary Joe
MCMURRAY — Simply put, Joe Alampi was on.
The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic senior right-hander tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out 10 Thursday as the Trojans defeated Conemaugh Township, 5-0, in a PIAA Class 2A baseball quarterfinal at Peterswood Park.
“Joe was tremendous,” CWNC coach John Haggerty said. “We rested him a lot early in the season so he would be stronger later on.
“He just pounded the glove. It was fun to watch.”
It wasn't so fun to hit.
The Indians (15-8) saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end. Alampi, a Mars resident, did not walk a batter. All five Conemaugh hits were singles and the Indians only got two runners as far as second base.
“He had our hitters guessing,” Conemaugh coach San Zambanini said. “We knew the kid threw strikes and I wanted our guys to be a little more aggressive at the plate than we were.
“But this is the state playoffs, down to the final eight teams. Everybody is good.”
Alampi was locked in a pitcher's duel with the Indians' Cody Platt through four scoreless innings.
The game was still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth as Adam Cruttenden came to the to the plate with two outs and no one on. Cruttenden blooped a single to left field.
Nate Saar beat out an infield hit and Danny Lynch walked to load the bases. Platt got ahead of Ryan Feczko 0-2.
Feczko delivered a bases-clearing double over the left fielder's head.
“The big blow of the game “ Zambanini said. “It was coming at some point and they got it.”“That was a fastball high and outside,” the left-hand hitting Feczko said. “I just took it the other way. When I saw the left fielder's back, I knew it was gonna drop. That was a great feeling.“The way Joe was pitching, one run would have been enough.”Alampi added some icing on the cake with a run-scoring single in the sixth. He later scored on a Robby Randolph sacrifice fly.He shut down a Conemaugh lineup that averages .324 as a team and scored 22 runs in its last two games.“All I wanted to do was get ahead withmy fastball and throw them off balance with my curve,” Alampi said. “I felt strong early, then got a little tired. That was a hot sun.“I felt real strong in that last inning. I think the adrenaline was kicking in.”Alampi fanned the first two hitters in the seventh. He ended the game by fielding a comebacker to the mound. He threw 91 pitches, 64 for strikes.“We got some clutch hits late,” Haggerty said. “I like the way we're playing right now.”CWNC (20-5) has won 12 of its last 14 games.The Trojans will face Rocky Grove, a 7-3 winner over Southern Huntingdon, in the state semifinals Monday at a site and time to be determined.Conemaugh Twp 000 000 0 — 0 4 0CWNC 000 032 x — 5 5 1W: Joe Alampi 7IP (10K, 0BB). L: Cody Platt 5IP (3K, 3BB).Conemaugh Twp (15-8): Jordan Poznanski 1B, Cody Platt 1B, Gage Lewis 1B, Connor Adams 1BCWNC (20-5): Ryan Feczko 2B 3-RBI, Joe Alampi 2B RBI, Adam Cruttenden 1B, Robby Randolph RBI, Nate Saar 2B 1BMonday: CWNC vs. Rocky Grove in the PIAA 2A semifinals, site and time to be determined
