CHSAA PLAYOFFS: Molloy 3 – Iona Prep 0
Matt Fealey rarely cracks 80 mph on his fastball and doesn’t have a particularly fiery demeanor on the mound. But Archbishop Molloy head coach Jack Curran loves having him on the mound.
“He’s a pitcher,” Curran said. “He really knows what he’s doing out there and sometimes that’s the most important thing.”
Curran’s point was proven yesterday, as Fealey shut down Iona Prep, 3-0, at Fordham University in the CHSAA playoffs. The Stanners will play again in tomorrow’s championship game at Shea Stadium against the winner of today’s game between St. Francis Prep and Moore Catholic at Molloy College. Moore Catholic forced a deciding game by knocking off St. Francis Prep, 7-5, yesterday.
“This is so sweet for us,” said Fealey, a lanky, 6-foot-4 senior who will play for Yale next season. He struck out seven and walked none in the two-hit gem. “It’s been so long since we’ve won a title and it’s really exciting to have the chance.”
Molloy (20-5) last won the crown in 1998, which qualifies as a drought for Curran’s troops. He will be making his 26th appearance in the championship. Iona Prep finished 26-2.
Few were harder to get to than this one. Yesterday’s game was a 1-0 nailbiter until Matt Rizzotti’s two-run single in the top of the seventh. And even that hit didn’t come easily.
Iona Prep starter Andrew Perrino nearly got out of a bases-loaded, no out jam. With two outs, Rizzotti bounced one down the first base line, but the ball went just foul. The sophomore came back with the clutch single.
“I definitely felt like I had a second chance,” Rizzotti said of his hit, one of five given up by Perrino.
Once he did, Fealey took care of the rest. With the way he was throwing, the Gaels would have been hard-pressed to score off of him no matter how long the game lasted.
“I was able to spot my pitches,” said Fealey. “I got into a little bit of a groove.”
It’s no surprise that the unflappable Fealey would be given to understatement. Fealey surrendered a single in the second and another in the fourthand neither reached second.
