Falcone shuts down Iona

AFTER HEARING about the way Iona Prep had shellacked PSAL teams in the Monroe Tournament, St. Joseph by-the-sea coach Gordon Rugg changed his starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game against the Gaels.

Public school teams tend to throw gas, Rugg said, so he wanted to see if Iona could handle the breaking pitch and decided to throw Chris Falcone at the Gaels.

The change worked to perfection.

“I was right for once in my life,” Rugg said after Falcone tossed a complete game to help visiting St. Joe’s beat Iona Prep, 1-0.

Initially, it looked like Falcone would get touched up, with the first two Iona batters reaching base. But he worked out of the first inning jam and got better from there.

“He gets more confidence (as he goes along),” Rugg said.

Falcone — who said he was “in the zone” — finished with 10 strikeouts and would have retired the final 13 batters of the game had it not been for a bad bounce in the seventh inning that sent a ground ball over the second baseman’s head.

On the other side of the diamond Iona pitcher Tim Mccarthy threw incredibly well, giving up one run while also going the distance. His lone mistake came in the third inning against Nick Gonchail, who smacked an 0-2 pitch into right-center for a two- out RBI double.

“That’s a great way to start off the season,” Gonchail said of his hit, which came in his first at-bat of league play.

Iona coach Fred Gallo was frustrated by his team’s lack of aggression at the plate. Four of Falcone’s 10 strikeouts were looking.

“The only way to hit it is to swing it,” Gallo said.

In the third inning, base-running blunders cost the Gaels, as two runners were caught stealing - including one who was nailed at the plate on a double-steal attempt.

With a win over a team that is considered one of the best in the Catholic league, St. Joe’s surely opened some eyes.

“That's a ballclub,” Gallo said.