Kinee helps direct N-G's winning campaign over Prep Charter

ON A HOT and sweaty afternoon, when everyone would have killed for personal water fountains, Joe Kinee emerged as a hero.

Quite fitting.

Away from Ss. Neumann-Goretti High, Kinee, a Maine signee, is known for his multidimensional baseball skills. Ah, but in the building, he's still famous for the successful campaign he mounted last spring to become senior class president.

"Lots of kids were putting up these huge signs all over school," he said. "It was like everybody was doing the same thing. I figured I'd try something different."

Free Drinks on Me

Vote for Joe Kinee

As the students navigated their way through the hallways, with the election only days away, those were the signs they saw at two prominent water fountains.

"I went into the principal's office and made them on the computer," Kinee said. "They were only 8 1/2-by-11, or whatever size the paper was.

"The water at some of the fountains isn't too delicious. I only put the signs at the two fountains with the coldest water because I knew everyone would use them. Lots of kids were telling me what a great idea it was. They were thanking me for the free drinks. I wanted it to be fresh. I did it only a couple days ahead of time, because I didn't want the joke to get stale."

Yesterday at Ashburn Field in South Philly's FDR Park, Kinee (kuh-NEE) and N-G met Prep Charter for the Class AA City Title.

Won the game, too, by a 5-2 score.

Though Kinee allowed only three hits - two didn't leave the infield - he walked six and plunked two and was forced to serve as a cheerleader, while standing in leftfield, for the final two outs after being yanked by coach Mike Zolk in favor of sophomore lefthander Pat Doudican.

The count was 2-0 and he'd free-passed the previous two batters.

"I really wanted to finish," Kinee said. "It's not something that's really your choice, though. I wasn't finding the plate, so I understood. I had faith in Pat. He's done a good job all year. It wasn't like [Zolk] was just putting some unknown thrower out there."

With Kinee yelling nonstop encouragement, Doudican retired Joe Suppa on a popup and Michael Lyons on a fly ball.

The Saints were happy, of course, but major amounts of emotion were not displayed. Everyone was pretty much drained after this South Philly showdown.

Nine PC players have parents who attended the ol' St. John Neumann or St. Maria Goretti. PC's starting pitcher, senior righty Peter Piccoli, played for N-G as a frosh. Even the school's current rosters include opposite-school stepbrothers. Justin Bocelli started at second for PC. Chris "Chill" Cilberto pinch-hit for N-G and got plunked.

While PC's coaches complained that the change had not been provided to their scorekeeper, plate ump Perry Petrongola had to call it quits because of dehydration/heat exhaustion. After a 12-minute delay, second-base ump Marlon Tatom was behind the plate and Derrick Segers, still around as a spectator after working the earlier game, La Salle's triumph over Frankford for the Class AAAA City Title, took over at second.

"The heat didn't get to me much at all," Kinee said. "I really stayed hydrated. I felt pretty good, actually."

If only his pitches had followed suit . . .

"My delivery has been too stiff," he said. "I'm not throwing as freely as I did last year. It's like I'm working instead of just pitching. It's like I'm trying to meet too many people's expectations.

"I have to get away from that and pitch my own game."

Though PC jumped in front in the second inning, 2-0, as Keegan McKoskey fired a two-run single down the leftfield line, the Saints answered with two in the fourth and three in the sixth. Only two RBI were garnered - on a single by Brian Verratti and a sacrifice fly by Joey Glennon. The other runs scored on a balk, passed ball and error.

Charlie Jerla, the No. 8 hitter, did go 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

"This was big, a South Philly rivalry with Public-Catholic mixed in," Kinee said. "I've been playing on teams with Pete Piccoli my whole life. I knew he'd be tough. I didn't think he'd no-hit us or anything, though. I wasn't sure about the score, but I was confident we'd win."

Kinee, who lives on South 16th Street near Porter, intends to major in business at Maine.

If he decides to mount a campaign for some office or another up there, he'll need new signs. The famous ones have disappeared.

"Hey, there weren't too fancy," he said. "If we had a computer and printer here, I could make more right now."