Forcellini helps La Salle defeat Father Judge

Even at a school with strong academics, mentions of certain medical conditions can produce blank stares.

Followed by wiseacre questions.

How can things from a roof be attached to your back?

Joe Forcellini, a 6-2, 195-pound senior first baseman (and part-time closer) for La Salle High's baseball team, heard that one and others during a recent bout with shingles.

"It didn't cause me to miss any games," Forcellini said, "but there was a decent amount of pain. It began with a small rash on my back and I told my mom [Denise]. By the next morning, it was bigger, and since she's a nurse, she knew we had to get it taken care of.

"All my teammates wanted to see it. They were making their funny comments."

Monday, some of those same guys could be heard borrowing, and slightly altering, a line from "Star Wars."

May the Forc be with us.

In a Catholic Red contest, in the cleanup spot, Forcellini (force-uh-leeney) went 2-for-3 with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored as the Explorers tamed visiting Father Judge, 8-2.

There was a one-run single to center in the first. And a two-run single to right in the third. Following a fly to right in the fourth, Forcellini got one last shot in the sixth and milked his free pass. He scored the final run three batters later, when Corey Baiada drew another walk.

After batting third last season, Forcellini fell to sixth this year on the heels of a minislump. He has been back in the cleanup spot for about 2 weeks.

"Since I jumped back in there, things have been going well," he said.

Exhibit A: base hit No. 1, which followed singles by Ryan Otis and Colin Pyne.

"That came on a hit-and-run," Forcellini said. "I was able to get a good pitch and hit it hard up the middle, then those guys did the rest with their running."

Exhibit B: base hit No. 2, which followed a single by Jules Arici and double-error combo, off Pyne's ground ball, that left runners on second and third.

"I was looking for a first pitch to drive," he said. "He [Kurt Sowa] gave me a pretty good fastball, but I was able to hit it hard the other way."

Forcellini's original top sport was basketball. That helped get him to La Salle, as did his father's friendship with longtime baseball coach Joe Parisi (Lou earned tuition money for Bishop McDevitt and, later, for college by working part time at La Salle in the maintenance department), and he stayed with the sport through junior year.

He ditched it midway through that season, in part, because he needed minor wrist surgery necessitated by tendinitis.

"I wanted to be as ready as I could for baseball," he noted.

Now, his duties have expanded.

"I pitched some in 10th grade," Forcellini said, "then not at all last year coming off the surgery. In the beginning of this season, we thought we'd be a little light on pitching. It hasn't turned out that way, but I appreciate this chance I'm getting.

"I really like closing. I love the adrenaline thing of me vs. the batter. Nothing better than that."

La Salle rang up five runs in the third, thanks also to a wild pitch and Tyler Kozeniewski's two-run double. Pyne, who went 3-for-4 with a double, collected his one RBI on a single in the two-run sixth.

Righthanders Nick Burns (senior) and Kevin Long (junior) combined on a one-hitter, Cory Kreamer's single to right to lead off the third. A high pitch count (120), resulting from eight strikeouts and six walks, convinced Parisi to insert Long for the final 1 innings. Sowa, on a sac fly in the fourth, bagged Judge's lone RBI.

Forcellini, who lives in Hatfield, is drawing Division II interest. His career goal is teacher-coach or businessman.

And he wants to keep collecting shingles, er, singles. Along with extra-base hits.

"Luckily, we caught it early," Forcellini said. "It was tough there for a while. At least it wasn't bad enough to keep me out of action. Playing helped me keep my mind off it."