Frabasile gives record crowd a reason to cheer

By Brian Meadows
Published: July 07, 2010

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Statesville Owls first baseman Joey Frabasile is a New York native but he has taken a liking to Statesville's southern hospitality.

"(Monday) night was an awesome experience," said Frabasile, who keyed the Owls' 6-2 Southern Collegiate Baseball League victory over Tennessee Tornado before an Owls record crowd at Statesville High.

The announced paid attendance — not including children 12 and under — was 827.

The Owls lead the SCBL in attendance, but Monday's draw was their best since 423 paid to see them rally to beat the Carolina Stingers of Fort Mill, S.C., 5-4 in the June 1 season opener.

A 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt junior at UNC Greensboro, Frabasile said the Spartans get roughly 300 fans for their home games, maybe more if they're hosting a big-name program.

So playing in front of nearly 1,000 people was a big deal.

"We always love coming home to play here," Frabasile said. "Everyone is so supportive."

The Owls (14-16), who face the Tornado (18-13) in Johnson City, Tenn., today, are 9-7 in games at Statesville High.

Frabasile said he was prepared to go home to Bronx, N.Y., this summer before Owls general manager and co-owner Hugh McBride asked him to stick around and play for the Owls. McBride's son, Wes, also plays for the Owls, and he and Frabasile are teammates and roommates at UNCG.

A Fordham Prep graduate, Frabasile said he's glad he stayed in North Carolina rather than returning to N.Y.

"Oh yeah, without a doubt," he said. "Playing in front of all our great fans makes it that much more fun. We feed off their energy."

That reaction reciprocates.

Frabasile brought Owls fans to their feet in the bottom of the sixth inning Monday.

His two-out double emptied the bases and moved Statesville into the lead for good. He came to the plate after Tennessee lifted struggling starter Lee Stoppelman in favor of Tyler Walker. Stoppelman had just hit Andrew Rash (Virginia Tech) with a pitch to load the bases.

Frabasile drilled the first pitch he saw from Walker deep into the outfield, and the Owls went from trailing 2-1 to leading 4-2.

"I was in the on-deck circle and Mr. McBride told me to go up there and have fun," Frabasile said. "I got it in my mind that the pitcher was not going to beat me. I knew he was going to challenge me with a fastball; the bases were loaded and he had no place to put me. I wanted to put good contact on the ball and fortunately something good happened."

Coupled with his first-inning sacrifice fly, Frabasile finished with a game-high four RBIs, raising his season total to 20.

Only Rash has driven in more runs (22) for the Owls.