Staten Island's Chiaramonte at home in Brooklyn

Chiaramonte_001.JPGAlyson Chiaramonte is putting the finishing touches on a record-setting career at St. Josephâs College in Brooklyn.

GREAT KILLS -- When Alyson Chiaramonte decided to transfer from Dowling College after her first semester at the Division II Long Island school, it was for one simple reason.

“I was homesick,” the Great Kills resident said. “I liked everything else, I just wanted to be closer to home.”

The former Advance All-Star ( Moore Catholic High School) softball player enrolled at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, and moved in with her grandmother Theresa Lanza, who lived five minutes from the Clinton Hill school.

Frank Carbone has been smiling ever since.

Carbone is the Bears’ athletic director and softball coach. He has been at the school for 15 years and has enjoyed watching Ms. Chiaramonte establish herself as the best player in school history over the past four seasons.

“Coming from a scholarship situation, we knew she was a notch or two above this level,” said Carbone, “but she has far exceeded our expectations.”

The right-handed pitcher has rewritten the softball record book (as the accompanying list can attest) and continues to register eye-opening performances, like this past weekend’s back-to-back perfect games, raising her career total to four.

“Aly always had the velocity, but it has been really nice to see her maturation process the past few years,” Carbone said. “She has evolved into a complete pitcher. Now, she gets hitters out, she doesn’t just overpower them. It’s a joy to watch.”

It speaks volumes that Carbone has so much confidence in Ms. Chiaramonte’s understanding of the game now, that he allows her to call her own pitches.

While nobody could ever question Ms. Chiaramonte’s competitiveness and desire once she stepped on the mound, you couldn’t say the same for other aspects of the game.

“I always hated to lose,” Ms. Chiaramonte said, “but now my mindset has changed. I care less about me and more about my team. I feel I’ve matured in both life and softball.

“Plus, I practice so much harder; put in the extra work and I see the results.”

That hasn’t escaped Carbone’s watchful eyes, either.

“She’s done the necessary core conditioning work; she’s run cross country in the fall and all off-season,” said Carbone. “She is just so much stronger now.”

When combined with her growth as a teammate, as a leader, both subtlety and vocally, Carbone noted, “it’s even more satisfying to watch.”

Ms. Chiaramonte’s pitching numbers this year (10-3 record, 1.21 ERA, 107 strikeouts in 81 innings and just 7 walks) are off the charts good, as usual.

What may surprise some, is that her offensive numbers are equally off the charts.

In fact, she leads the team in hitting (.444), hits (928) slugging percentage (.714), extra-base hits (12), is second in RBIs (17) and has struck out only five times in 63 at-bats.

“Pitching always came naturally to me,” said Ms. Chiaramonte, “and it never really mattered what I did hitting-wise. But when I got here, I was going to be counted on to hit ... and I had to really work at it.”

Carbone agrees.

“She’s in the cages all the time; always asking for help or more work. I’d love to say that I helped develop her as a hitter,” Carbone laughed, “but it really was all the hard work she put in.”

St. Joseph’s has become an official NCAA Division III sports program, which has helped improve the quality of the schedule, but it has no recognized conference to call its own.

“Being NCAA recognized has helped us get looked at differently by our opponents and clearly has made the games more intense,” said Ms. Chiaramonte. “We just have to keep winning to get where we want to go.”

The Bears have their sights set on a fourth straight trip to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championships and, are in the midst of a record-setting 15-game winning streak.

But even if there is no happy ending, Ms. Chiaramonte wouldn’t change a thing about the past four years.

“I am so happy here; it’s a smaller school and we are like a family,” she said, “and when I’m here, I feel like I am home.”

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