"I had to step off the mound and look around. To actually see what I was doing - pitching at Citizens Bank Park," he said. "I mean, there were more fans in one section than at any game, total, I pitched in all year."

So, how often did Harvey soak in the scene?

"After every other pitch," he said.

This year, the CBP experience for Harvey and his Catholic League teammates was one-and-done.

Though the CL won twice at Penn's Meiklejohn Stadium to advance to the Phillies' home and the semifinal round of the Carpenter Cup Classic, a solid effort yesterday afternoon was not enough and the CL fell to Suburban One National/Bicentennial, 3-2.

The winners will meet Burlington County in today's 10 a.m. championship game.

Harvey will have a memory to last a lifetime.

The 6-2, 190-pound righthander, who recently completed his junior year at Kennedy-Kenrick High, pitched the maximum number of innings (three) allowed by tournament rules.

Dominant is somehow not strong enough of a word for his performance.

Harvey faced 10 batters, striking out five with high-octane gas. He allowed just one baserunner and that came on a two-out walk.

"I don't know what the radar gun said," Harvey said. "But I thought I was poppin' the mitt pretty good. This was as hard as I've thrown all season. Well, either this one or the game [vs. Catholic Blue foe Neumann-Goretti]."

A steady diet of short outings must agree with Harvey. While representing an AAU team called the Bandits, he had worked three innings on Saturday and another on Sunday.

"My arm's in pretty good shape. It wasn't that much of a hassle," he said. "I usually can bounce back like this, so I wasn't surprised. I did pitch a lot of innings for K-K.

"I just wanted to get guys out. Didn't do too shabby."

Before their game, the CL guys hung out at the top of the lower-deck stands behind the first-base side. They had a long time to get antsy, too, as Suburban One American/Continental scored eight runs in the bottom of the ninth while falling to Burlco, 14-9.

Finally, it was time to walk down to field level and then across to the visiting dugout.

Some guys' eyes were mistaken for saucers.

"I don't really get nervous . . . pretty much ever," Harvey said. "I was just thinking about how great it was to be playing here. How I was going to get a chance to pitch on that mound against such a high-caliber opponent.

"I haven't been here yet this year for a Phillies game, but I usually come to two or three. I just wanted to be amped. To bear down. To not think about the other stuff and make sure I got guys out. Raise my bar."

The CL trailed 3-0 when Harvey made his entrance one out into the third.

SOBN had touched righthander Kevin Gillen (St. Joseph's Prep) for three runs in the second inning, thanks largely to a trio of doubles. The big blow was a two-out, two-run shot to right-center by Billy Fleming (Council Rock South).

The CL scored singletons in the fourth - a two-out walk to Al Baur (Neumann-Goretti), a triple to right-center by Tyler Freeman (La Salle) - and fifth. In that frame, Mike Riverso (N-G) milked a one-out walk, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a semi-liner to right by Brian O'Grady (Archbishop Wood).

After not striking out through 7 2/3 innings, the CL was victimized for punchouts four straight times by Holy Ghost Prep's Andrew Strenge as the game wound down.

Also pitching well for the CL was junior righthander Ryan Etsell, who allowed one hit and no walks over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He whiffed two.

Though Harvey had some good hitting moments this spring for K-K, he wanted only to pitch in the Classic.

"I love to pitch so much more than I like to hit," said Harvey, whose cousin, Germantown Academy freshman catcher Chris Harvey, appeared in the tournament for Inter-Ac/Independents. "I get joy out of striking people out. Or just getting them out.

"My main thought today was to locate my pitches as much as I could. Really, the only time I get in trouble is when I get balls up. That didn't happen."

Neither did a win, but Joe Harvey left with an overall good feeling.

"Just being here was awesome," he said. *