RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Joe Giulietti starts on the mound for South Carolina during a Little League World Series game against Massachusetts during the tournament.

One can call this the first chapter in a story still being authored, but Joe Giulietti certainly is creating a page turner.

The Irmo, South Carolina Little Leaguer already had established himself as one of his league’s all-time greats before his team captured a Southeast championship and reached the Little League World Series. Once here, he has put on a show which may well keep people talking long after he has returned home.

Irmo’s spectacular run continued Tuesday when Giulietti went 2 for 3 with a double as Irmo defeated Hawaii, 3-0 and reached Wednesday’s night’s U.S. semifinal against South Dakota, which ended after press time.

Giulietti has put on quite a show while here. He has not allowed a hit in two pitching starts, while going 4 for 7 with a grand slam, two doubles, four RBIs and two runs.

And now the world has learned just how marvelous this player is. He is nowhere near a finished product, but Giulietti is laying quite a foundation to build future success upon.

“I think we all know that Joe is special,” Irmo manager Dave Bogan said. “He’s one of our two or three leaders on the field. That’s the thing about Joe. It’s not just his skills which are impressive. He’s a leader on the field, too.”

Giulietti led Irmo to history this summer, helping it capture its first regional championship and make its first Series appearance. Along the way, he often left opposing teams and coaches in awe.

That included at the Series. Giulietti excelled in all facets and was especially dominant on the mound. Standing near 6-feet and throwing in the mid-70s, Giulietti did not allow a hit or run in 9 1/3 masterful innings pitched. He shutdown both Massachusetts and Nevada, striking out 20 as well. Nevada won 1-0 in seven innings, scoring after Giulietti reached his pitch limit, but the right-hander was nearly perfect, allowing just a first inning walk and retiring the final 17 batters he faced.

All this against a team which had scored at least five runs in its 13 previous games played this summer.

“I cannot give enough praise to Joe Giulietti,” Nevada manager TJ Fechser said. “For me, he’s one of the greatest pitchers I’ve seen in youth baseball.”

It’s not just that Giulietti throws hard. He also can buckle the knees with off-speed pitches and brilliantly locates those pitches. Add in poise and a fierce competitive drive and one has a pitcher who literally was unhittable at the Series.

“He was great. He threw about 10 innings and didn’t allow a hit,” Bogan said. “That goes to show what a talent he is.”

That extends to the plate where Giulietti became one of the country’s most feared hitters this summer. The numbers tell one story, but what transpired at the Southeast Regional championship drives that home better. Defending world champion Lake Mary, Florida held a three-run lead with two outs in the sixth inning and the bases were loaded.

Rather than pitch to Giulietti, Florida intentionally walked him to bring home a run and put the winning runner on base. One could hardly blame Florida for trying to make someone else beat them either since Giulietti hit .636 at regionals with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and seven runs. But Brady Westbrooks made the strategy backfire a batter later, smashing a walk-off three-run double as Giulietti showed off his blazing speed and sprinted home with the winning run as Irmo won, 5-4.

In his Series debut against Massachusetts, Giulietti already had doubled and scored when he came up in the third inning. Again the bases loaded, but Massachusetts pitched to him. Giulietti made that strategy blow up when he launched a mammoth grand slam and broke the game open, giving Irmo an 8-0 lead. It was the first grand slam hit by a South Carolina player in Series history, and highlights the dilemma Giulietti provides. It seemingly presents a no-win situation.

“It felt amazing. I was able to stay within myself and not take my head off the ball,” Giulietti said afterward. “I’m just trying to hit it hard somewhere.”

Giulietti has done that all year. Well, pretty much he first started playing baseball. Playing in a baseball talent-laden state in a rugged region and against the country’s best teams, Giulietti has dazzled throughout. He is a five-tool player who can hit for power but who also has the speed and the intelligence to turn a single into a double like he did against Hawaii.

In his next at-bat, Giulietti again hustled, this time sprinting out of the box and beating out an infield single hit at the shortstop on the outfield grass where he had been playing to respect his power. When Westbrooks singled to left field a batter later, Giulietti never broke stride, somehow making it from first to third.

Giulietti is a player driven since last August, determined to not let history repeat itself. He was one of nine Irmo players who competed as 11-year-olds on a state champion which went 0-2 at regionals, losing two close games, including against Lake Mary. He would not let that happen this year, excelling in all facets while going 1-0 with a 1.24 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings at regionals.

“The experience here is amazing. Last year I was like, ‘Man I wish I could be here. We wanted to be here last year, but didn’t quite make it. We lost to Lake Mary. I wanted to be there so bad to help the team.”

Giulietti has helped Irmo more than he can imagine. The production he generates is one thing, but the example likely is equally powerful. When teammates see a player as gifted as Giulietti taking no short cuts and putting in relentless work each day it can only make them want to go just as hard.

So, while he is hitting, pitching, fielding and hitting well, Giulietti also is doing something equally powerful–he is making his teammates better. Now, they are one of the world’s best teams.

“The best thing about Joe in terms of baseball is he works hard,” Bogan said. “You don’t have to ask him to do much. He’s hitting on the tees, doing arm exercises. He does all that stuff on his own because he likes it.”

Irmo sure likes having Giulietti playing there. If the future is as exciting as the present, Giulietti will be ecstatic for quite a long time. Because it speaks volumes that Bogan has seen Pirates prospect Will Taylor, College of Charleston’s Kevin Semonsky and Troy University’s Caden Reeves play in Irmo and yet still says Giulietti is better at this age than all three standouts were.

“Those are three best I’ve seen come through Irmo LL and I’ve told people all along that Joe is better than all of three,” Bogan said. “No offense to those players and that doesn’t mean Joe’s history is written. He has to continue to work but he’s definitely the best player I’ve seen come through Irmo Little League and I don’t think there a really a lot of people who would disagree with that.”

Neither would opponents who have watched Giulietti play this summer.