Biondo's bat keeps Crusaders rolling

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There are winners and losers in the numbers game, as Justin Biondo is finding out.

This spring, the Brother Rice senior-to-be was on the wrong side of the line.

"I was a bench warmer," he said, "warming up pitchers, getting an at-bat here or there."

But after the graduation of a senior class that helped pave the way for a Catholic League Blue title and 31-3 finish, Biondo is ready to play a more prominent role for the Crusaders -- that of run producer.

"Now I'm trying to go out and get a hit every time at bat," he said after nearly succeeding in doing that on Wednesday.

Retired on a comebacker to the mound in his first plate appearance vs. Sandburg in Orland Park, Biondo then banged out four straight hits -- two doubles and two singles -- and drove in five runs to help Rice pull out a 14-13 win in eight innings.

"Justin is going to step into that role of a Kevin Callahan and T.J. Bujanski," Rice coach Tim Lyons said of the left fielder/DH. "We need him and expect him to drive in a lot of runs. He's as good a hitter as we've had in a couple of years."

And Biondo is in a great spot to put up some big RBI numbers, hitting in the fifth hole for the Crusaders behind Ryan March, Ryan Koziol, Kevin Koziol and Brian Baldwin.

Kevin Koziol, just back from a USA Baseball national team tryout, and Baldwin have been varsity mainstays for Rice for several years. That means they'll be pitched to cautiously, if at all, and need a hitter behind them capable of driving them in.

So far, Biondo has filled the bill. If it's been an interesting ride for Biondo this summer, that also was the case for the Crusaders on Wednesday. They dug themselves a 7-0 hole in the second inning, roared back to take the lead with an eight-run third, fell behind again 11-8, went ahead 14-11 in the top of the eighth and survived a last-ditch Sandburg rally in the bottom of the inning.

"They're a very good team," Biondo said. "We came out really sluggish."

But Rice's big bats provided just enough offense to make the difference. Also coming through were Kevin Koziol (2-for-3, two walks, double, homer, two runs, three RBI), March (1-for-3, two walks, two runs), Ryan Koziol (1-for-4, walk, two runs, RBI) and Baldwin (1-for-4, walk, two runs).

Sandburg had some hitting heroes of its own. Mike Malfeo hit a solo homer and finished with three runs scored and three RBI, while Vince Kmiec was 2-for-4 and scored twice. Brett Huff and Matt Mangold both had two-run singles in the Eagles' big second inning.