Oh, Brother! Rice rolls

Ricky Palmer (right) high fives coach Tim Lyons while circling the bases after hitting a home run against Lockport.
(Joseph P. Meier/SouthtownStar)

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Brother Rice and Lockport boasted 2-0 starts to their seasons heading into Tuesday's nonconference showdown.

The Crusaders won their first two games, against St. Joseph and Lane Tech, by a combined 31-3, while the Porters defeated Lemont by identical 7-2 scores.

Something had to give on a wind-blown morning in Lockport.

What transpired was an experienced Brother Rice team giving a supreme whipping to a young Lockport squad by a 14-2 count in five innings.

The Crusaders took advantage of a strong southerly wind to club four home runs, two of the three-run variety, and got a solid performance on the mound from junior ace Patrick Gannon.

Not that Rice's round-trippers needed the aid of Mother Nature's strong breeze.

Mike McQuillan (3-for-3, homer) started the game off with a missile shot, while Kevin Koziol and Rick Palmer followed with three-run dingers and Doug Schumacher added a solo blast.

"We did everything well today," Brother Rice coach Tim Lyons said. "The first game of the season was our offense, the second game we did a combination of things well, but today it was a complete package."

A five-run first inning, highlighted by McQuillan's blast off a first-pitch fastball from Lockport starter Brandon Duplessis, ignited the attack. Cameron Anello followed with a single that accounted for the Crusaders' last hit of the inning.

Walks to Schumacher (2-for-2) and Tom Hickey and an error on a Ryan Wischhover grounder allowed another run to score for a 2-0 lead.

Duplessis then unleashed a wild pitch to score two more runs to make it 4-0. Bob Schuch's sacrifice fly capped off the first-inning outburst.

"If you give a team like Rice a five-run lead in the first inning, it just sucks the wind right out of you," Lockport coach Steve Stanicek said. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am in this game. We're not ready for a team like Rice mentally or physically."

The Crusaders tacked on four more runs in the second inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Koziol and Schumacher. Koziol's three-bagger upped the Rice lead to 8-0, and Schumacher followed with a solo drive over the right-center field fence to make it 9-0.

Palmer's three-run home run to left-center in the fourth extended the lead to 13-0.

"It was good to see us hit the ball like we did," said Lyons, whose team coaxed 10 walks on the day from the Porters. "We did a nice job going the other way with pitches and we were patient."

Gannon didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Matt Denton's sharp single scored Mike Frigo (walk) to trim the deficit to 13-1. Gannon walked four and struck out six during his 63-pitch effort. Koziol pitched the fifth and allowed one run.

Joe Martin had the only other hit for the Porters.