Mazzilli and Biondi anchor team as Cyclones begin season in cellar

Despite the Cyclones last place record of 7-12, two players in particular, L. J. Mazzilli and Patrick Biondi, have managed to provide some early offensive pop and some stability to a team which is restless to get out of the cellar.

Anchoring the infield at second base, Mazzilli, son of New York Met Lee Mazzilli, has been characterized as a natural hitter (.282) and a fast improving infielder by his manager.

Noting that Mazzilli’s hitting is way ahead of his fielding, Cyclone Manager Rich Donnelly stated, “He’s learning the nuances of playing defense — when to cover and when to play deep. Why just look what he did tonight making two good plays at second. That shows he’s learning.”

Donnelly went on to say, “Just today we worked out for 20 minutes taking feeds from shortstop. When the drill was over, he asked me if he got it right because he wants to do it perfectly from now on. That’s the type of kid he is!”

Previously, Donnelly had mentioned that this year he would have to employ speed to win some games in view of a lack of early season offense. Taking that challenge on for the team has been speedy centerfielder Biondi, the 2013 Mets’ ninth round draft pick out of Michigan.

Biondi, who is batting a respectable .267, is a burner on the base paths with 10 stolen bases already accumulated over the past 19 games. Biondi’s early team record comes as no surprise as he owns the Big 10 record for 103 stolen bases while with the Wolverines over four seasons.

Biondi especially put his speed on display in the last home series with the Staten Island Yankees on July 3 as the Cyclones pulled out a 2-1 win in the 10^th inning with two out. Flying down the third base line to sweep across the plate ahead the tag on a shallow fly ball to left, Biondi’s headfirst slide past the Yankees’ catcher sent the Cyclone fans home happy.

“He’s just one of few guys who could have scored on that play,” said Donnelly, whose team has recently lost four out of six extra-inning games.

In addition to using speed again to win a game, Biondi has also picked it up offensively, going three for four on the road in Aberdeen, helping to beat the Ironbirds as part of a 5-3 Cyclone win.

Along with his three hits and two RBI’s, the former Wolverine stole three bases and scored three runs to help to salvage a split with Aberdeen. Remaining modest about his base-stealing ability, Biondi accounted for his recent offensive contribution, simply stating, “I’m just starting to get my timing back at the plate.”

Looking ahead to improving his team’s last place standing in the McNamara Division, Cyclone Manager Donnelly stated that his team has to get past all the bad outcomes from all the rain delays and extra-inning games.

Putting the last two weeks into prospective, Donnelly said, “We’ve had enough one-run games where we’ve had to hold our breath; now we need to get some of those 6-1 wins so we all can just breathe.”