Published: May 12, 2008 11:01 pm      

HS BASEBALL: Adam Biano is Lockport’s ’Control Board’

Lockport senior ace has what it takes on baseball’s ‘Capitol Hill.’

LOCKPORT — Like observing a good surgeon in a busy operating room, you can learn a lot from watching Lockport High School senior ace Adam Biano pitch.

It isn’t just the obvious skills he brings to the table, it’s the way he carries himself under so much pressure.

Biano, the son of Alan and Maria Biano, has emerged this season as one of the few bright spots on the struggling Lions. A senior right-hander with outstanding ball control and self-control, Biano and fellow Lions senior Dan Greco are the unmistakable leaders of a young LHS team in desperate need of a big break.

Lions head coach Steve Styrzo said Biano brings an important factor to the hill every time he pitches — control.

“He puts the ball in play — that’s his big contribution. He has such good control over his pitches. He doesn’t walk a lot of guys,” Styrzo said.

“And he changes speed very well.”

Against the high-octane Niagara-Wheatfield Falcons last week, Biano was amazing. He not only pitched a no-hitter for five and two-thirds innings against a very good hitting ball club, but through the first five innings, he faced just 19 batters and struck out five, including the Falcons’ side in the top of the third. He finished with eight strikeouts, thanks in big part to his four-seam fastball.

“The four-seam gives me more velocity. My two-seam fastball has more movement. It tails,” Biano said.

Adam credited a lot about his demeanor on the hill to his development growing up. His father, a former youth baseball slugger, taught him the game, while his mother taught him how to carry himself modestly.

“My dad really doesn’t say anything about his days playing ball. My uncle Arnie, my dad’s coach, likes to tell me the story about having to yell at my dad for walking off the field when he was mad once (laughs),” Adam said.

“I started pitching when I was 10. My dad caught for me in the back yard. I used to play catch with him and with my uncle when he came over. They still give me pep talks.

“My mom’s a school teacher and she always tells me that I have to act mature — like an adult — out on the field. The same way that I act off the field is the way I should act on the field.”

Biano won youth baseball titles in both the An-Jo (Golden Trucking) and Lockport Little League (Reid’s). Having been a part of winning teams in the past, Biano thinks if the Lions can play better defensively and can catch a few breaks, a strong post-season run might still be in the cards.

He also credited his catcher, junior Kyle Fernandez, with his mound success.

“Sometimes I’m not stretching long enough or I’m stretching too far and the ball’s too high, so then I need to make adjustments, and Kyle helps me with things like that,” Biano said.

“He makes my job a lot easier.”

This fall, Adam will attend Niagara County Community College, where he plans to play baseball for the Trailblazers.

“He’s very humble,” Adam’s father said.

“He doesn’t really like to talk about himself or draw attention to himself. He’s a team player. When you need a kid to throw strikes — what ever it takes — he’ll do it. He’s very coachable.”

Adam said he wants to be remembered as not just a good ball player, but a good friend.

“I want them to say that I was a hard worker who always hustled and that I was a good teammate who always cheered on others,” Adam said.

Adam is the grandson of Angela Biano and Angela Ramos. He has an older brother, Alan Jr., 21.