Cossio finds right time for first career long ball

By Bill Dickens
Updated: June 2, 2016

Granite Hills Darien Cossio is congratulated by teammates following his fourth-inning home run against Torrey Pines on Wednesday.

2016 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (6-2-16) — You won’t find DARIEN COSSIO’s name on the list of home run leaders this season, or even last season for that matter.

But when Granite Hills needed the big blow Cossio hit his first career home run, launching a 90 mph fastball soaring over the right center field fence to propel the top-seeded Eagles to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s (June 1) San Diego Section Division I contest.

“I knew it was gone – I got all of it,” Cossio said. “It’s crazy. I got chills running the bases.”

Dillan Shrum at the plate on Wednesday against Torrey Pines in the San Diego CIF Division I semifinals in El Cajon.

That home run was key as the Eagles produced only one more hit and one more run, an RBI double in the fifth inning by DILLAN SHRUM that locked up a 2-0 victory.

That would be all the runs Granite Hills fireballer ANDREW BROWN would need as the senior right-hander pitched the Eagles into Friday (June 3) night’s Division I championship game against the Vista Panthers (27-6) at USD’s Fowler Park at 7 p.m.

“Any time we have Brownie on the mound we have extra confidence that we’re gonna finish on top,” said Cossio. “He’s a big-time pitcher.”

The anemic Granite Hills’ offense could not produce a base runner until Cossio’s blast. With one out in the fifth TREVOR OMAHEN was hit by a pitch and stole second. One out later Shrum blasted a double to the center field fence to score Omahen and provide the Eagles with an insurance run.

Brown pounded the outside of the plate with his breaking ball, which stymied the Torrey Pines batters.

“It had a really nasty break to it and looked like it was going to hit batters,” Brown noted. “But they stayed on their heels and were unable to pull much.”

Torrey Pines challenged in the second inning with two runners on and two outs. The Falcons did the same thing in the third with two runners on and one out.

Granite Hills’ Trevor Omahen is welcomed by teammates after scoring the Eagles’ second run on Wednesday.

In the first and seventh innings Brown cut the Falcons down 1-2-3. He had control almost all of the game.

“Fact is I put my one-two pitchers (Brown and Shrum) against any in the county,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “This wasn’t a slugfest. Brown is a big-time player who can pitch in big-time situations.”

Davis noted that Brown was pitching between 89-90 mph and topping out at 93.

“I felt I was on top of my game,” Brown said, “and when I’m doing that it’s easier to take control. It’s a great feeling to be going to the finals again.”

Elsewhere:

Grossmont will take on Eastlake Thursday (June 2) in a contest – to be played at 2 p.m. at Eastlake – that will determine which of those teams will advance to the Open Division Finals on Saturday (June 4) at USD’s Fowler Park at 7 p.m. The two teams have split two previous games.

Cathedral Catholic will be the opponent in the Open Division Finals, having eliminated Rancho Bernardo in the semifinals.

SDCIF Division I – Fifth Round
Wed., June 1, 2016 
EAGLES 2, FALCONS 0
Torrey Pines     ab r h bi Granite Hills   ab r h bi
Bramlett lf       2 0 1 0  JoVerdon 3b      3 0 0 0
Rutledge rf       3 0 0 0  Shrum 1b         2 0 1 1
Hurt dh           3 0 0 0  Hazelhurst rf    3 0 0 0
Trausch 1b        3 0 2 0  Cossio 2b        3 1 1 1
Reeves pr         0 0 0 0  BSt.Clair lf     2 0 0 0
Bingham cf        3 0 1 0  Ross dh          3 0 0 0
McCaskill c       3 0 1 0  ABrown p         2 0 0 0
Patrick 3b        3 0 0 0  Fenn c           1 0 0 0
Froehlich 2b      2 0 1 0  Omahen ss        1 1 0 0
Capozzoli pr      0 0 0 0  Reyes cf         0 0 0 0
Boone ss          2 0 1 0
Sidney p          0 0 0 0
TOTALS           24 0 7 0  TOTALS          20 2 2 2

  Torrey Pines  (21-13) 000 000 0 – 0 7 0
  Granite Hills (22-12) 000 110 x – 2 2 0

GWRBI-Cossio (3).
E-None. DP-GH 2. LOB-TP 7, GH 4. 2B-Shrum. 
HR-Cossio (1) 4^th, solo. SB-Omahen. 
S-Bramlett, Boone.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Torrey Pines         ip  h  r er bb so
 Sidney  L          6.0  2  2  2  2  3
Granite Hills
 ABrown  W(8-3)     7.0  7  0  0  1  5
HBP-by Sidney (Omahen, Shrum).