DIVISION III BASEBALL Cosma pitches Lisbon to victory

He scattered seven hits, striking out 11 in the 5-0 win.
LISBON -- Before what was the Lisbon High baseball team's biggest game of the season, pitcher Aaron Cosma decided to do something a little different.
In a break from his normal pre-game routine, he sat on the bench, put on his headphones and got ready by listening to music from 50 Cent.
Then, after a shaky first inning, Cosma got into his own groove and the results were music to his ears.
The senior hurler put on his best performance of the season, using his fastball, curve and slider to keep United off-balance en route to a 5-0 shutout victory in a Division III sectional tournament game on Thursday.
Stranded nine runners
Cosma scattered seven hits over seven strong innings, striking out 11 batters and stranding nine runners on base.
"I was in the zone today," said Cosma, who beat United for the third time this season. "I was pumped up for this game because it was a tournament game and because it was our rival.
"All my pitches were working and I was able to mix things up and throw hard," Cosma said. "Our team really played well today.
"We started the season out 2-7, but we're starting to play better defense and hit the ball well," Cosma said. "Things are starting to click with me on the mound and for the whole team."
Face Cardinal Mooney next
With the win, Lisbon ran its record to 10-9 overall and got to over .500 for the first time. The Blue Devils advance to a sectional final contest against Cardinal Mooney next Thursday.
Lisbon took advantage of United's five fielding errors to score all five runs in the first four innings.
After reaching on an error, Dana Rose scored the game's first run in the first on an RBI-single by Corey Smith.
In the second inning, the Blue Devils used an error, a walk and a single to go ahead 2-0. Bryan Flory scored on a fielder's choice by Jason Reynolds.
United (8-11) did manage some scoring opportunities off Cosma, but was unable to string together enough hits to plate any runs. The Golden Eagles stranded nine runners, including two each in the first and second innings.
"We just didn't get the clutch hits and Cosma pitched an excellent game," United coach Bob Manfull said. "We've been weak defensively all year and that didn't help us tonight. But you can't win if you don't score."
The Blue Devils gave Cosma even more breathing room with a three-run fourth inning. All three runs came with two outs.
After Reynolds drew a walk, Rose singled in a run to make it 3-0. Chris Page followed with a single to keep the rally alive.
Helps own cause
Cosma helped his cause with the big hit of the outburst, a single that drove in two more runs, and gave Lisbon a 5-0 cushion.
"This was the first tournament game for six of our kids," Lisbon coach Ron Witman said.
"This was the best Aaron [Cosma] has thrown all season and the bottom of our lineup came through tonight.
"Our three, four, five hitters usually carry us, but the bottom of the order set the table for them today and the guys in the middle cleared the bases."
For United, T.J. Rosenberg and Tyler Manfull each collected two hits.