GREELEY???If the time ever comes for Eaton baseball coach Jim Danley to retire, he should consider a second career in the insurance business.
Danley called upon seldom-used junior pitcher Adam Mossberg ? his "insurance policy" ? during the Class 3A championship game Saturday against Patriot League rival Brush.
And like a good righty, Mossberg was there. Mossberg did his job and helped guide the Reds to their 10th 3A state championship with a 6-4 victory over the Beetdiggers at Butch Butler Field.
"He has been one of those guys that is just a closer type," said Danley, whose team finished with a 23-4 record. "He has the mentality to be a closer and has been throwing better and better all the time."
Mossberg came in for Eaton in the third inning in relief of Brandon Koehler, who closed out Lamar in the first game 4-2 to advance to the title game.
After giving up a sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced ? Kyle Rosenbrock ? that tied the score at 1-1, Mossberg didn't allow a Beetdiggers hit until the sixth inning.
"He's getting his breaking pitch," Danley said, "and when you've got a pitch that will keep them off your fastball, at any level in baseball, you can close."
Mossberg gave up a three-run homer to Rosenbrock in the top of the seventh inning. But he shook off that blast and struck out the final two Brush hitters to complete Eaton's latest title.
"I was prepared for it, and I threw it all out on the table and things went my way today," said Mossberg, who was selected MVP of the championship game by The Denver Post. "That (home run) ball, sure it went a ways, but the next pitch is the next pitch."
The bottom half of the Brush lineup struggled throughout the tournament to get anything going, but Beetdiggers coach Mark Muniz knows he had his best lineup on the field.
"It's just something that wasn't there, and at times this season it was there," said Muniz, whose 18-8 team ended a 45-game losing streak to Eaton earlier in the tournament, a drought that spanned 21 years.
"We really had to go with what brought us here, and we had to work with those kids to try to get them to turn the lineup over," Muniz said.
All eight Eaton hits were singles. But the Reds, as they always do, capitalized on three Brush errors. Tyler Batt, Bryce Dyer and Keenan Hall had two hits each for Eaton.
Brush? 001 000 3 ? 4 8 3
Eaton? 100 131 x ? 6 8 1
Brush ? Mares p-ss 4-1-1-0, Garcia lf 3-1-2-0, Tormohlen 1b 4-1-2-0, Rosenbrock ss-p 3-1-1-4, Blake c 3-0-1-0, Hirschfeld dh 3-0-0-0, Soto rf 0-0-0-0, Petterson ph 1-0-0-0, Cardenas 2b 2-0-0-0, Munday 3b 3-0-1-0, Acosta cf 3-0-0-0. Totals 28-4-8-4.
Eaton ? Mondragon ss 3-0-0-1, Hager 2b 3-1-1-0, Batt c 3-0-2-0, R. Koehler cr 0-2-0-0, Abbott cf 4-0-1-1, B. Dyer 3b 3-1-2-1, Longwell lf 2-0-0-0, C. Dyer ph-1b 0-1-0-0, Lind dh 3-0-0-1, B. Koehler p 0-0-0-0, Mossberg p 0-0-0-0, Tedesco pr 0-0-0-0, Hall rf 2-1-2-2, Nelson 1b-lf 3-0-0-0. Totals 26-6-8-6.
E ? Blake, Mares, Munday; Mondragon. DP ? Brush 1, Eaton 1. LOB ? Brush 8, Eaton 10. 2B ? Garcia. HR ? Rosenbrock (two on in the 7th). Sac ? Rosenbrock; Mondragon. SB ? Hager, B. Dyer.
Batteries ? Mares, Rosenbrock (5) and Blake; B. Koehler, Mossberg (3) and Batt. W ? Mossberg. L ? Mares. HBP ? Cardenas (by B. Koehler in the 2nd); Lind (by Mares in the 5th); C. Dyer (by Rosenbrock in the 6th). Balk ? Mares. WP ? Mares. T ? 2:13.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354, jyunt@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JonEYunt
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