The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
You couldn’t have scripted a better start to what was a textbook outing for the Wilson baseball team in its CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinal against Temescal Canyon. The Bruins came out swinging, and before you could blink they were out in front by a half-dozen runs after three innings.
That left plenty of run support for lefty ace Cooper George, who pitched a complete game while striking out a staggering 11 batters to lead Wilson past Temescal Canyon in a dominant 6-1 win.
“I think it’s really nice that we were able to get a good lead early and not surrender it,” said Wilson coach Andy Hall. “That’s how you win a playoff game. You score a couple runs early and everyone can breathe a little bit. Our pitcher could settle in and make some pitches, and we played some good defense. It’s comforting to keep a good season going into the semifinals.”
George was locked in from the start, striking out six of the first eight batters he faced, including a 1-2-3 second inning with three straight strikeouts. The TCU commit repeated the feat in the sixth inning with another three-strikeout frame and surrendered just five hits and one earned run in the game.
“It’s just awesome,” George said of performing in the big moment. “I’m just blessed for this opportunity that I’ve been given and it’s honestly just motivation to keep working hard and pushing forward for the team.”
The junior has had his fair share of standout performances on the mound, but has rarely gone this deep into a game with Hall often turning to one of his relief pitchers to finish things out. When Hall approached George after the sixth inning about taking him out, the junior pleaded for another inning and ultimately convinced his coach to send him back out, where he recorded his season-high 11th strikeout in a complete-game effort.
“I’m super competitive and I hate coming out of games, so I just wanted to go one more and show that I can do it and get the complete game,” George said.
George was given plenty of run support early, as Wilson scattered all six of its runs across the first three innings and put runners on base in all but one frame. The Bruins totaled eight hits in the game while striking out just twice at the plate.
Wilson also benefited from some shaky pitching on the other end and immediately put a pair of runners on base in the first inning with two walks. From there, Russell Centanni lined a single into center field to drive in both runners and give Wilson an early lead.
The Bruins tacked on more runs in the second inning after a walk from Shane Guy between base hits by Cade Miller and James Mirabile loaded the bases with two outs. Nico Thiem then cashed in for Wilson, lining a shot into shallow right field that more than doubled the Bruins’ lead.
Wilson added one last run in the third as Eddie Becker bunted before making his way around to third with a stolen base and wild pitch. Designated hitter Penn Peters then found contact on a single fly ball to left field to bring Becker home and cap the Bruins’ scoring.
Wilson finished the evening with five different batters recording a hit, including two players with multi-hit games. Leadoff hitter James Mirabile went 2-for-2 at the plate while also drawing a walk, and scored after reaching base in each of his first two at-bats.
“It’s crucial to score early on in these types of games,” Mirable said. “We have our guy on the mound and all he needs is a few. We found him a little extra today and he went out there to shove, and now it’s on to the next one.”
Temescal Canyon was able to push one run across in the fifth inning after a Colby Nobel single and a walk from Anthony Deleon before the pair moved over on a sacrifice bunt from Andrew Becerra. Brennen Massey then stepped to the plate and grounded out, but not before allowing Nobel to score and prevent the shutout.
With the win, Wilson will now advance to its first semifinals appearance since 2018. The Bruins will travel to face Culver City on Tuesday with a trip to the CIF-SS Division 5 championship on the line, which will be played either May 29 or 30.
