Brown, Birmingham Give Foes Motion Sickness

Behold the sidearm pitcher, a study in unorthodoxy.

He comes at you with his head tilted at an awkward angle, the arm rising up from underneath, out of nowhere, the face etched with a grimace that conveys how truly contorted the body is.

Behold, then, Birmingham senior right-hander Josh Brown, and it comes as no surprise that he handcuffed Sylmar in a tidy, two-hit, 4-0 win Wednesday at Birmingham’s Ramirez Field in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game.

Just try hitting a ball delivered from that kooky windup.

Sylmar could not, and, as a result, fell to 6-4, 2-3 in conference play. The lone blows struck against Brown were singles in the third and seventh innings by Robert Garcia and London Woodfin.

“He’s been outstanding for us all year,” Birmingham Coach Wayne Sink said, beaming.

“And his control is excellent.”

Indeed, quick work was made of Sylmar in nearly every inning. Brown (4-1) walked just three and two of those were in the first inning. He struck out five.

“He gave us a different look,” Sylmar Coach Gary Donatella said. “He was mixing it up and had real good control.”

Not to overlook Brown’s pitching rival, though. Sylmar junior James Encinas (2-3) was busy weaving a nice little game of his own until he faced cleanup hitter Danny Larson in the bottom of the third in a scoreless game.

With two out and runners on first and second, Larson, a left-handed batter, pummeled Encinas’ first offering, a hip-high fastball, off the fence in right-center, about 380 feet away.

The blow scored Matt Mowry and Bob Bookatz, and, even though Larson was thrown out trying to extend a double into a triple, it was clear that Brown--and Birmingham (5-3-1, 3-2)--had all the necessary support.

“Danny’s learned to wait back and turn,” Sink said. “He’s learned to generate his speed from the hips, and I can’t say enough about that.”

Brown worked out of his only jam in the fifth inning by coaxing first-pitch groundouts from Chad Gillis, Garcia and Ryan Vela after Sylmar had put runners on first and second with none out.

With his only close call behind him, Brown was given two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Shortstop Justin Bass ripped a run-scoring single to left field and a Sylmar error with the bases loaded made the score 4-0.

Brown, who Sink says exemplifies the value of playing summer ball in the American Legion against older and better competition, did not throw sidearm until last season. Then, at the request of veteran youth coach Howard Randall, he changed his style.

“Coach said, ‘See how it works,’ ” Brown said. “And it worked great.”

A notion about a motion that Brown has put to good use.