In an opportunity he may never get again in his high school baseball career, New Brighton's two-sport standout Brandon Mosely made the most of it.

In a game against Sto-Rox April 25, Sto-Rox intentionally walked the hitter in front of Mosely to load the bases.

The reason he may never get this opportunity again has as much to do with what he has done the entire year as what he did with that one at-bat.

"Evidently they had no idea who Brandon Mosely was because they never played against him," New Brighton coach Don Mittner said.

"They walked the guy in front of him to load the bases and Brandon looked at me and said to me 'They're calling me out.'"

The decision looked like a wise one at first as Mosely fell behind in the count 0-2 after seeing two curveballs. He fouled off numerous pitches after that to stay alive in the count.

"He turned around and looked at me and said 'Do you think he is going to throw me a fastball ever?'" Mittner recalls.

"I said 'No, because you haven't hit the curve yet.'"

That all changed when Mosely finally grabbed hold of one of the curves and sent it over the left field fence into the woods for a grand slam.

That could very well be the last time someone is intentionally walked to get to Mosely. Through April 26 he was the leading hitter in the area with a .632 average on 24-of-38 hitting.

His exploits have helped keep the Lions in the hunt for a WPIAL playoff berth.

With two regular-season games remaining, New Brighton was 10-7 overall and 8-2 in Section 1-AA, in the mix for a playoff spot. Mosely and the Lions have made consecutive trips to the postseason after missing out during Mosely's freshman year.

Mosely, a four-year starter, is enjoying the most success hitting from the three spot in the lineup this year after batting leadoff his first three years on the New Brighton varsity.

"He can handle the three spot really well," Mittner said. "He is a patient hitter. I like him at number one because of his speed but we needed someone at the three spot who I knew would hit the ball. He is a very confident kid this year. He is the team leader and he is a great leader."

Sophomore Kyle Bonner and junior Devin Holt have stepped up and now bat first and second in the lineup, respectively.

Another change this year is Mosely moving back to center field, his natural position. He was called in to play shortstop last year to help shore up the infield. Mosley's speed, which makes him such an asset in center field, was also one of the major reasons he was a standout on the football field at running back for the Lions this year.

Mosely is getting looks to play baseball at the collegiate level next year. La Roche College has expressed interest.

The high batting average is nothing new for Mosely. Even as a freshman he was hitting better than .400 and he has maintained an average of .400-plus in all four years on the varsity.

"Brandon was always one who wanted to learn more about the game," Mittner said. "He just loves the game of baseball. He always wants to talk baseball, constantly. He is a very patient hitter and he just knows what to do."

The first year that Mittner coached Mosely he saw that he needed to become a more patient hitter. After watching him struggle at the plate, he took him aside and told him that he was trying to do too much. Mittner told him to be patient and hit a pitch he liked. Shortly after Mosely finally saw a pitch he liked and hit it for a double. Upon reaching second base he yelled back to this coach "Is that patient enough?"