CANYON HIGH PITCHER COASH GETS OFFER FROM BIG LEAGUES STAR LEFT-HANDER DRAFTED BY DETROIT TIGERS IN 18TH ROUND.

Byline: Amy Raisin  Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Teammates can say they knew Canyon High pitcher Jake Coash - drafted into the major leagues this week - back when he wore argyle socks to practice and held the team record for most foul balls retrieved from the great beyond.

``You send some guys into the wash to get a foul ball and they'll mess around for five minutes before coming back empty-handed,'' said Adam Schulhofer, Canyon's varsity baseball coach. ``Not Jake. I think he has single-handedly saved this program hundreds of dollars in baseballs.''

And, in his three years as a varsity pitcher, helped the Cowboys rack up the wins. The team shared the league championship with Valencia High and then went on to take second place in the CIF's Division II.

For his efforts, the Detroit Tigers took the star left-hander in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft, an opportunity the 18-year-old graduating senior now must weigh against playing college ball.

The possibility of playing in the big leagues - in the same realm as pitching ace Curt Schilling, a Coash favorite - never really occurred to him until his junior year, when he started throwing in the 90s.

``I never really thought about it,'' he said. ``I thought it was too far out of my reach. But it's a dream come true. I'd love to play in the big leagues.''

Childhood friend and Cowboys third baseman Eric Ashbrook said that Coash was never the rah-rah guy who gave the team pep talks before games, but he has been a leader in his own way.

``He's kinda goofy. He cracks jokes all the time,'' Ashbrook said. ``Every once and a while he gets verbal (on the field), but most of the time he just goes about his business. And he likes to give freshmen a hard time.''

Judging from some of the freshman who loitered around Coash as he gave an interview recently, trying to make the senior laugh, that ``hard time'' seemed pretty good-natured.

One teammate insisted that Coash, after using a balm to loosen his muscles, always smelled like a hot dog. Others brought up the argyle socks. But Coash, obviously at ease with his pals, just laughed.

``On the way to games I like to sit at the back of the bus,'' said Coash, the youngest of four. ``I just sit back there and rag on the freshman.''

Whether Coash signs a contract to play professional baseball or opts for college, he, too, will have to endure being the freshman once again.

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(color) Jake Coash, a senior at Canyon High, has been drafted by the Detroit Tigers as a pitcher. He has helped the Cowboys rack up wins during his three years as a varsity player.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer