Forever throwing home

Despite a full roster of talented student athletes for Clark College's baseball team this spring, a tremendous hole on the line-up card and in the hearts of many has been left by a young man whom they were ready to share the field with.

Mat Cossman won't be with the rest of his team and head coach Don Freeman this spring, the first time the college has had a team since 1992. He died at the age of 20 on June 4 from a reaction to a therapeutic dosage of liquid morphine.

Players and coaches agreed Cossman had a gun for an arm and many assumed he would readily make the Clark team.

"His passing is a big loss for everyone: for the Clark baseball program, his friends and certainly for us," said Bob Cossman, the student athlete's father.

Cossman's death near the end of the spring term was not widely publicized, but was known throughout the Clark College and Battle Ground baseball communities.

Four months later, his death leaves a wound that players and coaches still feel deeply.

"He will be missed on and off the baseball field," said coach Lee Brand who managed the Clark baseball club for which Cossman played centerfield last spring. "I keep his picture in my office to remind me how delicate life can be sometimes and to live life to the fullest every day."

The days leading up to Cossman's passing did not seem to foreshadow what was to come. The only difference his parents recalled was that a few ribs were bothering him. They said they assumed that he must had strained himself during batting practice.

"I think Mat was just looking for some pain relief," Bob said. "Those ribs were just really bugging him."

The morning of June 4 was like any other for the Cossman family. His father had a few business calls that took him into Portland and his mother, Jeanne Cossman, was at work.

According to his parents, around 1 p.m. his older brother, Tony Cossman, went into his brother's bedroom and found his body.

"Tony is not doing well," his father said. "He is in therapy right now; it was just horrible for him."

With news circulating, friends and teammates were in disbelief.

"When Tony, Mat's brother, told me about the death, my world came to a stop," said longtime friend and teammate Logan Rubino.

"I was thinking how his family was after what happened and felt really bad," said teammate Eric Weir. "It just seemed like it was a bad dream."

Judy VanPatten, a counselor and professor at Clark, said young people often feel invulnerable.

"If they are strong and healthy, they often think tragedy won't befall them," VanPatten said.

Baseball was Cossman's life. His parents, teammates and coaches said it was a reason for his infectious smile.

"We use to sit there and say, ‘No, you are suppose to be serious' when he was pitching," his mother said. "But it would fool the batters because he would be smiling and then he would fire in a ball."

Cossman graduated from Battle Ground High School where he was a four-year varsity baseball player. He was starting quarterback for the football team during his freshman year.

"He has been just an incredible athlete, always," his father said. "And baseball was his forte."

Billy Hayes, Cossman's coach for eight years in Showtime Baseball and at Battle Ground, remembered the treat of watching him on the field. Hayes saw the transformation of Cossman's play from when he was 12 years old through his high school career.

"Its just not fair that such a phenomenal athlete is gone," Hayes said.

Showtime Baseball and Hayes put on a tribute game four days after Cossman's passing. According to Hayes, a couple of hundred people attended the game to support the Cossman family and many players came to play.

"All the players decided that they would play the hardest they could," Hayes said, "because Mat always played hard."

His parents were overwhelmed by all the people from the community that attended and donated to help pay for memorial expenses and remember their son.

"I mean, you hear about these small town stories where the community comes together, but you never think you will be the center of one of them," his father said.

Players came from all around the country to play in this tribute game. Many young players have gone off to college, but still found it important to return.

"I heard that a player came back from a vacation from Hawaii just because he wanted to show his support to Mat," Cossman's mother said. "I mean, we were awe-struck."

According to Jeanne Cossman, as soon as the news of her son reached Clark College, President Bob Knight sent a letter of condolences to the family.

"The letter was so heartfelt and above and beyond what we ever expected," she said.

"In every way, the community was such a help," his father said. "They were there for us through the whole process."

Sept. 20 would have been Cossman's 21st birthday. His parents said they knew that day would be hard on them, but as phone calls poured in asking if there could be a party to celebrate their son's life, they could not resist.

While sitting around the bonfire with a group of Cossman's friends, his mother took one of the balloons she had bought for the party and released it over the fire.

"Catch this one," she said.

"Five days later I find the balloon on the ground next to the fire pit," his father said. "And I said, ‘He must have caught it and thrown it home.'"

Contact Katie Unverzagt at sportseditor@students.clark.edu.