Conference

Brooklyn, NY -- LIU Brooklyn head softball coach Roy Kortmann has announced that Celinna Cosio (San Diego, Calif.) has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Blackbirds. Cosio, one of the top power hitters in Southern California, will make her way to Downtown Brooklyn for the 2012-13 academic year.

“We are excited that Celinna will become part of our LIU softball family," Kortmann said. "We look forward to Celinna helping us offensively as we compete against some of the nation's top teams each and every year."

As a high school junior at Bonita Vista, Cosio hit .452, slugged .800 and drove in an area-most 52 runs and was an All-California Interscholastic Federation Second Team selection. She was named the San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Month in April 2011 after hitting .514 with five doubles, four home runs and 22 RBIs while helping the Barons to a No. 5 ranking in the state of California.

A corner infielder who can play both first and third base, Cosio was a member of the Victory USA travel team that won the 14U Amateur Softball Association National Championship and was a key contributor to The Next Level travel team that won the 16U ASA National Championship in 2011.

Cosio will join Alyssa Gospodarek (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Whitney West (West Hills, Calif.), who signed NLIs with LIU Brooklyn in the fall, as incoming freshmen in 2013.

The Blackbirds, who stand at 12-4 in the Northeast Conference, will continue their 2012 season with a road doubleheader at Monmouth on Sunday, April 29.