CLIFTON, Va. — The son of a Bristol native was the top pitcher for a 14-and-under Babe Ruth baseball team that in July won the Virginia championship and reached a national semifinal in August before losing by a run. The team won four games before being ousted.
Ben Cousino, a rising sophomore at Centerville High School in Clifton, Va., a school of 3,500 students, according to his great aunt, Connie LaRose of Bristol, is the son of Navy Commander Christopher Cousino, a 1988 Mount Abraham Union High School graduate and standout athlete himself who is currently completing a 12-month tour of duty in Bahrain.
According to his many relatives in Bristol, Ben Cousino was one of the top hitters for his U-14 Babe Ruth team as well as its No. 1 starter. The team was part of the Glen Allen Sports Youth Athletic Association in the Richmond, Hanover and West Chesterfield County area of Virginia.
As a freshman, Ben Cousino began last season on the Centerville High JV baseball team, but was called up to the varsity near the end of the regular season.
At Mount Abe, Chris Cousino played soccer and baseball and wrestled. He attended Springfield College, where he continued to play baseball, graduating in 1992.
Rod and Shelly Cousino of Bristol are Chris Cousino’s parents and Ben’s grandparents. Chris and his wife, Tracy, Ben and younger sister Madeline, live in Clifton.