Woodlander's nephew drafted by Brewers, then wins Illinois state championship

Jake Odorizzi is the nephew of long-time Woodland resident Nikki Anthony. He is also a right-handed pitcher at Highland High School in Illinois. Jake happened to be selected as the Illinois Baseball Player of the Year for 2008. He also committed to the University of Louisville to play ball, but that was before he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as the 32nd overall player picked by Major League teams. Oh... and all that was before Jake and his Bulldog teammates claimed the state's 3A championship.

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Here are some excerpts from a bnd.com story written by Norm Sanders of the News-Democrat that was posted on Monday:

Bulldogs etch a place in history
Led by the best player ever to wear its uniform, Highland claims 3A title

JOLIET - He could be wearing the uniform of a Milwaukee Brewers minor-league team soon, but Jake Odorizzi's Highland Bulldogs jersey is headed for a place of honor.

Odorizzi blew fastballs by the final two Rock Falls hitters Saturday, finishing off Highland's 6-2 win in the Class 3A state championship game.

"It's the best team that's ever gone through Highland and hopefully it stays like that for a while," said Odorizzi, drafted 32nd overall by the Brewers on Thursday. "I'm just glad I was a part of it."

It was a remarkable season for the Bulldogs (36-4), who celebrated the school's first state championship on the 50th anniversary of Highland's last trip to the state baseball tourney.

Odorizzi and his teammates rewrote Highland's baseball record book. They set school records for wins, runs, stolen bases, shutouts and numerous other categories.

Odorizzi was 14-0 with a microscopic 0.08 ERA. In 89 2/3 innings, he allowed 33 hits and three runs (one earned), striking out 146 and walking only six.

He also hit .409 this spring with a school-record 15 homers and 40 RBIs.

Click the title of this story to access the complete article.

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Check out Jake's batting stats by clicking here.

Check out Jake's pitching stats by clicking here.

Amazing. Congratulations to Jake and his proud aunt Nikki.