Anaheim’s best pitcher this season, a season in which the Colonists won the Orange League championship and have advanced to a CIF semifinal, is 11-0 with a 1.68 ERA.
She also is batting .333 and is third on the team in RBIs.
“She” is Jillian Albayati, a senior right-hander.
Albayati pitched a complete game for the Colonists (20-9-1) in their 9-1 win over Whittier Christian in the CIF-SS Division 6 quarterfinals. They play Bellflower (16-13-2) in a semifinal playoff game Tuesday, May 17, at 3:15 p.m. at Anaheim High.
The win Friday against Whittier Christian – ironically the high school where Ila Borders in the 1990s gained fame as an accomplished high school pitcher – was not Albayati’s first win in the CIF-SS playoffs. She beat Westminster last season in a Division 6 wild-card game.
Albayati, a thin 5-foot-8, was good last year and much better this year, according the Anaheim coach Mike Barrera.
“She has a fastball, a slider and a changeup,” Barrera said. “She’s really consistent, she can throw all of her pitches for strikes and she’s hitting her spots.”
Albayati has pitched six complete games. She has 60 strikeouts in a team-high 79 innings. Albayati, who also has played first and third base, has 14 RBIs, the third-highest total for the Colonists. She is batting .455 (10 for 22) with runners in scoring position and has walked a team-leading 12 times.
Junior right-hander Aaron Rojas is the other starting pitcher for the Colonists. Rojas, nephew of the Angels’ Jose Rojas who also played at Anaheim High, is 7-3 with a 1.55 ERA.
Albayati has been selected to play on the Orange League team for this weekend’s Ryan Lemmon Senior Showcase all-star baseball event at Windrow Park in Anaheim. She also was chosen to play for the North in the Orange County All-Star Baseball Game on May 31 at Glover Stadium/La Palma Park in Anaheim.
If Anaheim beats Bellfower, Albayati likely would be the starting pitcher for the Colonists in the Division 6 championship game.
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