One of the most successful high school baseball pitchers this season in Southern California is scheduled to make history Saturday.
Her name is
Jillian Albayati.
The 5-foot-6 Senior will be the first female to start a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section title game when
Anaheim (21-9-1) takes on
Estancia (27-5) for the Division 6 crown at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.
Albayati is 11-0 with 60 strikeouts and 10 walks in 79 innings while sporting a 1.68 ERA. Her win total would rank tied for 10th nationally on the
MaxPreps leaderboards and seventh in California. She's coming off her sixth complete game of the season, a 9-1 quarterfinal win over Whittier Christian.
Albayati relies on pinpoint control and keeping batters off-balance with a strong mix of pitches. She has superb command.
Anaheim junior Jillian Albayati is all business on the mound as proven by her 11-0 record and 1.68 ERA.
Photo by Heston Quan
"I'm just trying to hit my spots with whatever I'm throwing," she told Steve Freyer of the
Orange County Register. "That's the big thing, hitting spots, location. Of course it matters what kind of pitch I'm throwing, but throwing strikes is what gets you outs."
In addition to her probable historic appearance in Saturday's final, her success in the male-dominated sport of baseball is certainly worthy of discussion.
She is also one of the team's top hitters, batting .362 with 25 hits, 14 RBI and a team-best 12 walks. A first baseman when she doesn't pitch, she went 3-for-3 in the team's 4-1 semifinal win on Tuesday against Bellflower.
"I don't know if she is the best female baseball pitcher all-time but she's definitely one of the most prolific," MaxPreps national baseball editor and all-sport historian Kevin Askeland said.
Askeland noted Florida standout
Chelsea Baker of Durant (Plant City), who was outstanding in 2014 and 2015. Utilizing a nasty knuckleball and a fastball that topped out in the upper 70s, the 5-foot-2 Baker won five career games.
At the same time,
Sarah Hudek played varsity baseball at George Ranch (Richmond, Texas) and accepted a scholarship to pitch at Bossier Parish Community College, where she became the first woman ever to pitch for the program. She later starred as a pitcher and outfielder in softball for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Her dad is John Hudek, a former Major League Baseball pitcher.
Jillian Albayati pitched two scoreless innings at Anaheim Stadium on April 14 against Segerstrom.
Photo by Heston Quan
"Hudek was a reliever in high school and really didn't make her mark until after," Askeland said.
Askeland noted iconic female baseball pitchers such as Illa Borders, Mo'ne Davis, Ayami Sato and Eri Yoshida didn't pitch in high school or are from a different country.
Currently,
Olivia Pichardo pitches for the Garden School (Queens, N.Y.) and has been on the varsity since the seventh grade. She's made several national teams, including USA Baseball's 2021 women's development program roster, and has been clocked at 82 mph. Her high school numbers are unknown.
"I would say that Albayati likely has the greatest single season stats of any female high school pitcher," Askeland said. "The fact that she is accomplishing it while playing in Orange County, considered the hotbed for high school baseball talent, is quite impressive."
Albayati pitched two scoreless innings April 14 at Angel Stadium against Segerstrom, who is coached by former MLB pitcher Erasmo Ramirez. He told Fryer: "She can throw multiple pitches for strikes. She did a great job attacking our hitters and keeping our guys off balance."
Like Pichardo, Albayati has made several national baseball teams and traveled far domestically and abroad. She wants to play college baseball, but would be content to play college softball as well.
She has another season of high school to go and if victorious Saturday, her team will advance to the CIF Southern California regional.
