Jarrett Sabol of Aliso Niguel with Dick Owens (left) and Rex Lyon of the Ryan Lemmon Foundation. (PHOTOS: Jacob Ramos, For OC Sports Zone).
Hitting a home run an estimated 380 feet to right field and catching part of a one-run pitching effort, Aliso Niguel’s Jarett Sabol earned South team MVP honors in Wednesday’s 57th annual Orange County All-Star baseball game at the Great Park.
The game, sponsored by the Ryan Lemmon Foundation, featured dozens of Orange County baseball players and was littered with talent committed to various schools across the nation and state.
However, on the winning team, no player shined brighter than Sabol. A USC commit, Sabol took a 2-0 fastball deep over the 325 foot right field wall in the right for a no-doubt home run to give the South team a lead they would never relinquish. The South team went on to win the game, 3-1.
Sabol talked about the moment postgame with OC Sports Zone.
“It was a 2-0 count [and I] was like, well, I mean, they could go either of the two ways, I take a hack, I just swing a miss, or I take a hack and I connect. So I was like, I’m just taking a hack,” Sabol said. “To have that home run, it just made my day, especially. It was just, it was really fun … I think that was probably the farthest one I’ve hit in a while.”
Sabol comes from a lineage of professional baseball players. His oldest brother Stefan played professional baseball in the New York Mets organization and the middle child in the Sabol family, Blake, has MLB experience with the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox.
The catcher spoke about what it means to walk in the footsteps of his older brothers as he finishes his high school career in the same program his family has grown up in.
“[My brothers] have always been my biggest role models ever since I was growing up. I mean, all three of us used to play wiffle ball in our backyard when we were little, and we all dreamed of playing in the big leagues,” Sabol said. . “To see [Blake] actually go out there and make the [Giants], it gave me lots of hope and put my head down and really grind on it.”
Barring signing as a draft pick out of high school, Sabol will have to follow in his second-eldest brother’s steps once again as he continues his athletic career at USC in the fall. Sabol offered thoughts about his excitement as he readies himself to become a Trojan.
“It’s awesome. I’ve always dreamed of playing at USC my whole entire life,” Sabol said with a gleaming smile. “I just fell in love with the gold and the cardinal [as a kid], and I just came through, and all the coaches took me under their wing, and I was like, this is my home, so I’m very ecstatic to be there.”
Wednesday’s game was a time for celebration of the bastion of talent that is Orange County high school baseball. Sabol understands how important being a part of that legacy is, and was overjoyed after earning an MVP in front of MLB scouts and his exceptionally skilled peers.
“I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else, especially my high school, I want to be thankful to look for all my high school teammates, especially my coaches, travel ball, everything that got me up to this point,” Sabol said. “Being able to come here and be invited to this very prestigious event has been really, really good, and to do good and get the W is the best thing that happened.”
For best view, click on the photo:
Check back for more coverage, including more photos! For video highlights, go to X (at OC Sports Zone).
More Stories
Century, Savanna baseball players earn top honors on all-Coast League team
NFL players Nik Needham and Jaylinn Hawkins give back at annual Buena Park football camp
Laguna Beach and Portola players capture top honors on PCL baseball team