Nearly 12 years after leading Damien High School to a CIF-SS baseball title at Anaheim Stadium, Chris Jakubauskas is in the big leagues.

And on Wednesday, the 30-year-old Jakubauskas, a reliever with the Seattle Mariners, made his big-league debut. Jakubauskas pitched two shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two in the Mariners’ 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Jakubauskas put an exclaimation point on the outing, by picking off Twins veteran Michael Cuddyer off second base to end the seventh inning.

I knew he had the talent back in high school, when he homered in that CIF championship game. But back then, he was considered more of a hitter than a pitcher. Getting to the big leagues after toiling in independent ball for a long time, is a testament to his hard work and perserverance. Congratulations to him.