Jbara Shines as Freshman at AVC

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Several former players showed up at George Robert Field last Saturday, April 29, to watch the Palisades Charter High School baseball team beat Garfield 7-4 and extend its winning streak to 10 games heading into the final last week of the regular season.

One of them was Aidan Jbara, who just completed a stellar freshman season at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, where he played first base and was among the team leaders in numerous offensive categories.

“It was a lot of fun and I enjoy playing up there for Coach [Bryan] Moses,” said the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder, who received a handshake and a hug from Pali High coach Mike Voelkel afterward and wished his alma mater luck in the upcoming City playoffs. “I batted .375 and hit in the clean-up spot most of the year. The All-Conference team hasn’t been announced yet but I’m hoping to make at least the second team.”

Jbara played in 35 of the team’s 39 games with 128 at-bats. He finished second in the squad in hits (48), walks (22) and on-base percentage (.468); third in RBIs (35), triples (2) and slugging percentage (.578); fourth in homers (4) and runs (31); and tied for fifth in doubles (10).

In a three-game series against LA Mission to close out the season April 25 to 28, Jbara had eight hits, three runs and two RBIs. In a 17-0 win February 4 at Chaffey, he had three hits, two RBIs, one walk and two runs; he also had three hits at West LA on March 25 and versus Bakersfield (April 13).

His most productive day at the plate was February 22 at Victory Valley when he hit two doubles, a triple, a homer and drove in five runs in a 21-8 win. Five days later against the same opponent, Jbara had four hits (including a triple) and two RBIs in a 26-4 triumph.

The Marauders finished with a 16-23 overall record and a 7-14 mark in the Western State Conference’s South Division, but did not qualify for the CCCAA SoCal Regional playoffs.

As a senior first baseman at Palisades last spring he played in 23 of 29 games, batting .298 with 17 hits, nine runs, 13 RBIs, five doubles and a home run while helping the Dolphins to a 21-7-1 record and the Western League title.

He had three RBIs in the season-opener against Verdugo Hills and homered in a 6-4 victory over Vista Grande (AZ) at the Lions Tournament. As a junior in 2021 he played infield and pitcher on varsity.