Joey Jarneski first earned a reputation as a big-game pitcher in the summer of 2014 when he led a Hilo PONY League team to a World Series championship in Pennsylvania.
A few hours after striking out 11 in a complete game and hitting a home run in the clincher, Jarneski told the Tribune-Herald, “This is my greatest accomplishment.”
Yet.
That was a childhood dream, but Jarneski managed to top that Wednesday when the recent Hilo High graduate was selected in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Texas Rangers.
“This is fulfilling a lifelong dream,” he told the Tribune-Herald.