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Former Los Altos High Baseball Star Selected in MLB Draft

Pac-10 ace Erik Johnson drafted in the second round by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

Former Los Altos High baseball star Erik Johnson was selected in the second round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday by the Chicago White Sox.

Johnson, a junior starting pitcher at the University of California-Berkeley, helped led the Eagles to a Central Coast Section Division II title in 2007 and back to the CCS finals again in 2008.

He was a three-time all-state selection in high school. Johnson went 9-3 with 113 strikeouts during his stellar senior season at Los Altos.

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During the 2007 D-II title game against Aptos High, Johnson singled to put Los Altos ahead and later came in to strikeout the final batter of the game. It was the first relief appearance of the season for Johnson, securing a dramatic 6-5 victory for Los Altos.

His former coach and current Los Altos High head baseball coach Sandy Wihtol was a happy man when he heard the news Tuesday morning that his former ace had been selected in the second round of the draft.

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“When his Dad called me to give me the news Tuesday morning, I was pretty ecstatic,” Wihtol said. “Nobody works as hard as Erik does. He’s never taken his talent for granted and it’s paid off for him to become the 80th pick in the draft. The White Sox are fortunate to get a guy that’s the real deal.”

Now battling it out in the rugged landscape of the Pac-10 conference, Johnson has continued to excel on the mound.

In 2011, Johnson is 6-4 overall with a 2.91 ERA. He leads the Golden Bears pitching staff with 16 starts and 96 strikeouts in 96 innings of work.

Cal will host Dallas Baptist on Saturday night in the opener of it’s NCAA Super Regional at Santa Clara University.

The best of three series begins at 5 pm on Saturday evening. The winner of the series will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

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