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When the Milwaukee Brewers closed out the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium, the decisive moments carried an unexpected Southern California echo. Several Brewers who helped flip the series trace their roots to CIF Southern Section high schools — and their October contributions now send Milwaukee to its first World Series since 1982.
From local diamonds to October at Dodger Stadium
Jake Bauers provided the most dramatic reminder of those roots. A former standout at Marina High School, Bauers faced Dodgers starter Blake Snell in a tense, extended battle before delivering a seventh-inning, go-ahead two-run home run in Game 3. He added a double and three RBIs in the series-clinching victory the next day, plays that materially shifted the NLCS outcome.
The moment mattered because it was more than a temporary highlight: it mirrored a long arc that began on Southern California high school fields and now culminates with a trip to the Fall Classic.
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Two back-to-back homers stoke a familiar neighborhood feel
Immediately after Bauers’ Game 3 homer, Garrett Mitchell — an Orange Lutheran product — followed with a solo shot, turning a 2-1 deficit into a multi-run lead and giving the sequence a distinctly local flavor for fans in Orange County. Mitchell added another solo home run in the clincher, bookending the series with decisive swings.
That pair of October blasts underscored how multiple Brewers who grew up in the same Southern California circuit are now shaping baseball’s biggest moments.
| Player | High school (CIF Southern Section) | October contribution / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Bauers | Marina | Hit go-ahead two-run homer in Game 3; added a double and three RBIs in the clincher. Drafted out of Marina in 2013 (208th overall). |
| Garrett Mitchell | Orange Lutheran | Followed Bauers’ Game 3 homer with a solo shot; hit another solo home run in the series-clincher. |
| Brice Turang | Santiago (Corona) | Hit a game-tying solo homer in Game 1; multiple key hits across the series. Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2018. |
| Joey Ortiz | Pacifica (Garden Grove) | Drove in Milwaukee’s final run of Game 3 with a two-out RBI single; went the college route after high school before being drafted in 2019. |
| JoJo Romero | Oxnard | Developed as a high-school pitcher in Oxnard; part of the Brewers’ bullpen group on the NLCS roster. |
| Trevor Megill | Marina / Orange Lutheran | Recorded the final outs in Game 3, striking out two; one of Milwaukee’s late-inning finishers. |
| Christian Yelich | Westlake | Longtime major-league fixture who starred at Westlake; included on the NLCS roster and part of the club’s veteran core. |
Different paths, shared origins
Not every player followed the same route from high school fields to the big leagues. Some were early draft selections off prep teams; others took college programs as stepping stones before being chosen by MLB clubs. That variety — from immediate pro departures to multi-stop development — speaks to the depth of talent across the CIF Southern Section.
Examples are instructive. Christian Yelich was a four-year varsity stand‑out at Westlake and became a top draft pick a decade ago. Brice Turang was one of the nation’s elite high school hitters at Santiago before Milwaukee made him a first-round selection in 2018. Joey Ortiz, by contrast, went undrafted out of high school and built his résumé in college before reaching the majors.
Meanwhile, Trevor Megill’s high-school record included dominant strikeout totals and a low ERA, and JoJo Romero’s prep numbers foreshadowed a pitching career that progressed through college into professional ball.
The local angle now matters nationally
Why this matters today: the Brewers’ NLCS win rewires narratives about roster construction and player development. What began on local Southern California diamonds helped decide a postseason series played under a national spotlight, and those same faces will now be central to Milwaukee’s World Series push.
- For fans: Communities where these players grew up have new reasons to follow Milwaukee closely.
- For talent evaluators: The cluster of contributors from one region highlights scouting and development pipelines.
- For the Brewers: Homegrown versatility — players who rose through different paths — has provided the depth needed in October.
Before they were major-league contributors, they were weekend opponents in Southern California high-school leagues. Now seven alumni of the region share a postseason clubhouse, and several played direct roles in capturing two of the most important wins in Brewers history — both coming just miles from the fields where their careers began.
