Baseball: Jack Crowder, Plainfield East graduate, selected by Orioles in 9th round of MLB draft

Jack Crowder, a 2020 Plainfield East graduate who just wrapped up his senior season with the University of Illinois baseball team, was drafted Monday afternoon in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

Crowder, a right-handed pitcher who touches the mid-90s with his fastball, worked 90⅓ innings for the Fighting Illini this past spring, going 7-2 with a 4.88 ERA and 80 strikeouts. Over his four-year career in Champaign-Urbana, Crowder posted a 15-6 record with a 6.23 ERA and 158 strikeouts over 182 innings pitched.

A powerful hitter and pitcher in his high school days at Plainfield East, he was a 2019 Herald-News Baseball All-Area first-team selection as a junior before losing his senior season because of COVID-19⅓ pandemic restrictions.

Crowder was the 279th overall pick of this year’s draft.