BEST OF 2023: Parkland’s Newest Rizzo: Jake Follows in His Cousin’s Footsteps and Dominates on the Diamond

Name: BEST OF 2023: Parkland's Newest Rizzo: Jake Follows in His Cousin's Footsteps and Dominates on the Diamond – Parkland Talk
Uploaded: 2024-01-01T13:12:38-05:00
Description: Parkland has a new Rizzo in town. While Anthony is currently playing for the New York Yankees after his incredible career

by Matt Rothman January 1, 2024

by Matt Rothman January 1, 2024 239 views

Jake Rizzo, Younger Cousin of Anthony, Hits 2 Grand Slams for Marjory Stoneman Douglas JV Baseball

Anthony and Jake Rizzo. {Courtesy}

This article was previously published and is being featured as one of many of our top stories for 2023.

By: Matt Rothman

Parkland has a new Rizzo in town. While Anthony is currently playing for the New York Yankees after his incredible career at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, his younger cousin, Jake, has already made a name for himself with the junior varsity team.

Currently a freshman at MSD, Jake, whose father Frank is first cousins with Anthony, moved to Parkland last summer after being born and raised in New Jersey. In his second week with his new team, Jake hit a pair of grand slams for the Eagles and drove in 11 runs during the team’s sweep of J.P. Taravella on Saturday.

“Running around the bases four times today is something that I’ll never forget,” said Jake. “We came out slow, but then we picked up the energy and started jumping on them, and that’s when I started to get into my groove.”

Jake is hitting .615 this year with four home runs and 16 RBIs in five games. He also has three doubles and a triple this year, helping MSD move to 4-0-1 this year. Still, Jake knows about the rich history and MSD and always looks up to his older cousin. When the opportunity came, he hoped to go and follow in his footsteps and become an Eagle.

Jake Rizzo. {Skyar Rizzo}

“I never try and feel pressure because of it,” Jake said. “I just go out and play to the best of my abilities. From summer, my number one goal was to play varsity, and it still is, but Douglas is a top-five team in the country, and I knew it wasn’t going to be handed to me.”

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.