Eastside Catholic Crusaders 2015 graduate Billy Dimlow was scrolling through his smartphone earlier this summer and came across a pleasant surprise.

While perusing Twitter, Dimlow discovered he made the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A 2015 all-state baseball team.

Dimlow, who was the ace pitcher of the Crusaders staff that advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals and finished with a 21-4 overall record, will continue his baseball career at NCAA Division III Emory University in Atlanta.

“When you start playing baseball you never expect to achieve an honor like this. It is crazy and is almost surreal,” Dimlow said. “It was always like one of those far off things that you think would be crazy to get. It is awesome.”

The right-handed pitcher said he will look back on his high school career with the Crusaders with the fondest of memories.

“I will remember all of my teammates and just the experience of playing at Eastside Catholic. It was better than I ever could have imagined. I have a really close bond with all of those guys. It is terrible that I will never be able to put on that uniform again and play with that exact group of guys again,” Dimlow said. “It is something I will remember for the rest of my life. High school baseball is the best time of any young baseball players lives.”

Dimlow is spending the majority of his summer playing for the Bellevue-based Boys of Summer baseball team in preparation for his freshman season at Emory University. The right-hander said his velocity on the hill is in the mid 80s and has topped out at 86 miles per hour during June.

“Right now I’m playing in a game or practicing every day. I might have a total of seven days off this entire summer,” he said. “I’m trying to get ready for fall baseball and am doing what I can to be the best I can be when I get to Emory. I can’t wait to be part of the program and want to make a difference on the team next year.”

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@issaquahreporter.com