Kauppila raising the bar

To fully appreciate the baseball skills possessed by Burbank junior shortstop Lonnie Kauppila, let’s have the archrival coach from Burroughs, Tom Crowther, offer his humble opinion:

“As a hitter, he doesn’t have any weaknesses,” Crowther said. “I haven’t seen a fastball he couldn’t catch up to.”

Kauppila, 6 feet, 165 pounds, has struck out four times in 55 at-bats. He’s hitting .545 with 12 home runs and 25 runs batted in. Opposing outfielders are starting to treat him with extreme respect, lining up so far from home plate that they could use a pair of binoculars.

In a game against Pasadena, Kauppila hit a 400-foot ball that was caught in left field.

“Any other field, it’s a home run,” he said. “There was a fence, but it was over 400 feet away.”

With a 4.2 grade-point average and A’s in Advanced Placement history and AP stats, Kauppila doesn’t have a lot to complain about, especially since he is thriving at a new school after playing last season at Crescenta Valley, where his older brother, Kris, was a standout shortstop before moving on to the University of Portland.

“It was just a better environment for me,” Kauppila said of his transfer. “I didn’t know what to expect, but everything turned out good.”

The only disappointment might be the way he left Crescenta Valley. Let’s just say there was no love lost between the Kauppilas and Crescenta Valley Coach Phil Torres, who said, “Some families just don’t fit in our program.”

The tension between the schools erupted on the field last weekend, when two Burbank coaches and a player were ejected in a 7-5 loss to Crescenta Valley.

Kauppila hit a two-run home run and a double against his former teammates. He also made some terrific defensive plays, leaving little doubt he’s going to have his pick of college programs, if the professional scouts don’t sign him first.

Burbank Coach Bob Hart said Kauppila’s home runs have all been “legitimate.”

“He has tremendous bat speed,” Hart said. “The nice thing is he brings the level of everyone else up. He raises the bar.”

And pitchers, beware.

“I’m jumping on every pitch I get,” he said.

Oaks Christian adds star power

Hall of Famer Joe Montana is moving into the coaching booth this fall to help call plays for Westlake Village Oaks Christian, which happens to have his son, Nick, as the starting quarterback.

Montana is classified as a “consultant.” He’s going to help the team’s new offensive coordinator, former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen. Long-time offensive coordinator Mark Bates is becoming the defensive coordinator because assistant coach Clay Matthews will be spending time on the weekends watching his sons, Casey and Clay Jr., play for the University of Oregon and the Green Bay Packers.

Norco duo is impressive

The unpredictable, brutally tough Southern Section Division I baseball playoffs are set to begin next Friday, and it appears Norco (22-4, 13-0) will be the top-seeded team. For good reason.

The Cougars have the best one-two hitting and pitching punch in the Southland.

Matt Hobgood is 9-0 with an 0.39 earned-run average. He also has hit 18 home runs and is batting .471 with 48 RBIs.

Then there’s Wes Hatton, who has 51 hits, a .531 batting average and is 5-1 on the mound with a 1.27 ERA.

Imagine how much excitement there would be if Norco gets to play Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley in the playoffs, setting up a pitching matchup between two likely first-round draft picks, Hobgood and Tyler Matzek of Capistrano Valley.

Headed to Duke

Quarterback Brandon Connette of Corona Santiago ended the recruiting process this week by committing to Duke. He’s a brilliant student who has lots of potential as a passer and runner.

Lacrosse final

Attention lacrosse fans: the Southern Section finals are set for tonight at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa. Los Angeles Loyola will face Santa Ana Foothill in the boys’ final at 7 p.m., and Los Alamitos will meet Carpinteria Cate in the girls’ final at 4:30 p.m.

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eric.sondheimer@latimes.com