MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE: Glendale Community College product Ryan Sherriff continues to pitch well for Palm Beach
The following are updates on local baseball players at the minor league level.
Ryan Sherriff (Glendale Community College, 2011) Palm Beach Cardinals pitcher: Sherriff, a former Glendale Angelenos starting pitcher who also helped Glendale college advance to the state tournament in 2011, turned in arguably his best performance of the season Thursday against the host Charlotte Stone Crabs. Unfortunately for the left-hander, he didn’t receive any run support.
Sherriff went 7 2/3 innings, scattering four hits and striking out two, in a 1-0 defeat. He allowed a run in the sixth at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla..
Sherriff dropped to 4-4, but lowered his earned-run average from 2.56 to 2.31. In 77 2/3 innings, Sherriff has struck out 41.
In Sherriff’s previous start Aug. 23 against the visiting Bradenton Marauders, he didn’t factor into the decision in Palm Beach’s 2-1 home victory in 12 innings. He did, however, register a quality start. Sherriff went seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four.
In his last 10 starts, Sherriff is 3-2 with a 1.99 ERA. In that stretch, he’s gone 63 innings, yielding 50 hits and striking out 28.
Palm Beach, the Class-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, dropped to 34-30 in the second half of the Florida State League’s South Division.
Lonnie Kauppila (La Crescenta native) infielder, Everett AquaSox: Kauppila, a former two-time All-Area Baseball Player of the Year who also attended Stanford University, is still making the adjustment with Everett.
Kauppila, who was the 477th selection in the 2013 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Seattle Mariners, entered Thursday’s game against the host Spokane Indians batting .175 (17 for 97).
Things have picked up a bit for Kauppila, as he hit his first career home run in Everett’s 6-2 home victory against the Eugene Emeralds on Aug. 18. Kauppila hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to complete the scoring.
Kauppila also enjoyed a nice effort Aug. 22 against the visiting Vancouver Canadians. He had two hits and drove in a pair of runs in Everett’s 8-4 win. Kauppila had a run-scoring single in a six-run third inning and had a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Kauppila, a second baseman and shortstop, has driven in nine runs and walked seven times for Everett (19-14) The AquaSox, the class-A short affiliate of the Mariners, are in first place in the Northwest League’s North Division.
Alonzo Gonzalez (Glendale Community College, 2012) pitcher, Vancouver Canadians: After a rough appearance in which he allowed three runs and seven hits against Everett AquaSox on Aug. 21, Gonzalez recovered nicely in his next outing Monday versus the visiting Spokane Indians.
Gonzalez, a left-hander, struck out three and allowed two hits in Vancouver’s 3-1 victory. He went 5 1/3 innings and faced 19 batters, but didn’t factor into the decision.
Gonzalez, who helped Glendale college win the Western State Conference South Division championship in 2012, is 0-2 with a 2.84 earned-run average. He’s struck out 25 and walked 10 in 10 appearances spanning 31 2/3 innings. His time with Vancouver came after a demotion from Lansing.
Vancouver, the class-A short affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, is 14-19 and in third place in the Northwest League’s West Division entering Thursday’s home game against the Tri-City Dust Devils.
