Kauppila taken in draft

BASEBALL: Burbank senior standout chosen in 44th round by Oakland Athletics.

By Jeff Tully and Gabriel Rizk, Burbank Leader
June 12, 2010

BURBANK — Although he just completed his senior baseball season, Burbank High baseball standout Lonnie Kauppila has already fulfilled two of his dreams. Last year, Kauppila fulfilled a childhood dream of earning a college scholarship when he signed with Stanford. Wednesday, another one of his long-standing desires came true when he was chosen in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft. Kauppila was drafted in the 44th round — 1,325 overall — by the Oakland Athletics.

"It's kind of a dream come true for me," Kauppila said. "It's definitely something that I can tell the grandkids about when I get older. It's just a good feeling being taken anywhere in the draft."It was also nice knowing that wherever I went in the draft, I always had Stanford to fall back on."

Kauppila, a shortstop, is the first player to be drafted from Burbank High in 10 years. The last was Corry Parrott, who was taken in the 48th round of the 2000 draft by the Chicago White Sox. The last local chosen was former resident Tom Vassella, who attended Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. He was taken in the 11th round — 339th overall — in 2006 by the Houston Astros.

With a full college ride, Kauppila indicated he will likely opt to attend Stanford in the fall rather than sign with Oakland. "I wasn't really surprised, but I was just relieved that I actually got drafted, anyway," Kauppila said. "I was kind of anxious to know [when I would be drafted]. I was just waiting and trying to see what's gonna happen. I was just waiting for my name and it finally came."Kauppila, the reigning All-Area Player of the Year, batted .443 with three home runs, 35 hits, 22 runs batted in, 35 runs scored and 21 stolen bases as a senior for the Bulldogs, helping them to the postseason. He also drew 21 walks, had a .569 on-base percentage and a .759 slugging percentage. READ FULL STORY

Taylor, Bulldogs edge out Indians

Baseball: Senior pitcher strikes out season-best 12 to lift Burbank to 1-0 victory against archrival.


By Charles Rich, Burbank Leader
Published: Friday, April 9, 2010


JOHN BURROUGHS HIGH — Burbank High baseball Coach Bob Hart saw a gleam in McCauley Taylor’s eye as he strolled back to the dugout after the second inning. Hart had an inkling that it might lead to something good for Taylor and the Bulldogs in their first of two head-to-head meetings against crosstown rival Burroughs. Taylor buckled down by turning in his best performance of the season as he struck out a season-high 12 on Friday night to help visiting Burbank pick up a 1-0 Pacific League victory against Burroughs.


It’s tough enough to strike out 12, especially against an archrival, but McCauley (3-2) proved to be up for the task, as Burbank improved to 9-8 and 3-2 in league. Burroughs fell to 6-9 and 3-2 and is now tied for third with Burbank in league.


“I wanted to go out there and get a lot of first-pitch strikes,” said Taylor, a senior right-hander who limited the Indians to a pair of hits in going the distance. “I could tell after the first inning that the strike zone was going to be big and that takes off the pressure. “After the first inning, I knew I could stay focused and throw some strikes.”


Burroughs got a solid effort from starting pitcher Nate Albers, who struck out 10 in six innings. Albers yielded four hits.“Nate pitched well,” Burroughs Coach JR Schwer said. “Both pitchers pitched well.” SEE FULL STORY

Bulldog Freshman Win 8 - 2

The Burbank High School Freshman Baseball Team scored an 8 to 2 win over Cathedral High School Phantom's last Thursday evening at the Burbank High Baseball field. The Bulldog freshman played some pretty good ball and had some very good pitching. The Bulldogs were able to have some solid hitting from the team for the win. WAY TO GO BULLDOGS!

Varsity loses home opener 3 - 0

The Burbank High Varsity Baseball Team lost their home opener to the Arleta Mustangs 3 to nothing last Monday night. The game had been postphoned from Saturday due to rain. Both teams played well, but the bulldog pitching had a rough second inning walking batters and giving up some hits and the Mustang's took advantage of it, scoring the three runs. It was all that they needed as the Bulldogs were not able to muster any runs. They had a couple of chances to score but hit into a double play with runners on first and third with one out. The Bulldogs also had a couple errors.

Junior Pitcher Javier Lopez threw a complete game 4-hitter with 11 K's and 1 walk 1 HBP. Junior 3rd baseman Ivan Ceja had an rbi double to give the Mustangs the lead. For the Bulldogs, Lonnie Kauppila had a double.

The Bulldogs went on to play Notre Dame on Wednesday the 10th and lost to them 16 to 8. It may be a long season for the Bulldogs, but still early in the season.

JV'S lose 9 to 1

The Burbank High Boys Junior Varsity lost 9 to 1 against Granada Hills at Burbank High School last Friday evening under cloudy skies.

Both teams were pretty even in the hits department with Granada Hills having eight hits to the bulldogs 6 hits. But the big difference was in the pitching and errors department. The bulldogs had four errors and their pitchers struggled all night giving up a lot of walks during the game. I lost track how many pitchers they used but I know it was about four different pitchers.

The bulldogs got some good solid hits, but with few runners on base and when they did geting runners into scoring position they hit into a double play.

If the Junior Varsity is to advance in league play they will have to improve on their pitching and to not make so many errors if they want to stay in contenton. It is still early in the season and the team has some great players and hopefully as the season progresses so do the players.

Still too earley to tell how they will do but they have a lot going for them and a lot of support from coaches, family and friends as there were a lot of people cheering them on in the stands. GO BULLDOGS!

Locals earn league honors

Lonnie Kauppila was one of 18 local baseball players to earn all-league honors this past season.

BASEBALL: The four area schools have 18 players recognized for fine season exploits.
By Jeff Tully
Friday, June 12, 2009
BURBANK — There were some impressive numbers put up this past season by the area’s high school baseball players. In addition, the local teams also enjoyed some shining moments, as three of the four — Burbank, Burroughs and Bellarmine- Jefferson highs — were able to make the postseason. Only Providence didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

With successful athletes and teams, the locals were recognized with 18 all-league selections.

Perhaps the best season performance was turned in by Burbank junior shortstop Lonnie Kauppila. However, instead of earning Pacific League Player of the Year honors, Kauppila was selected on the first team. Bulldogs Coach Bob Hart thought that Kauppila deserved to win the player-of-the-year award. “I think he definitely deserved it,” Hart said. “He was the best player in the area this year, and that comes from a guy whose kid plays in the area. I just think it’s unfair that he wasn’t voted the MVP. ”Hart’s son, Kyle, is a senior pitcher at Burroughs.

Kauppila had a wildly successful season after transferring to Burbank from Crescenta Valley. Along with a .508 (30 for 77) batting average, he also had 25 runs batted in, scored 27 runs and belted 12 home runs for a 1.169 slugging percentage. In addition, he had 15 walks and only struck out five times. “Lonnie was such a big boost for our team this season,” Hart said. “He is a player who just makes everyone around him better.”

Burbank’s other first-team honoree was junior pitcher McCauley Taylor. Taylor was 4-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 44 strikeouts and 18 walks in 54 1/3 innings. He also batted .270 (16 for 78).

Tribe Sets Record In Win

BASEBALL: Burroughs defeats Burbank, 7-1, to finish second in league and notch program’s first 20-win season.
By Jeff Tully, Burbank Leader
Published: May 15, 2009

BURROUGHS HIGH — There was still a great deal to be decided Friday in the final day of Pacific League baseball play. A group of teams — including Burroughs High and Burbank — were still trying to nail down their final placement in the league standings. The Indians needed a win against their cross-town rival, and a little help from Crescenta Valley, to win a share of their first league championship in 12 years. Burroughs did its job, overcoming an early deficit to defeat Burbank, 7-1, on its home field. Unfortunately for the Indians, the Falcons lost to Arcadia, 6-4, extinguishing any chances of a league crown for the locals. In the final league scheme of things, Arcadia (21-4, 12-2 in league) wins the title outright, finishing one game ahead of Burroughs (20-7, 11-3).Burbank (11-10-1, 9-5) and Crescenta Valley (18-9, 9-5) finish tied for third place.

The Bulldogs will go into the postseason as the No. 3 team from the league after winning a coin flip with the Falcons. The 20 wins for Burroughs is significant, as this season’s team is the first group to win that many games. Although his squad didn’t win a share of the league title, Burroughs Coach Tom Crowther is happy with his team’s effort this season.“We have won a few league titles in the history of our program, but we have never won 20 games before, so that’s special,” he said. “We would have been happy with a title, but we have to tip our hats to Arcadia.

”Burroughs received a fine pitching performance from senior Kyle Hart. Hart (6-3) went the distance, striking out 11 in a 112-pitch effort. Burbank did get to Hart early, as Chris Mott powered a solo home run to left field in the top of the first inning to give the visitors an early lead.“We knew that a one-run lead wasn’t going to stick,” Burbank assistant coach Kelly Saunders said. “We had our share of hits, we just couldn’t string enough of them together.”Burroughs tied the score in the fourth inning when Nick Bozman singled home Ray Palafox, who reached base on a hit. Bozman led the Indians’ offensive charge, going two for four with a two-run home run and three runs batted in. Palafox was two for three with a walk and two runs scored. The bottom fell out for Burbank and starting pitcher McCauley Taylor in the fifth inning, when Burroughs brought 10 players to the plate and scored five runs. Bozman’s home run, a two-run double by Erik Suarez and an RBI-single by Hart did most of the damage. The Indians added a run in the sixth. Burbank received a fine effort from Greg Koll, who was two for three with a double. It was the Indians’ 18th straight win against their rival and the 36th in 38 games.

Burbank High Can't Get Pass CV

BASEBALL: Surging Falcons hand Bulldogs a Pacific League road setback, 7-5, in a game where tempers flair.

By Gabriel Rizk, Burbank Leader
Published: Tuesday, May 12, 2009

GLENDALE — Lest anyone had forgotten that the defending Pacific League champions weren’t out of the hunt just yet, the Crescenta Valley baseball team has been busy over the month of May reminding its competition that the chase for the league title is far from over.For Burbank, it is battling to stay in postseason contention in a league that has become extremely tight the last few weeks.Going back to the first of the month, the Falcons have strung together wins against the same three teams that sent them spiraling into a three-game skid and under .500 in league as of April 3.Wins over Burroughs, Pasadena and now the Bulldogs, 7-5, on Saturday night at Stengel Field, have catapulted Crescenta Valley back into the title mix.“This gives a chance,” Crescenta Valley Coach Phil Torres said. “Three weeks ago we were dead, everyone felt we were, and the kids have done a good job.”There was no love lost between the Falcons and Bulldogs on Saturday. Tensions simmered and came to a head following some physicality on a pickoff play at first base that ended the sixth inning.A Burbank player and at least two coaches, including head Coach Bob Hart, were ejected from the game after a heated exchange with the umpiring crew.But the game was far from over at that point, as the Bulldogs mounted a two-out rally in the seventh from down, 7-4.Shortstop Lonnie Kauppila, who played for Crescenta Valley last season before transferring to Burbank, singled on a high chopper to the left side of the infield and scored on an infield hit by David Goldberg.With runners on first and third and the go-ahead run at the plate, Falcons reliever Sean Elliott ended the game on a strikeout and preserved the win for starter Jake Lehne (four innings pitched, three earned runs, eight

strikeouts).“Everywhere, things got a little crazy [at the end],” said Elliott, who allowed just two hits over the last three innings. “I knew that one run that scored didn’t matter, even though [the Bulldogs] were acting like it was a walk off. I just wanted to close it out. It was a big win for Jake — he pitched really well.”Burbank scored the first run of the game in the first inning on a single to right field by Goldberg.Kauppila (three for four) put the Bulldogs ahead, 3-2, with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning. It was the junior’s 12th homer of the season.Crescenta Valley countered in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run rally, beginning when Edward Lee scored on an error to tie the game at 3.With one out, Elliott Surrey (two for four) singled in Zack Torres, Joe Sedano doubled, Troy Mulcahey singled in Surrey and Troy Prasertsit singled in Sedano, who was three for four with two doubles.Matt Ashby then singled to load the bases and the Falcons went up, 7-3, on a walk to Brandt Bowers.“Throughout the year, we haven’t been able to string hits together,” said Mulcahey, who went two for three with a double. “We just came to play and we got a lot of hits in a row. That’s our key.”Kauppila came up big again in the fifth inning, doubling in Taylor.Taylor and Goldberg were both two for four.The Bulldogs tied to rally in the seventh, as Goldberg delivered an RBI-single.