Prep baseball: Plenty of locals on FACA all-state team

(photo from Paul Videla)

Manatee catcher Bryan Voelkl was one of a number of area baseball players named to the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's all-state teams.

Voelkl made the Class 5A team.

Lakewood Ranch's Andrew McNett, Shane Davidson, Phil Dilandro, Zach Larson and Seth McGarry made the Class 4A team. Palmetto's Granden Goetzman also made the 4A team.

Southeast's Joseph Muldoon, Michael Suchy, Cameron Cox and Andy Ramirez made the team for Class 3A.

And The Pendleton School's Brandon Bonilla and Matt Martin made the Class 2A team.

Prep baseball: Pendleton's Chris Perez a key part of Indians' start

(photo from cleveland.com)

The Cleveland Indians are off to their best start since 2002 - thanks in no small part to Bradenton native Chris Perez.

Perez threw a perfect inning Sunday to preserve the Indians' 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners. It was the fourth save of the year for Perez, who has helped stake the surprising Indians to a 7-2 start.

A graduate of The Pendleton School who also pitched for Manatee, Perez hasn't been scored upon in five innings this season. He's allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three, and is 4-for-4 in save chances.

Perez is coming off a solid 2010 season, when he converted 23 of 27 saves and posted a 1.71 ERA in 63 games.

The St. Louis Cardinals chose Perez with the 42nd overall pick of the 2006 draft before trading him to Cleveland during the '09 season.

Perez and the Indians head to Tropicana Field for a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays from May 27-29. It will be the Indians' lone trip to St. Petersburg this season.