UPDATED: Former Northwest Pitcher Heats Up Minor League

Northwest High School alumnus Charlie Cononie is off to a blazing hot start in the minor leagues, pitching 17 scoreless innings as a reliever for the Hudson Valley Renegades.

This weekend, area fans have a chance to see Cononie pitch.

The New York-based Renegades — part of the Class A New York-Penn league — will travel to Maryland to play the Aberdeen Ironbirds at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md., for two games, scheduled 5:35 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7, and 7:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8. 

Hudson Valley ranks third in the four-team McNamara division of the New York-Penn league, which is composed of 14 teams. The team is part of the Tampa Bay Rays farm system.

The Ironbirds are owned by former Baltimore Orioles' great Cal Ripken.

Patch reported in June that Cononie had been picked up by Tampa Bay in the 24th round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Cononie impressed major league scouts with his composure, the movement on his fastball and the fact that the tall right-hander worked hard and improved significantly during his four years of college baseball at Towson. 

He posted a 12-4 career record at Towson with a 5.15 ERA and was named to the second team All-Colonial Athletic Association team.