12-year-old stars overpower everyone in path
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Indianapolis is becoming a second home for the Burlington Little League 12-year-old All-Stars.
For the fifth time overall since 2009, the boys of summer will represent Wisconsin in the Little League World Series Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
The tournament will begin Saturday and run through Aug. 15. With teams from Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana battling Burlington, the winner of the regional will advance to the Little League World Series Aug. 20 in Williamsport, Pa.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 will provide television coverage of this week’s regional.
“I feel lucky to have been a coach and manager for the 2011, 2013 and now 2015 state title teams, with each of my three sons playing on the team,” said coach Scott Safar. “The excitement it brings doesn’t grow old. I am truly happy for all the Burlington players who have experienced a state title in five of the past six years, and for the great memories they will be able to look back upon some day.”
Flooring their foes
In last Friday’s championship game, Burlington jumped to an 8-0 lead en route to a 13-1 thrashing of Antigo.
Burlington rallied in the first with singles from Markus Thomsen and Troy Ketterhagen, followed by back-to-back home runs from off the bats of Kale Dietz and
Ethan Safar.
Four more runs were scored in the inning off of hits from Zuleger, Minnich, and McIntyre.
Burlington added two more runs in the second off a Safar single, Zach Wallace double, and Zuleger single, and put the game away in the third.
Wallace tripled and Dietz and Safar doubled in the third, leading to three more runs.
Safar pitched all six, striking out four, walking one, and allowing only one run.
Burlington reeled off six straight wins after losing the first game of pool play last week.
Scott Safar said it made the players stronger.
“The players learned through the experience how to battle and not get down on themselves.”
During district and state, nine players slugged 39 homers and the team batted .503.
Burlington went 10-1 against eight teams, and its pitchers struck out 80 of 289 batters faced.
“The boys battled and each one of our players contributed in one way or another,” Safar added.
In the semifinals Thursday, Burlington held an early 6-2 lead over Appleton thanks to home runs from Dietz, Wallace, and Carlson, and hits by Zuleger, Minnich, and McIntyre.
Burlington tacked on four runs late in the game with solo shots from Ketterhagen and Safar, and hits from Thomsen, Carlson, and Minnich.
A late-game Appleton rally was erased when Ketterhagen, the catcher, fired a strike to Zuleger at third base, who applied the tag for the game’s final out.
Parade in Burlington Friday night
The “boys of summer” are still playing for the city of Burlington’s Little League program.
Both the 12U and 11U All-Star teams won state last week, and Burlington Little League wants the city to honor its star players.
There will be a parade in Burlington Friday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m. celebrating the teams. Each player will be announced.
The parade will begin at the Hintz Baseball Complex and continue through downtown to Wehmhoff Square, also known as the park behind the Burlington Public Library.
Come out and support your hometown team, which gears up to play on national television on the ESPN channels this weekend in Indianapolis.
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