Burlington aims for fourth-straight state tournament
By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
Trey Krause has been here before.
Big game.
State berth on the line.
His team needing a big-time performance.
No problem.
In spite of struggling with command at times, the Burlington senior lefty dazzled with 12 strikeouts and added two big RBI singles, and the Demons advanced to their fourth consecutive WIAA Division 1 sectional final with a 6-0 victory over fifth-seeded Muskego Tuesday morning at Kenosha Tremper.
Burlington improved to 22-5 and will take on the winner of Tremper and Waterford at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
“It feels good, I like this place,” Burlington coach Scott Staude said. “I can’t say enough about Trey Krause. He’s just the epitome of a big-game pitcher, and no moment is too big for him. His command wasn’t the best it’s been all year, and there were many times he was behind and battled back.”
“Our defense was solid. We had a good plan defensively, and they executed it well.”
The Demons scored on two consecutive fielder’s choice ground balls to second base to highlight a three-run fifth, then Krause helped his own cause in the sixth.
Up 4-0 with one out, the left-handed batter lined a base shot up the middle to score two, and Burlington was in cruise control.
Utilizing a nasty, sweeping curve ball, Krause only allowed two hits in six innings.
“I’m feeling pretty good, I struggled there a little bit. I didn’t have all my stuff,” Krause said. “But I got through the game and we’re going to the sectional final.”
“I’ve been throwing my curve since my sophomore year, and I have a lot of confidence in it. Any count, any location, it’s just a great pitch for me.”
After Kale Dietz made a diving catch in center field to finish Muskego in the third, he led off the bottom half with a base hit.
After two outs, Trent Turzenski drove in Dietz with a base hit up the middle to make it 1-0 Burlington.
Turzenski added an RBI line out in the fourth.
Dietz pitched the final inning and allowed runners to reach second and third with nobody out before battling out of the jam.
Otto Traxinger, Danny Peterson, Riley Palmquist and Dalton Damon added hits for the Demons.
Burlington, which is trying for its fourth straight state tournament appearance, has beaten both Kenosha Tremper and Waterford this season.
The winner of Tremper and Waterford, the other sectional semifinal, will battle the Demons at 4 p.m. at Kenosha Tremper High School with a trip to state on the line.
Staude isn’t sweating any opponent.
“Trent will start the next game, and we’ll see what happens,” Staude said. “We’re familiar with these guys. We played close games with Tremper and Waterford. We’ll stay positive and see if we can win a sectional final.”
Look for full coverage of the Demons’ sectional play in Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press.
A video interview of winning pitcher Trey Krause follows:
-
-
-
-
-