November 5, 2006
Or maybe it was just Tyler Krause. The resident of nearby Fountain Hills starred at the plate and on the mound for Team Arizona, which proved to be a less than gracious host Sunday afternoon as it captured the Champions Classic title with a 11-1 victory over NorCal. The win capped a weekend in which 11 teams vied for the title but it was Team Arizona that went undefeated, winning all five of its games to capture the crown.
Krause earned the victory, pitching the first three innings of the six-inning affair [it ended because of the 10-run rule]. He came on and caught the final three innings and was 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base and two RBIs. He finished the tourney hitting .400 [6-for-15] with six walks.
"This is pretty important," said Krause, who allowed only one run on one hit while striking out three. "U.S. Olympic Baseball is a large step in a baseball career. I did a lot of research and a lot of Major Leaguers went through the US Olympic junior programs so this is a big step."
The victors inflicted all the damage they would need in the second inning. Zach Stierstorfer and Nate Ragaisis led off with back-to-back walks, chasing NorCal starter Braden Bishop. Mitch Kranson came on and got the first batter he faced to pop to short but Ben Tingley followed with a two-run double down the left-field line.
Tyler Krause followed with a single to put runners on the corners before Tingley scored on a wild pitch. Matt Gonzalez followed with an RBI single before Zach Davies walked and Cole Gleason singled to load the bases. Kranson then uncorked his second wild pitch of the inning, allowing two more runs to score while putting Gleason on third. Nathaniel Causey’s grounder to third plated Team Arizona’s seventh run of the inning.
Team Arizona padded its lead in the third with Krause contributing an RBI triple – his third hit of the game – and Davies adding a run-scoring single. Davies then added an RBI double in the fifth. Krause’s run-scoring fly in the sixth provided the 10-run margin.
It proved to be a fitting end, especially since it looked as if Krause might not make it out of the first inning. NorCal negotiated a pair of two-out walks and were on the verge of a big first inning before Krause got Braden Bishop on a grounder to third to end the threat. By the time NorCal mounted another rally in the third, Team Arizona had already staked Krause to the 9-0 lead.
"Getting out of that first inning was very important," Krause said. "I just wanted to throw strikes and not give up on any batter. SO that first inning helped a lot. It made me more mentally focused. I came to the park focused and I wanted to get the job done hitting wise and pitching.
"And it helped being home. We had all the necessities here. We were able to take care of ourselves, get a good shower when we got home and stay in a warm house."
Star Maker defeated Northwest Diamondsports White, 9-6, in the third-place game.
Kevin Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com.
