BK
Brett Krause
  • liberal studies
  • Class of 2018
  • Elm Grove, Wis.

Menomonee Falls's Krause Earns Spot on 2018 UW-Whitewater Baseball Roster

2018 Mar 16

Brett Krause, a native of Menomonee Falls, WI, and graduate of Menomonee Falls High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team during the 2018 season, which begins next week.

Krause, a senior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in liberal studies.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team begins the 2018 season next week with high hopes of repeating as Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion and competing for the program's third national title.

UW-Whitewater finished with a 36-9 record last season, including a 17-3 mark in WIAC play during the regular season. The team swept the league regular season and tournament titles and hosted an eight-team NCAA Regional.

The Warhawks are the choice of the conference coaches and athletic communications personnel to win the WIAC, and are currently ranked second in the nation in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 and sixth in the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Poll.

UW-Whitewater kicks off the season Wednesday against fellow 2017 NCAA Regional qualifier Babson (Mass.) in the team's first of eight games to be played at the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla. The Warhawks also have games scheduled against 2017 national runner-up and No. 3 ranked Washington and Jefferson (Pa.) on Thursday and 2017 NCAA qualifier St. Thomas (Minn.) on March 27.

UW-Whitewater opens the home portion of its 2018 schedule on March 31 against Ripon at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium, which is undergoing renovations to the clubhouse. The conference slate opens April 7-8 with a four-game series against UW-Stout at Miller Stadium.

Other April highlights include a four-game set at perennial contender UW-La Crosse on April 14-15 and a home doubleheader against No. 22 St. Scholastica (Minn.), a 2017 NCAA Regional qualifier, on April 19.

The Warhawks host another 2017 national qualifier, St. Norbert, in a doubleheader on May 1 at Miller Stadium. After a four-game series at home against UW-Stevens Point on May 4-5, the team closes the regular season with a game at Concordia Wisconsin on May 8.

See below for a position-by-position breakdown of the 2018 UW-Whitewater baseball team.

Infield

Returning starters on the infield include seniors Mike Aiello (Racine, Wis./Horlick), Blake Fleischman(Germantown, Wis./Germantown) and junior Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge).

Fleischman was named WIAC Position Player of the Year, first team All-WIAC, first team D3baseball.com All-Midwest Region and third team ABCA All-Midwest Region in 2017. The first baseman ranked among league leaders in home runs (6) and total bases (83) and hit .309 with 31 RBI and a .483 slugging percentage.

After transferring to UW-Whitewater last season, Aiello became the team's mainstay at catcher, batting .279 with 24 runs scored, nine doubles and 26 runs batted in. He held a fielding percentage of .982 and ranked second in the conference with 350 putouts.

Aldridge garnered first team All-WIAC and second team all-region accolades for the second consecutive year after leading the conference in on-base percentage (.470) and RBI (41). He batted .342 with six home runs, 40 runs scored and a .514 slugging percentage.

Other returning infielders include seniors Trent Borgardt (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee), Jeff Szubert (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew), juniors McCauley Cox (Janesville, Wis./Craig), Connor Schneider (Wheaton, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and sophomore Lucas Price (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley). Borgardt appeared in 17 games, including nine as a starter, primarily at first base a season ago. Szubert played in 12 games (nine starts) and batted .306 (11-for-36), Cox appeared in 14 games and Price played in 10 contests.

Senior catcher Brent Feldner (Schererville, Ind./Marian Catholic) played in 10 games, including five as a starter, during his first season as a Warhawk after transferring from Oakton Community College (Ill.).

Newcomers: Andrew James (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay), Fr.; Michael Manns (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls), Fr.; Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee), So.; Nick Santoro (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), Fr.; Jeran Simpson (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South), Fr., UTL; Bryan Sturdevant (Burlington, Wis./Burlington), Fr.; Nick Schrader (Cambridge, Wis./Jefferson), Jr.; Ben Wilkins(Sussex, Wis./Lake Country Lutheran), So.

Outfield

Senior Brett Krause (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) and junior Matt Wary (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) return as starters in the outfield. Senior Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) also started 17 of the 19 games he played during his injury-shortened 2017 season.

Krause earned first team all-conference, first team ABCA all-region and second team D3baseball.com all-region honors last spring. He led the WIAC in hits (67) and batted .376, good for second in the league, with 44 runs scored, 31 RBI, 10 doubles and 12 stolen bases.

Wary was selected honorable mention All-WIAC after tallying a team-high 15 stolen bases to go with 37 runs scored and a .314 batting average.

Bryden, who has started 93 games in his career, batted .386 (22-for-57) last season with five home runs, a .500 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases in his 19 games.

Senior Ryan Makuski (Custer, Wis./Amherst) and sophomore Alex Doud (Waukesha, Wis./Mukwonago)also return in the outfield. Makuski played in 21 games last season, including eight as a starter, and Doud played in nine games.

Sophomore Noah Jensen (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper), a utility player, appeared in nine games last season and stole a pair of bases.

Newcomers: Trevor Cho (Mequon, Wis./Homestead), So.; Jeran Simpson (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South), Fr., UTL

Pitching

Senior All-Americans Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) and Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson)form a potent 1-2 punch at the top of the Warhawks' pitching rotation.

Jones was named first team all-conference and consensus first team all-region on his way to D3baseball.com honorable mention All-America accolades. In 13 games, including 11 as a starter, he tallied an 8-3 record with a 1.91 earned run average, 83 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .202. Jones tossed a team-high 85 innings for the year.

Renz parlayed an incredible 2017 performance into WIAC Pitcher of the Year, Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year, first team D3baseball All-America and third team ABCA All-America accolades. He posted a 9-0 record with a 1.91 ERA, 55 strikeouts and a .215 opponent batting average in 69 innings.

Junior Michael Kaska (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton Community) emerged last spring as a strong option as a starter or out of the bullpen. He made 16 appearances, including four starts, and recorded a 2.95 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings pitched.

Junior Sam Heilenbach (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) pitched 10 2/3 innings in four games last season, posting a 1-0 record. Makuski, who didn't make an appearance last season, is also listed as a pitcher.

Sophomore Riley Gruetzmacher (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls) returns to the team after a one-year hiatus from the team. In 2016, he made 10 relief appearances, posting a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings.

Newcomers: Cooper Michalski (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Mundelein), So.; Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee), So.; Westin Muir (St. Charles, Ill./North), Fr.; Matt O'Sullivan (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland), Fr.; Evan Sigmund (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls), Fr.; Connor Spear (Highland, Ind./Mount Carmel (Ill.)), Fr.