Baseball still in Krause鈥檚 blood
FCBL notebook
CARMICHAELS 鈥� Dickie Krause wasn鈥檛 sure during his younger days as manager of the Carmichaels Copperheads if he鈥檇 still be as enthusiastic for the game of baseball and the Fayette County Baseball League at this point in his career.
鈥淚 was just telling a couple of my players, I鈥檒l be 62 next week and I thought by the time I hit like 50 this game would start to get out of my blood and wins and losses wouldn鈥檛 be a big deal,鈥� said Krause after his team held on to defeat Hopwood Village Plaza in a riveting Game 3 to earn its 15th league championship and second in a row.
That clearly isn鈥檛 the case, Krause admitted.
鈥淚鈥檓 telling you in high school and in County League I enjoy the wins more than I ever have because when you get older you have an appreciation for what you鈥檝e been through,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淵ou have enough of those bad days, you remember what they鈥檙e like. We lost games in heartbreaking ways, even in Game 7s. I die a little bit with the losses, I always do, I always have. Championships mean more to me than they ever have.鈥�
Tuesday鈥檚 game went down to the final play when Carmichaels center fielder Brodee Latocha tracked down Chad Petrus鈥� two-out double and fired the ball to shortstop Dom Colarusso whose relay throw went to catcher Robbie Wilson-Jones. Hopwood鈥檚 Santino Marra, representing the tying run, slid towards the plate just as Wilson-Jones put the tag down on a bang-bang play at home plate. Marra was called out on the play, giving the Copperheads a 4-3 win.
While the series will go down as a three-game sweep, all three games were close and could have gone either way.
鈥淭his didn鈥檛 feel at all like a 3-0 series the way our two teams battled each other,鈥� said Krause, whose coaching staff included Andy Manion, Vinnie Colarusso and Jacob Rush. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take a lot of pride in winning this series. It certainly wasn鈥檛 easy.鈥�
It鈥檚 more than just the wins and losses though for Krause who started up his team 42 years ago.
鈥淚鈥檝e been so blessed because I have hundreds of friends, guys who鈥檝e played for me going back to when we started this team in 1984,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淚 treasure that and when we get to this point in the year I get text messages like, 鈥榞o get another title.鈥� It鈥檚 such a great thing.
鈥淚鈥檓 not into records or trophies, anybody that knows me knows that. I鈥檓 thrilled for our guys, and happy for my dad who I call after every game. I called him before my team huddle, because he and I both have had such a tough year with the passing of my mom.鈥�
Krause treasures what the sport of baseball has given to him.
鈥淏aseball means so much to me, and the friends you make,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust like the two Hopwood players who played for me last year (Santino Marra and Andino Vecchiolla). I love those guys. They come over afterwards and they鈥檙e talking with us. That鈥檚 what this game is about.
鈥淏aseball has been so good to me in so many ways. I鈥檓 very appreciative of what I鈥檝e received from the sport over the years. Whether we won one title or 100 titles, that鈥檚 not what it鈥檚 about. I鈥檓 just thankful to be a part of this still and have the memories and experiences that I鈥檝e had.鈥�
HOPWOOD LIKELY TO RETURN
Hopwood manager Buddy Marra hopes to bring his team back for the 2027 season.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the plan anyhow.鈥�
Marra managed M&R Transit to three consecutive league titles from 2022-24 before not fielding a team last season, but he returned with Hopwood Village Plaza for 2026.
Marra plans to alter his roster somewhat if Hopwood is back for 2027.
鈥淲e were missing five starters the first game of this series and only lost by two, and we had several opportunities to win Game 2,鈥� Marra said. 鈥淚 think it would鈥檝e been a different series if we had our whole team, but I鈥檓 not making excuses, that鈥檚 on us, we have to play with what we have.
鈥淚鈥檒l probably be looking to see if we can get a bigger core of kids that are committed to show up each game. We did have some kids that went on vacation and maybe next year we can figure out when the playoffs are and let them know to try to be free then.鈥�
Overall, Marra was pleased with the 2026 season.
鈥淔or coming back into the league, not knowing exactly what we had, I thought it was a fun year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was nice getting back into the championship series. It was exciting.鈥�