Mt. Marty's Main Man (Trey Krier)

May 10, 2010 6:04 PM


Our Taco John's Athlete of the Week wasn't supposed to be an everyday baseball player, but Trey Krier bothered his coach, earned his playing time and eventually helped lead Mount Marty to the NAIA National Baseball Tournament.

When Trey Krier graduated from O'Gorman, he was a star baseball player, but he headed to Mount Marty and played basketball full time.  While Krier did play hoops for four years in Yankton, he really made an impact in his other sport.

"His first two years he just pitched and it was almost like he wanted more," said Lancers Head Baseball Coach Andy Bernatow.  "He said, 'Hey just give me a shot, just give me a shot.'  And the agreement was, you can do both and we'll kind of have you just pitch."

Then All-American Cole Knippling graduated, giving Krier his chance to play everyday.

"Always wants the ball, never shies away from it and it's been a treat to coach him," said Bernatow.

This year, Krier hit .326 as an everyday player to go along with his stellar pitching.  Krier went 9-0 during the regular season with a 2.10 ERA.  He struck out 71 batters and walked just five.  And on April 5th, he threw the first perfect game in GPAC history when he beat Briar Cliff.

"I looked out in the outfield and Briar Cliff's scoreboard had some light bulbs out in the hits column, so you couldn't really tell what it said out there," said Krier.  "Then I realized who was up and I kinda did the math whatever and figured out that no one had gotten on base.  I kinda had to take a step off the mound quick and collect myself."

Krier was named National pitcher of the week after retiring all 21 batters he faced.  Now as a senior, he's hoping for a perfect ending to his career as the Lancers head to the NAIA National Tournament.  And his coach knows who will be getting the ball when it counts.

"There's not a whole lot of coaching going on with him," said Bernatow.  "Someone taught him at a young age how to get hitters out and how to dissect hitters.  I'm fortunate that I get the best seat in the house and I get to watch and be a part of it."

That's pretty high praise from a baseball coach.  Especially for a full-time basketball player.