Marquette rolls to 10-0 TCC win over RB/LW

OTTAWA — Marquette continued its strong start to the season in Tuesday’s Tri-County matchup with Roanoke-Benson/Lowpoint-Washburn at Masinelli Field.

After retiring the Rockets in order in the top of the first inning, the Crusaders plated three runs with two outs in their half. The hosts then added one in the second, three in the third, two in the fifth and finally one in the sixth to close out a 10-0 run-rule victory.

The triumph moved Marquette to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in TCC play. RB/LW dropped to 8-4 and 4-3.

Junior starting pitcher Alec Novotney was dominant in his five innings of work, allowing just a fourth-inning single to the Rockets’ Josh Kennell and striking out 10, including five looking. Overall, the Crusaders ace, with a solid mix of fastballs and off-speed pitches, fired 42 of his 63 pitches for strikes.

“Alec had very good command and demeanor today on the mound,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “You can tell when he’s on the mound the other kids are comfortable and confident. We’ve been letting him go a little deeper in each game this season and as the weather and temperatures get better and warmer, he’ll go longer.”

A pair of Rockets’ two-out errors and a two-run single by Jaxsen Higgins on the first pitch he saw from Rockets starter Henry Koehler (4 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) gave the hosts a 3-0 lead.

“I normally take the first pitch,” said Higgins, who finished with three of the Crusaders’ 11 hits. “Doing that just helps me relax, but today I got a couple of really good first-pitch fastballs right down the middle that I just couldn’t pass up. Then in my third at-bat I got a slider right over the plate and was able to take it the other way.

“My process at the plate wasn’t much different than normal, other than today I was looking to put the ball in play early in the count if the pitch was right.

Novotney’s RBI groundout after an Easton Debernardi triple made it 4-0 in the second, and a two-run single by Payton Guttierez and run-scoring grounder by Griffin Dobberstein pushed things to 7-0 after three. In the fifth off Kennell (1⅔ IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) in relief, a wild pitch and Anthony Couch RBI single made it 9-0.

After Higgins (1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) pitched the top of the sixth, Gutierrez and Novotney both singled and Doberstein walked to load the bases before Sam Mitre was hit by a pitch — for the third time in the game — to bring in the clinching run.

After the three hits by Higgins, Novotney, Gutierrez and Keaton Davis each had two, while Mitre and Dobberstein walked twice.

“Sam has been hit by a lot of pitches this year (12), but it’s like I preach to the kids, it’s not always about getting a hit more so than finding a way to get on base,” Hopkins said. “He took one for the team there in the first inning, then the next four guys put the ball in play and all of a sudden, we’ve put three runs up.

“We had a few guys put some really good at-bats together and hit the ball hard, and Alec and Jaxsen both pitched well.

“It was an overall good game for us.”

The teams are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday in Roanoke with a first pitch at 4:30 p.m.