Marquette rallies for 3-2 walk-off win over Dwight

OTTAWA – After falling behind 2-0 in the second inning, the Marquette Crusaders rallied to tie the game in the third and walked off the Dwight Trojans 3-2 Thursday night at Masinelli Field.

Crusaders starting pitcher Anthony Couch helped his own cause with a two-run double to left field in the third. With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, first baseman Sam Mitre came through with a line drive base hit to walk it off.

“We gave Sam the green light there, and it worked out the way it was supposed to,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said.

The clutch hit backed up a strong bounce-back effort from Couch, who found his rhythm after a shaky start on the mound.

“He had trouble finding the zone early, but once he settled in, he pitched really well,” Hopkins said.

Couch admitted he had trouble locating his pitches early on but settled in once he started relying more on his off-speed stuff.

“I couldn’t control my fastball well in the first and second innings, so I started throwing more curveballs and sliders,” Couch said. “I mixed in a few changeups, but the curve and slider were really what worked for me today.”

Couch struck out 11 over five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, and also went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double, a single and two RBIs.

Jaxson Higgins earned the win in relief, striking out five and allowing just one hit over the final two innings.

Despite a slow start at the plate, Hopkins credited his team for staying composed and having competitive at-bats when it mattered most.

“I’d like us to be a bit better with two strikes, shorten our swings more, but I thought we had a fine approach overall,” he said. “We came through when we had to — and against a really good baseball team.”

Dwight head coach Jerry McDowell was happy with most aspects of his team’s performance — except for their offense.

“We played good defense and our pitching was solid, but our approach at the plate has been rough lately,” McDowell said. “We struck out 16 times today, that’s just too many. We had chances early and didn’t cash in, so I feel like we let one get away.”

Dwight recorded five hits, with each coming from a different player in the lineup.

Their two runs came courtesy of a single by right fielder Drew Anderson and a fielder’s choice by second baseman Owen Dunlap.

Trojans starting pitcher Joey Starks kept the Crusaders off balance for much of the game, throwing 114 pitches before surrendering the walk-off hit in the seventh.

McDowell said the plan going into the game was for Starks to go the distance, and he had full confidence in him to push through once his pitch count got high.

“We like to let our top guys pitch deep in these tough conference games,” McDowell said. “He’s well-conditioned, and we’ll see him again next week.”

Despite working deep into his pitch count, Starks battled through 6⅓ innings, allowing five hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out six and issuing six walks.

Marquette (11-1) will look to keep rolling when it hosts Parkview Christian Academy on Saturday. Meanwhile, Dwight (8-5) will be on the road next Tuesday against St. Bede.