OTT_Marquette Baseball State Champs_061524

State Champs! Congratulations Marquette!

Commemorative edition June 2024

Fate makes Marquette’s latest baseball championship even sweeter

By Charlie Ellerbrock

Six months ago, when Kerry and Sue Komater, Renee Durdan and friends of Marquette began planning a special event honoring the five-year anniversary of the Crusaders’ 2019 Class 1A baseball state championship, they chose the first Saturday in June because it was five years to the day from that milestone win.

There was probably little thought of what else might be happening on that day so far down the road.

Sure, they suspected it was close to the end of the current spring season, but assumed like everyone else familiar with Marquette baseball that by then the current Crusaders would be reflecting on a solid yet unspectacular 2024 season.

What team could survive the loss of players such as Times Player of the Year Taylor Waldron and Tri-County

Conference Player of the Year Logan Nelson?

Of fellow stars Aiden Thompson, Tommy Durdan and Krew Bond? Of Ethan Price, Primo Pattelli and others who together fashioned a 28-3 team that was a single, heartbreaking call away from another trip to the state’s final four?

With their roster pretty much gutted by graduation and three of their four starting pitchers gone from a Class 2A sectional finalist team, the returnees this spring were deemed by many as too young, too inexperienced to make this anything more than a rebuilding year.

But these current Crusaders not only survived those absences.

They thrived in them.

And that’s why there were two state championship trophies at their event at the Ottawa Knights of Columbus Hall on Saturday night.

The 6-2 victory over Altamont in

Saturday afternoon’s Class 1A baseball state championship game at Dozer Park in Peoria ended the Crusaders’ season at 31-2 and was the 650th win of Marquette coach Todd Hopkins’ career, not that anyone noticed.

Although the stoic coach would never admit it, there must be few that register as sweet in his 26-year tenure atop the Marquette program, just for the sheer randomness of it all.

He remembers the sting of being on the losing side of such fate, like falling in a supersectional to a Westminster Christian player who could pitch with either arm, like two years later against the same school and having his own pitcher throw a no-hitter in the super and lose, and like last year against Chicago Hope Academy when an odd interference call ended the season of that ultra-talented club way too early.

No one expected those things.

Why them? Why not this team?

No one knows, not even Hopkins.

He didn’t expect this team would find so many little ways to score crucial runs, to play near-flawless defense and pitch so incredibly well, to play such fundamentally sound baseball that reporters in the press box at Dozer would marvel at their execution.

No one expected that team’s bus to be met at the edge of town by five fire trucks with sirens blaring.

No one expected that hundreds of people would provide a standing ovation at a public welcome in their own Bader Gym.

No one expected the coach would have the chance to tell that crowd, “The best team doesn’t always win state … but this weekend, we were the best, and we did.”

And no one expected there to be two 1A state championship trophies at the Knights of Columbus.

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Members of the Marquette baseball team, coaches and faculty pose with the Class 1A championship trophy after defeating Altamont 6-2 on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Dozer Park in Peoria.

Once again, solid defense big key in a Marquette victory

By Brian Hoxsey

PEORIA – There are many sayings, that while they hold the same meaning, cross the borders of different sports.

One that is used a lot, and many basketball programs hold dear, is “Defense wins championships.”

The Marquette baseball team showed it all season, but especially in Saturday’s 6-2 win over Altamont in the Class 1A state championship game, that defense on the diamond can be a huge key to capturing titles, as well.

The Crusaders’ defense backed a tremendous outing by senior pitcher Carson Zellers from start to finish – making every routine play while also throwing in a handful of sensational ones.

Zellers, who finished with a complete-game four-hitter, started the spotless defense in the bottom of the third when he scooped a one-hopper back to the box and started a perfect inning-ending double play.

Then in the fourth, freshman third baseman Griffin Dobberstein made a tough-hop grounder look easy before firing to first for the second out. Zellers then recorded the third out, snaring a sharp liner right back to him.

“The guys played unbelievable behind me, not only today, but all season,” Zellers said. “Playing third base when I don’t pitch, I know how hard that play Griffin made is. He made it look routine. Then later you throw in another tough play by Griffin, a great catch and tag by Sam [Mitre] at first on a high throw, and a couple other tough

Marquette assistant coach Brad Waldron walks out to talk to his team on the mound during the Class 1A semifinal game on Friday, May 31, 2024 at Dozer Park in Peoria.

defensive plays along the way. There are times where I’m thinking strikeout, but even in those times I know even if I make really good pitch and the batter still puts it anywhere near one of the guys behind me, they are going to make the play.”

Zellers again picked off a liner headed for center in the fifth, and Dobberstein charged in to turn another chopper into a fielder’s choice at second.

“I think I maybe got a couple balls hit my way, but man it was fun watching guys like Griff, Sam and Carson make the plays they did,” said Marquette senior right fielder Charlie Mullen, who had two hits and two RBIs in the victory. “I used

to pitch when I was younger, so I know most of the time on those liners back at you it’s just reaction, but those two Carson grabbed were unreal.”

The final web gem was turned in by first baseman Mitre in the sixth when he alertly came off the bag, leaped to take a high throw and tagged the runner as he went by.

“We take a lot of pride in our defense and pitching,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said after his team completed a 31-2 season. “Those two things go hand-in-hand, and if you are solid in both and are able to string a few hits together at some point, I feel like more often than not you’re going to win ballgames. That’s exactly what happened today. We were pretty darn good all around, especially in pressure moments.

“I’m always harping on the defense. We were very solid today starting with Griffin with a couple nice plays at third, Carson fielding his spot on the mound and Sam going up to get that one and making the tag.”

Hopkins said he feels much of the defensive success comes from repetition and that giving teams extra outs normally means disaster.

“Maybe we take too many grounders and fly balls in practices at times, but it’s because when you get into tight games you have to make sure you aren’t giving the other team extra outs,” Hopkins said. “Good teams find a way to make you pay for mistakes.

“I feel like we played a ton of good teams this season and in the postseason, but all those teams earned what they got, and we didn’t give away hardly anything.”

Charlie Mullen’s big hit sparks Marquette to 1A championship

By Charlie Ellerbrock

PEORIA – The play that truly decided Saturday’s Class 1A baseball state championship game at Dozer Park probably won’t be as often discussed, as clearly recalled or perhaps not even as easily remembered as the significant plays coming after it.

However, for turning the tide in Marquette Academy’s favor, there was just the one and that came from Charlie Mullen.

With the Crusaders’ Carson Zellers and Altamont’s Kade Milleville locked in a one-hit-each, scoreless pitchers’ duel through the first four innings, it was the MA senior Mullen who came through with a looping line drive to center field that allowed hard-running freshman Griffin Dobberstein to slide home with the tie-breaking run.

Although that margin was padded with four gift runs in the next inning – a dropped pop-up with the bases loaded and two outs, plus another off an RBI triple by Mullen –it was the initial run that sparked Marquette to a 6-2 victory over the Indians and its second 1A state

championship in five seasons.

Mullen as a sophomore shined in the 2021 postseason to help MA to a third-place trophy. His first hit Saturday allowed Zellers to relax a little more and be as superb as he was on the warm and humid day, striking out five and finishing the day with a four-hitter.

Though Zellers walked three and allowed a two-run single to Eli Miller all in the last of the seventh, the Crusaders (31-2) never seemed in danger of losing that lead after Mullen’s game-changing hit.

“Once we scored, I was more relieved and that helped,” Zellers said. “The other runs allowed me to be even more calm, focused and relaxed, but the first one was big.”

“I had two strikes, and I think I have a history of doing pretty well with two strikes. Two years ago, I did pretty well, too,” Mullen said with a smile. “The pitcher put it right down the middle, so I had to [swing]. It was kinda crazy … I have no idea why I do well in the postseason, but it feels good, giving it all we’ve got.”

While Zellers was cruising, facing the minimum through four and help-

ing himself out by snaring bullet line drives back at him in the fourth and fifth, Marquette (31-2) got a runner to third base with two outs in the fourth inning against Milleville but didn’t score.

But in the fifth, Dobberstein led off with a single, and Anthony Couch sacrificed him to second. Mullen followed with his huge hit to center, the throw home bouncing high enough to handcuff the Indians catcher and allow Dobberstein to slide in safely.

“Charlie struggled early in the year in the cold weather, but we knew he could hit,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “I knew when we got here he’d do something special. He got us going today.”

The icing came in the next inning, when singles by Zellers, Sam Mitre and Keaton Davis loaded the bases with one out. After Dobberstein grounded into a force at home for the second out, Couch hit a sky-high pop-up just behind second base, and it was dropped. All three runners scored, including Dobberstein hustling all the way from first.

Mullen capped the rally, clubbing a booming triple to right-center field

to plate Couch.

The Cru added a run in the seventh off Altamont reliever Aden McManaway when Grant Dose walked, Alec Novotney collected his second hit of the day, Zellers sacrificed them over, and Mitre slammed a sacrifice fly to center.

“You saw how we won, doing little things. Bunt, bunt, bunt, play good defense and get good pitching,” Hopkins said. “Today we caught a break and were like piranha in bloody water. ... The kids just handled the heat, the pressure in a tough game. We told them before the game to seize the moment, and they did.

“Anytime you get down here it’s sweet. … But this year, it helped that we had a few players that were on the ‘21 team. They learned from last year’s team and came out this year and just shocked us, shocked the state this weekend and all year. They put it together at the right time, and I’m just so proud of them. This is an unbelievable group of guys.

“The best team doesn’t always win a state championship, but we were the best this week, and we did.”

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Marquette senior Carson Zellers earns bragging rights for himself, team

By Brian Hoxsey

PEORIA – Marquette senior Carson Zellers stood on the concourse at Dozer Park on Saturday afternoon holding on tightly to the Class 1A baseball state championship trophy with a smile from ear to ear.

The smile, the pats on the back, the words of congratulations and the trophy – all well earned.

“I remember coming here in 2019 and watching my brother, Luke Couch, and his teammates win this,” Zellers said as he gazed at the trophy.

“Since that day I hoped I’d get a chance to go through what they went through. Now I did, and I’m at loss to find words about how I’m feeling right now. This is just awesome.

“Luke doesn’t have bragging rights anymore, and now he can finally stop talking about his title. Now I’ve got one of my own.”

The right-handed Zellers helped Marquette to its second state title in the past five years by tossing a complete-game, four-hitter with five strikeouts in a 6-2 victory over Altamont.

“From the time we completed the [semifinal] game [against Jacksonville Routt] yesterday until we got here today and I started warming up felt like two days,” Zellers said of the anticipation of having a chance to pitch his team to the title. “I haven’t been able to sit still since the end of the semifinal. I tried getting some sleep last night, but it was tough.”

Like most of his starts this season, Zellers said he was feeling good right from the start.

“Everything, all my pitches, location, it was all

only run, and I knew [Altamont’s] top four or five guys can really hit, but I really felt I had good enough stuff today to make that one run hold up if I needed to. Then we got the break in the fifth, made it 5-0, and from there I was just trying to make sure I stayed in the strike zone as much as possible.”

Fellow senior Charlie Mullen said the entire team knew how good Zellers was pitching and was just trying to find a way to get him some run support.

working as good as it has been all season today,” said Zellers, who finished the season with a 9-1 record, 1.48 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 14 games. “I felt really solid as I warmed up. I obviously had some nerves, but once the game started, I was all good.”

The game was scoreless through four innings until Marquette plated one run in the fifth, then added four in the sixth – three after a dropped pop-up with two outs led to three runs scoring.

“I was just hunting for outs from the start,” Zellers said. “I just wanted to limit [Altamont] to as little as possible, and I knew we would eventually get a couple runs. Getting the one run in the fifth really pumped me up. I know it was

“I feel like in close games, like today was early, you just have to remind yourself to relax,” Mullen said. “I think we all knew that we were going to put together something with the bats, but we just all kept talking about staying with what we do and what had gotten us to this point. To be honest, I never felt like anyone was pressing or trying to do too much. I guess the tough thing was we all knew how well Carson was pitching, and we just wanted to get some runs to make his job a little easier. We finally did.”

Altamont was able to scratch a pair of runs off Zellers in the bottom of the seventh with one out, but the senior ace was able to get a strike out looking and a pop out to finish off the contest and start the celebration.

“Carson was awesome today. Man was he good,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “But that said, he’s been awesome all season and really his whole career for us. When a pitcher can change speeds and hit spots consistently like Carson can, he’s going to awful tough to beat. He showed that today.”

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Marquette pitcher Carson Zellers lets go of a pitch to Altamont during the Class 1A State championship game on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Dozer Park in Peoria.

Capitalizing on opportunities, Marquette tops Routt in 1A semifinal

By Charlie Ellerbrock

PEORIA – When a team admittedly is not at its best against formidable competition, it’s imperative that same team must make the most of every opportunity and every motivation presented to it to stay alive, to move on, to win. That is how championships are won.

This year’s Marquette Crusaders are no strangers to doing the fighting, the clawing and the drawing of emotional inspiration to find victory, and they proved it again Friday with their 9-3 Class 1A state semifinal victory over Jacksonville Routt at Peoria’s Dozer Park.

The Crusaders overcame the news that the mother of assistant Steve “Pizza” Scherer had died the day before.

They overcame that starting pitcher Alec Novotney was ill and, while solid, not nearly as dominant as he’d been the last month of this season, including back-to-back shutouts this postseason. They overcame managing only five hits, two of them by freshman Griffin Dobberstein.

They overcame a Routt team that had more wins and was riding an 11game win streak.

The Cru overcame all those things by making the most of two hits, three

Routt errors, four walks and a hit batsmen to score eight runs in the bottom of the second inning – plus some solid relief pitching from Anthony Couch – to give them the win and a berth in the state championship game against Altamont.

The Indians (31-9) defeated Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 3-2 with a run on a throwing error in the last of the seventh inning.

“It’s so hard to get down here, and when you do, you never know how the kids are going to react, how you’re going to react,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “These guys learned from the group before them. That was an awesome team. It had been through it, and they knew how to handle themselves. It’s so tough to relay that to them, and half the time they think you’re full of it, but they listen and try to do what we tell them. They believe it a little more now that they’ve seen the results.

“Getting that run in the first was big, but we needed more and then we had the big inning … Al pitched well. He’s been sick, but he gutted it out and then Anthony came in. The way things went, we didn’t need him so we kept him fresh with bullpens, but in the state semi when we needed him, he took the ball and said ‘Let’s go’ …

CONGRATULATIONS MARQUETTE

I’m just proud of them.”

Dobberstein gave MA the lead in the home first. With two out, Sam Mitre singled and Keaton Davis followed with a two-base hit, putting runners on second and third. Dobberstein then slapped a soft single to drive in the run.

But Turner and the defense’s generosity with base runners really got Routt in trouble the next inning.

Jaxsen Higgins led off grounding to short for a bobbling error, and Grant Dose hit it there again, leading to a throw to first base too late. Turner walked Novotney to fill the bases, then walked Carson Zellers and Mitre to force in a run each.

His wildness continued with wild pitches scoring Novotney and Zellers, followed by a walk to Davis before Dobberstein came through again with an RBI single to right-center.

Davis crossed home on the third Routt error of the inning, and Dose drove in Couch, who had been hit by a pitch, with only the second MA hit of the eight-run inning.

Routt had only three hits through four innings but finally broke through against the tiring Novotney in the fifth. Daulton Brown and Nolan Turner started it with singles to right, then one out later, Conrad Charpen-

tier drew a bases-loading walk. Brady Turner followed with a two-run single and Eli Olson later added a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

Those were the first earned runs allowed by Novotney and Saturday’s starter Carson Zellers in 38 postseason innings.

Couch, who hadn’t pitched since May 10 vs. Dwight, got through the sixth thanks to an inning-ending diving catch by center fielder Dose, who then recorded the first out in the seventh the same way.

Two walks and a two-out infield hit loaded the bases before Mitre gobbled up Talon Thompson’s foul pop-up behind first to end the threat and the game.

“This game can be really simple and really difficult all at the same time, as you saw in our second inning there,” Routt coach Ryan Turner said. “We have not had many innings like that in our season, and it was just one of those things. We made some uncharacteristic errors, we were wild, we had a broken mitt lead to a passed ball and a run scored, we had a cross up from our pitcher cost us a run. We just ran into a streak of bad luck, it felt like.

“But I’m really proud of our guys and they way they fought back. ... We were just a little short today.”

Marquette sophomore Alec Novotney pitches out of trouble early in semifinal

By Brian Hoxsey

PEORIA – Really good pitchers still can have success and work themselves out of trouble even on days when they don’t have their best stuff or are feeling a bit under the weather.

Both were the case for Marquette sophomore right-handed starter Alec Novotney in the Crusaders’ 9-3 Class 1A state semifinal win over Jacksonville Routt on Friday at Dozer Park.

Novotney, who earned the win to go to 10-0 on the season, struggled with his command early but was able to wriggle out of a one-out jam with runners on first and second in the top of the first by getting a ground ball double play. Then in the second with the bases loaded after a single and a pair of walks, induced a ground ball for the third out to keep the Rockets off the scoreboard.

“I thought Alec pitched well,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “The kid has been sick the last two days, and he really gutted this one out for us.”

“It’s just a cold and allergies,” Novotney said. “My arm felt good. I was a little tired the past few days.”

“It’s worse than that, so don’t let him fool you,” Hopkins said.

innings, finished allowing six hits, three earned runs – the first runs Marquette pitchers had allowed in 37 postseason innings - while walking four and striking out six.

“I just got behind in the count too much today, especially in the first two innings,” Novotney said. “I usually don’t walk very many guys, but today things got a little bit out of hand. I don’t really have a good answer for it, just didn’t have my best stuff at certain times throughout the game. I also struggled a little bit getting my changeup over and because of that had to try and rely on my other pitches.”

The Routt lineup featured eight left-handed batters, but Novotney and Marquette pitching coach Brad Waldron said the game plan was the same as it’s been all year.

worked all year is how we planned on attacking hitters again today. We’ve got a pitching staff that I’m confident can make any pitch in any location at any time.

“I could tell after the first hitter or two that he didn’t have his best stuff. But for Alec, even without his best stuff he’s pretty darn good, and that’s because he’s mentally tough. That said, he was getting behind in the count much more than he’s used to, and when that happens you are kind of forced to throw the ball over the meat of the plate. It’s in those times where you just have to let your defense help you out, and I feel like we have some pretty good fielders out there, as well.”

Anthony Couch came on to fire a pair of scoreless innings to close out the victory.

Marquette (30-2) is scheduled to play Altamont, which defeated Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 3-2 in the second semifinal, at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The Crusaders’ offense made things a little easier for Novotney’s last three innings of work by adding eight runs in the second to the one they had scored in the first. Novotney, who entered the game having walked only five batters in 53

“I really don’t pitch differently to left- or right-handed batters,” Novotney said. “You still have to throw the ball over the plate and make them hit it. The first two innings I just didn’t do that as well as I would have liked.”

“Nope,” Waldron said quickly when asked if Routt’s heavy lefthanded lineup forced a change in his approach to calling pitches. “We’ve been solid in the pitching department all season, and what’s

“The name of the game in pitching is to get outs,” Waldron said. “There isn’t a bonus for strikeouts or blowing a pitch past someone. They all count the same.

“While Alec might not have had everything going as well as he would have liked, he seemed to make a really good pitch in a situation where he needed to and got an out. Then Anthony, who hadn’t pitched since the end of the regular season, came in and closed the door.”

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Marquette’s Alec Novotney lets go of a pitch against Routt during the Class 1A semifinal game on Friday, May 31, 2024 at Dozer Park in Peoria.

“One

-Nolan Ryan