Every pitcher is going to deal with adversity and high-pressure situations differently.

For Marquette’s Jaxsen Higgins in a one-out, bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Crusaders up just a run against Roanoke-Benson/Lowpoint-Washburn on Monday it was pretty simple.

“Honestly, I was just thinking ‘Throw it over the plate and hopefully he’ll hit into a double play or strike out,’” Higgins said. “I wasn’t thinking about anything but just throwing strikes.”

Higgins induced a pop out to shortstop before picking up a strikeout to halt the threat. He then closed out the seventh with a pair of flyouts and a fielder’s choice to earn the save and preserve a 5-4 Tri-County Conference victory in Roanoke.

“Getting that strikeout (to end the sixth) felt so good,” Higgins said. “I’m just glad I could come through for my team.”

The win improved Marquette to 16-0 overall and 6-0 in TCC play. RB/LW dropped to 11-4 and 4-2. The two teams will rematch on Tuesday at Masinelli Field in Ottawa.

“This was a little bit of a wakeup call for us, and we were able to come out on top,” Higgins said. “Now we have to bring the same effort and focus we had to today to (Tuesday).”

The Rockets grabbed a 1-0 lead the Crusaders and starting and winning pitcher Alec Novotney in the first on a solo home run by Henry Koehler to straightway center.

Marquette responded in the second off Rockets’ pitcher Evan Schumacher (7 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) as Anthony Couch singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a ground out and scored on an RBI base hit by Higgins. Braxton Nelle then followed with a two-run homer - his first high school round-tripper - down the left field line to make it 3-1.

“I was just trying my best to put the ball in play today,” Nelle said. “I’ve pretty much just been hitting singles all season and I was really just trying to do just that. I was able to put the barrel of the bat on that one and got under just enough to lift it out. It was pretty cool.”

The Crusaders added to their advantage in the fifth when Connor Baker singled to left center, and after a sacrifice bunt by Grant Dose, scored on Griffin Dobberstein’s homer to center.

The hosts used a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the inning by Koehler to make it 5-3.

In the Rockets’ sixth, a leadoff outfield error, two walks and an RBI fielder’s choice made it a one-run contest before Higgins slammed the door shut.

Novotney went the opening five innings allowing six hits, three earned runs with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Higgins recorded the final six outs.

Dobberstein, who also doubled, Nelle and Baker all finished with two hits apiece.

“We come down here every year and it’s always a battle,” said Marquette coach Todd Hopkins, who recorded his 700th career win on Saturday. “This has always been a tough place to play for us but a lot of that is because they just have a really good program. (The bottom of the sixth) was the point of the game where it could have gone either way, but credit Higgins for battling through it. Then he came out in the seventh and retired their best hitter for the first out. He did an excellent job for us today.

“We hit some balls right on the nose, but a lot of those were right at them and we got under a few. Alec had trouble getting his breaking ball consistently over for strikes, but he competed for five innings. The kid knows how to pitch and knows how to pitch when he maybe doesn’t have his best stuff. He showed that today.”