Baseball: Marquette blasts Newman for Hopkins’ 600th win

OTTAWA – Perhaps it was a good thing that the Marquette Academy baseball team didn’t know it was about to make history. Instead of dwelling on it, the Crusaders went about their business as usual.

And in the end, it couldn’t have turned out any better.

While starting pitcher Logan Nelson and reliever Alex Graham combined to allow Sterling Newman one hit in four shutout innings, the offense posted six runs in the first inning and used three hits each from Krew Bond and Sam Mitre to roll through the Comets for a 16-1 victory.

Where history entered the picture was that the win, in addition to lifting Marquette to 9-1 on the season, gave coach Todd Hopkins the 600th victory of his 24-plus year career at the school.

“It’s nice, but the real priority is to get these guys ready to have a chance to play in a regional final,” said Hopkins, who admitted that the players didn’t know until PA announcer Pat Whalen mentioned it after the game ended.

“The kids played a heck of a game, especially offensively. We struggled a bit in the first inning, but then put the bat on the ball. Logan and Alex both threw well. … It was the plan to keep Logan to a certain number of pitches with all the tough games we have coming up in the next week, and we want to keep our options open.”

The victory sets Hopkins’ record at 600-179, with the win total placing him in 40th place on the IHSA all-time baseball wins list, as of the start of this season.

Not far ahead of him on that list are former St. Bede coach John Bellino (625-346-3) and former Mendota and current Plainfield South coach Phil Bodine (629-365-1), while from the Tri-County Conference Robert Newell of Chenoa, Sparland and Henry-Senachwine (704 wins) and Bill Zeman of Roanoke-Benson (693-434).

However, Hopkins is ahead of those familiar names in percent of victories. His winning percentage of 70.02 trails only two coaches above him on the list that have fewer than 200 losses: Tim Funkhouser of Troy Triad and Edwardsville (700-195, 78.2%) and Jerry Szukala of Chicago Phillips and Lane Tech (609-196, 75.6%).

“It’s nice to be a part of something like that,” said Nelson, who went the first 2 1/3 innings allowing one hit and striking out five, while also clouting his second home run, a solo shot leading off the second.

“My arm felt good. This is the warmest weather I’ve pitched in so far, so that felt good, too … and I feel like when everyone else is hitting the ball, you don’t want to let the team down so I have to hit, too. It’s like, I’ve gotta get a hit.”

That started in the first. After Tommy Durdan was hit by an Isaiah Williams pitch, Bond slugged a one-out home run well over the fence in right-center for a 2-0 Marquette lead. Mitre then doubled, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Charlie Mullen’s groundout.

An Ethan Price single, a walk to Keaton Davis, and a triple by Carson Zellers added a pair of runs before Zellers scored the sixth and final run on a wild pitch.

Nelson’s no-doubt homer down the line in right started a three-run second. Bond doubled, and Mitre was hit by a pitch before an RBI hit by Mullen. Mitre later scored on another wild pitch.

Marquette followed that with a five-run third inning in which Durdan stole home and Mitre, Mullen and Price had run-scoring hits.

Gabe Almeda and Mitre singled in runs in the game-ending fourth inning.

For Newman (7-4), the run came on a walk to Garret Matznick, an error on Brendan Tunink’s fly ball, and a double steal in the first. An infield single by Garet Wolfe in the second inning was the lone Comet hit.

“Marquette’s good, and we knew that coming in,” Newman coach Kenny Koerner said. “We’re short a couple guys with some sickness and some injuries, so we knew it would be a tough go anyway. We’re pretty thin with pitching this year – OK at the top end, but as we get into games that extend into the week, we use guys who we have to field behind, and we didn’t field today.

“We wanted to get a game in, get some more swings in this week. Bottom line, we want to improve and maybe see them again down the line.”