Alec Novotney throws no-hitter, Marquette rolls past Newman to close regular season

STERLING – In the final tune-up before the postseason, Marquette got rolling and Newman got a taste of the upcoming increase in competition level.

Alec Novotney struck out seven in a no-hitter, and seven different Crusaders drove in runs as Marquette topped the Comets 13-0 in five innings to close the regular season.

“It’s the best time of the year to be playing our best baseball, and it’s nice to see us turning it up and getting things going for the postseason next week,” Novotney said.

“It was great to do that going into the postseason. It just shows that we’re getting better each time we play a game,” Sam Mitre added. “We’re just ready [for next week].”

Novotney retired the first 12 hitters he faced, and the only Newman baserunner came on a leadoff error in the bottom of the fifth. He threw a first-pitch strike to 14 of the 16 batters he faced, and finished with 46 strikes in an efficient 59 pitches.

“I was just trying to get ahead in the count like I usually do, just trying to throw a lot of first-pitch strikes and then stay ahead in the count,” Novotney said. “If I got the strikeout, that’s good, but I know if they hit it, I’ve got a good defense behind me that will make the plays.”

“Novotney’s been a really good pitcher for them the last few years, and he showed it today,” Newman coach Kenny Koerner said. “He just pounds the zone.”

The reigning Class 1A state champs’ offense was also firing on all cylinders. All nine starters reached base at least once, and eight of them had at least one hit.

Keaton Davis, Grant Dose, Jaxsen Higgins and Caden Durdan each drove in two runs, Mitre had a single and two doubles and scored twice, Griffin Dobberstein singled, doubled and scored a pair of runs, and Dose also scored twice.

Courtesy runner Rush Keefer scored three times, as catcher Davis was on base in all four plate appearances. Novotney, Dobberstein and Anthony Couch each added an RBI for the Crusaders (27-3).

Marquette’s hitters were patient as Newman starter Drake Cole struggled with his command at times, but were also aggressive in attacking the pitches that they wanted to hit.

“Just looking for that perfect pitch, making sure we’re not reaching for the ball. The umpire’s zone was kind of big, and we just waited for that perfect pitch,” Mitre said. “It’s pretty fun when we’re all hitting. We really like it when the bottom of the lineup starts hitting everything, and we all feed off of that.”

Marquette’s hitters were able to choose their spots to attack because Cole was behind in the count quite a bit, forcing him to come over the plate with fastballs instead of getting the hitters off-balance and chasing his off-speed stuff.

“Drake’s been really good the last few outings when he gets ahead, and then he’s able to work a little bit. Today, he fell behind, and against a team like this, if you fall behind, they’re going to pound fastballs,” Koerner said. “There’s a reason they won the state title last year, and a reason they’re probably favored to win it again this year, and we saw that out there.”

While Marquette was pleased to put together such a strong all-around effort in its final game before next week’s regionals, Koerner was happy that Newman (23-7-1) got to see such a tough opponent before the pressure and intensity ramp up in the win-or-go-home playoff atmosphere.

“I like to show our kids how they play the game and how they approach the game,” Koerner said. “Their approaches at the plate, how they talk on the field, I think it’s a good team to try and model after. Coach [Todd] Hopkins has done such a good job down there, and that’s where I want our program to be.”