Novotney racks up 15 K’s in complete game shutout as Marquette cruises past Seneca, 7-0

OTTAWA – In a game featuring a lot of soft contact from both sides, Marquette Academy leaned on pitching, aggressive base running, and steady defense to claim a 7-0 win and series sweep over Seneca at Masinelli Field on Thursday.

The defending Class 1A champions jumped out to an early lead, scoring a run in the first inning on an error, then capitalized on three Seneca miscues in a five-run second.

Catcher Keaton Davis and second baseman Anthony Couch each added RBI singles to stretch the lead to 6-0.

“We didn’t hit a ton - it was just a tough day to hit with the wind blowing in,” Marquette head coach Todd Hopkins said. “That’s why we bunted, stole bases and played small ball.”

Marquette swiped five bags in total and got hits from six different players, including Couch, who led the team with two RBIs.

Crusaders’ starting pitcher Alec Novotney was nearly untouchable, tossing a complete game two-hitter while striking out 15 and issuing no walks.

Novotney was also remarkably efficient, needing just 76 pitches to finish the complete game.

The Cru backed their ace with solid defense as they head into the final stretch of the regular season, only recording one error and finishing a tough double play in the seventh inning.

“I mean, it’s the best time of the year to be trending up,” Novotney said. “We’re just trying to play together and play for each other. I just try to throw strikes and let my defense make plays - and I think we’re really good defensively.”

The Fighting Irish struggled to get anything going offensively against Novotney, managing only a pair of singles from first baseman Paxton Giertz and right fielder Cody Clennon.

Seneca coach Tim Brungard pointed to early defensive lapses as the turning point.

“We were not mentally ready to play defense early,” Brungard said. “We kicked it around, missed a couple plays, and they capitalized.”

“At one point it was 4-0 and they only had two hits. That just can’t happen.”

Only one of Marquette’s seven runs were earned.

Cam Shriey took the loss for Seneca, allowing six unearned runs on three hits and five walks over 2⅔ innings while striking out five.

Ramsey pitched 1⅓ scoreless, hitless innings in relief, and Vinny Corrado followed with two innings, giving up one earned run on three hits with one strikeout.

Despite the loss, Brungard praised his pitching staff and the relievers as well as Novotney.

“Novotney’s the real deal. He’s got three pitches he can throw for strikes in any count. You can try and prep for that velocity, but it’s different when he’s mixing it up like that.”

“You always have to respect your opponent in baseball, and today, he certainly earned it.”

With the conference win, Marquette moved a step closer to clinching an outright conference title.

With that in mind, Hopkins emphasized the importance of his team playing its best baseball down the stretch.

“This time of year, there’s graduation, seniors checking out - it’s easy to lose focus,” he said. “We just want to finish clean, not form any bad habits, and get our bats going a bit more. If we can do that, we’ll be where we want to be.”

Marquette will travel to play Centennial on Saturday, while Seneca looks to bounce back at home against Reed-Custer on Friday.