Father McGivney Loses Walk-Off Heartbreaker In State Championship Game

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA – For the second time in five years, the Father McGivney High School baseball team’s state dream came up one game short of being realized.

The Griffins fell 6-5 to the Ottawa Marquette Crusaders in the IHSA Class 1A state championship at the University of Illinois on Saturday, June 7.

McGivney led 5-4 after five innings, trying to hold off the defending Class 1A state champs.

And it proved to be too difficult.

The Crusaders scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to end the game in walk-off fashion, giving McGivney its second runner-up trophy in five years.

“It was such a great game. I hate it for the guys,” McGivney head coach Chris Erwin said. “They’ve worked so hard to do this, and I know [Marquette] did too; no one team worked harder than the other. It comes down to a great ball game. It’s tough, you get up here and it’s hard to win the dang thing.”

It was Marquette’s fifth trip to the state tournament in the last seven seasons. The Crusaders won titles in 2019 and 2024.

But come championship Saturday, the Griffins weren’t scared.

They tacked on three runs in the top of the first and looked like they might run away with the game.

Kannon Kamp led the game off with a single but was out at second after Omar Avalos hit into a fielder’s choice. Drew Kleinheider then singled to send Avalos around to third. Avalos scored when Justin Terhaar reached on an error. Mason Holmes then hit an RBI single to score Kleinheider, and Ben Sink hit a sacrifice flyball to score Terhaar.

Just like that, McGivney led 3-0.

But the defending state champs had no quit in them.

Griffin Dobberstein hit a solo home run to left field off of McGivney’s starter, Kamp, in the bottom of the first to give his team some momentum. The Griffins later tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth after a sac fly from Grant Dose and a single from Jaxsen Higgins.

A big-time decision backfired for longtime Marquette head coach Todd Hopkins in the top of the fifth, however. Reilly Sutberry led off the inning with a single, and then Kamp doubled.

That was the end of the day for starting pitcher Dobberstein, who gave up four earned runs on six hits. Replacing him was Alec Novotney, Marquette’s ace.

He struck out Avalos, bringing up Kleinheider, and with only one out, the Crusaders intentionally walked him, bringing Terhaar to the plate with the bases loaded. A questionable call to bring up a guy hitting .509 and an on-base percentage of .575.

Terhaar delivered with a two-run single, scoring both Sutberry and Kamp to make it 5-3.

“I get why they walked Drew, he’s such a great player, but when you’ve got J.T. sitting behind him, that was great. I was OK with it,” Erwin said. “Holy cow, big base hit there.”

Mason Holmes then flew out, and a scary collision at home plate came next.

Sink singled to right, and Kleinheider was waved around third base. He came flying toward the plate and was called out after a big hit with Marquette’s catcher. Kleinheider was slow to get up but eventually did and went right back to work in the infield.

Dobberstein hit a two-out single and then got to second on a wild pitch from Kamp. Sam Mitre then reached on an error, scoring Dobberstein to bring his team within one.

Kamp was finished on the mound through five innings. He gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits. He struck out three batters.

A scoreless sixth inning set up a dramatic seventh.

Evan Koontz replaced Kamp after five innings of work, and in the seventh, things took a turn. He gave up a lead-off walk and a single. A wild pitch allowed the tying run to score, and then Mitre delivered the walk-off single to score Novotney and end the game at 6-5.

“I think Evan, the emotions got the best of him there with the bunt attempts, and that’s OK,” Erwin said of his closer. “It is what it is. I love him to death. If I had to do it all over again, I’d put him right back in that spot, right back in that situation. I thought we played it the right way and had the right guy on the mound at the right time.”

It ended a fifth straight 30-win season for the Griffins. They broke their win record from 2023 and ended this season at 38-4. The team is 172-21 under Erwin since the pandemic and has made it to two state tournaments.

“Getting second place stinks up here, because you lose your last game. It stinks because you should be proud of what you accomplished, but it’s impossible to in the moment,” Erwin said. “You’ve got to wait a couple days before all this wears off before you can really appreciate the season they’ve put together and the teams they’ve beat along the way.”

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