By Ryne Turke
Routt Catholic capped off their historic baseball season with a third place finish over the weekend at the IHSA State finals.
The Rockets, who set a school record with 33 wins, put together the second best finish in school history, behind only the 2008 State championship team.
Routt came into Peoria with momentum after a thrilling 4-1 extra inning Super Sectional win over Father McGivney.
Led by a heroic performance from junior outfielder Jace Lautemann, who made a game saving catch in the 7th inning and smashed the winning triple in the 8th inning, the Rockets drew Ottawa Marquette in their first game at Dozier Park.
After allowing a run in the 1st inning, Routt would run into trouble in the 2nd inning. Battling through a couple errors and walks, the Rockets would give up eight runs and fall behind 9-0.
Sophomore pitcher Brady Turner says it wasn’t the start the Rockets were hoping for.
“It was a different experience playing on a field that big. We were ready for the matchup, but didn’t come out and play to our ability.”
Turner would spark the lone rally for the Rockets against Marquette with a single to left that knocked in a pair. The Rockets would score three in the 5th inning.
Sophomore pitcher AJ Charpentier was the star of the game, tossing the final 4 2/3 innings and allowing just two hits.
The Rockets would fall to Marquette 9-3 and move to the third place game against Gibson City on Saturday.
Despite some morning showers, the Rockets took the field bright and early with several hundred Routt fans in attendance.
Senior pitcher Conrad Charpentier, who finished the year with a 1.41 ERA, would draw the start and cap off an incredible career with a dominating performance.
Charpentier, who pitched 14 consecutive postseason innings without allowing an earned run, fired a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out ten.
“Everyone wants to step up in big moments, and as a leader, that’s what I’m expected to do. My regular season was my best to date, so I trusted myself to perform and never changed my mindset, even in the big games.”
Routt got all their offense in the 5th inning, led by RBI singles from Nolan Turner and Bryson Mossman.
The Rockets would win 3-0, capturing the third place IHSA baseball title.
Mossman, the Rockets every day centerfielder, recaps his state tournament experience.
“It was great going against some of the other top players in Illinois. Even though we got third, I’m confident if we played those teams again we could beat any one of them. We grew a lot and I couldn’t ask for a better group of coaches and guys to share this with.”
Senior catcher Isaac Long, who smashed a team high five home runs, says this season has been an incredible journey.
“From Memphis in the beginning, all the way to Peoria, it has been a blast for all the guys. We didn’t show how we wanted to play on the first day, but we turned it around and came away with a win against a good Gibson City team.”
Long says being behind the plate every postseason inning was something he took a ton of pride doing.
“Catching those postseason games was amazing, especially when you’ve got our guys throwing great games. Conrad, Brady and Eli Olson threw really well this season and it makes it even more fun when they’re hitting their spots and making quality pitches.”
Senior shortstop Nolan Turner, who led the Rockets this season with 56 hits, is proud of what the Rockets accomplished.
“It’s been a surreal year for sure making it as far as we did. We had the goal of winning the state championship but we came up one game short. Winning the last game of the season for third place was pretty cool.”
Junior pitcher Brock Runyon says this year’s team has shown incredible resilience battling in close games against the best teams in the state.
“Our schedule was much harder this year, so when we were down or in a close game, we knew how to battle back and never give up.”
AJ Charpentier is excited to see with the Rockets can put together next season.
“I’ve got great confidence in this team. We have plenty of talent and I know that with hard work this summer we can make another run. We’re hungry for another state title run now that we’ve got a taste of what it feels like.”
Conrad Charpentier says he’ll miss the family atmosphere of the Rockets.
“It’s a a staple of our team and success as a whole. The support myself and this team got from the Rocket community was incredible during my whole career. Once a Rocket, always a rocket.”
Ottawa Marquette would defeat Altamont 6-2 for the 1A Baseball State Championship.
