MAQUOKETA — When Maquoketa’s final two runs scored on a strikeout Monday, it almost perfectly summed up the night.

Not much went wrong for the Cardinals, and little went right for Davenport Assumption.

Senior pitcher Matt Koppes kept Assumption’s hitters off balance, and the Knights’ defense came unglued as Maquoketa won the Class 3A District 8 baseball title with an 8-2 victory on their home field. The Cardinals (27-13) will play host to Western Dubuque, a team they beat twice in the regular season, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the substate game for a berth in the state tournament.

“They have a great tradition, and it’s good to finally get one against them,” Maquoketa shortstop Trent Bollman said of beating Assumption.

“It feels amazing,” senior right fielder Derek Hopson said. “They’re always at state or just about there.”

But the Knights looked nothing like their predecessors who have made 12 trips to the state tournament — 11 since 1992 — and have won eight state titles. This group committed six errors.

Despite surrendering seven unearned runs, they never had much success against Koppes.

“Their kid was crafty and got us chasing fastballs up, then he worked both sides of the plate,” Assumption coach Billy Argo said.

“He threw as good a game as I’ve seen him throw,” Maquoketa coach Ray Cavanagh said.

“This isn’t the best game, but I only walked (three) batters,” Koppes said. “I was getting batters lined up and threw strikes.”

Koppes retired the first nine batters he faced and allowed just three hits in 6 1⁄3 innings. Tyler Regan finished, giving up a hit and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh that brought in Assumption’s second run.



“I’ve been here at the ballpark the last 12 years and have seen Assumption come here and be dominant,” Koppes said. “That was my dream, to come here against Assumption and be dominant.”

Koppes pitched with a lead for all but one-half inning — Assumption, the visiting team, batted first. Staked to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, he didn’t allow a baserunner until the fourth. Assumption’s Jake Gervase broke up the perfect game with a bunt single.

“That bunt was beautiful, and it got in my head a bit,” Koppes said.

A sacrifice bunt and a fly out to right allowed Gervase to advance to third base. Koppes then threw seven consecutive pitches out of the strike zone. The third one was a wild pitch, allowing Gervase to score; the fourth walked Luke Powers; and the fifth hit Tyler Irwin. After falling behind 2-0 to Zach Adrian, Koppes regained his composure and induced an inning-ending groundout.

After that, he allowed just two more baserunners until the seventh, when he came out after a one-out single and walk.

By then it was basically a formality of just finishing the game since the Cardinals had built a big lead.

“Quite honestly, we were never in it,” Argo said.

Maquoketa set the tone after Assumption starter Andrew Quested retired the first two batters in the first.

Nick Clasen walked, then Chase Coakley reached on catcher’s interference, when Adrian’s glove touched Coakley’s bat on a foul tip.

“That was a huge play,” Cavanagh said. “It gave us the opportunity to do what we like to do.”

Derek Hopson followed with a single into right field. Courtesy runner Bradley Waller wound up scoring easily when right fielder Dylan Kester bobbled the ball. The Cardinals then worked a delayed double steal and scored when second baseman Cayton Wallace threw wildly to the plate.

“We didn’t just look to get the next guy out (after the catcher’s interference),” Argo said of the mental effect of the play. “I thought we’d throw the guy out (on Hopson’s hit), but we bobbled it. Then we executed (the double steal) just like we practice but made a bad throw.”

Maquoketa couldn’t have asked for a better start.

“That took the butterflies out right away,” Hopson said, “and they kind of got down.”

When it seemed Assumption was starting to turn the momentum with its run in the top of the fourth, the Cardinals applied pressure again in the bottom half and once again took advantage of the Knights’ mistakes.

Ryan Helton reached on an error to open the inning, then Blaise Waller did the same when Quested couldn’t pick up the ball on his sacrifice bunt. After an unsuccessful attempt by Josh Kirk to move up the runners, Jon Bopes laid down a sacrifice for the second out, then River drove in a run with a single deep in the hole to shortstop. After he stole second, both he and Waller scored on Bollman’s single to left.

“When we came back and scored three, it was a total relief,” Koppes said.

“That took the momentum out of them,” Bollman said. “We stopped them in their tracks.”

In case playing with a 5-1 lead wasn’t soothing enough, Maquoketa added three more unearned runs in bottom of the sixth.

Kirk singled with one out, stole second and advanced to third on Adrian’s throwing error on the play. River brought him home with a two-out single. After Bollman singled and stole second, both he and River scored when Clasen struck out on a ball in the dirt and Adrian’s throw to first went into right field.

MAQUOKETA 8, DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION 2

Assumption    000    100    1    —    2    4    6

Maquoketa    200    303    x    —    8    7    0

Andrew Quested (5 2⁄3 ip, 8 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 3 so), Eric Jagers (1/3 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 1 so) and Zach Adrian; Matt Koppes (6 1⁄3 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 3 bb, 1 so, 1 hbp,  3 wp), Tyler Regan (2/3 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 0 so) and Nick Clasen. Multiple hits — Assumption (Jake Gervase 2); Maquoketa (Peyton River 2, Trent Bollman 2). RBIs — Assumption (Drew Wescom); Maquoketa (Derek Hopson, River 2, Bollman 2).