‘He’s always with us’: Raiders decide to forge forward, play Monday’s super-sectional after tragic death of Tollerton

QUINCY — Jake Schisler walked up to his Quincy Notre Dame baseball teammates gathered in the shade of the trees in front of the school late Sunday morning and posed a question to which he figured he already knew the answer.

Should they play Monday?

Tucker Tollerton, the Raiders’ No. 2 hitter and starting center fielder, was killed in a single-vehicle accident southwest of Hannibal, Mo., around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, just a few hours after QND won the Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional championship.

In the middle of their shock and grief, the Raiders needed to decide whether to play Monday’s Class 2A Springfield Super-Sectional against Bloomington Central Catholic or ask the Illinois High School Association to postpone it at least one day.

Schisler, one of the team captains, told his teammates it needed to be a unanimous decision.

A few Raiders immediately said yes. A couple mentioned it would be what Tollerton would want. The remainder nodded their approval. The last in line was senior Mason Winking, whose crying eyes were shielded by sunglasses. He didn’t hesitate. He said yes.

So the Raiders (34-1) will face the Saints (17-10) at 5 p.m. Monday at Lincoln Land Community College’s Claude Kracik Field for a shot at reaching the state final four for only the third time in program history.

They’ll do so with Tollerton and his family on everyone’s mind.

“If we keep winning, he’s right there with us,” said Schisler, the senior leadoff hitter who hit in front of Tollerton in the Raiders’ loaded lineup and played alongside him in left field.

Senior shortstop/designated hitter Alex Connoyer amended Schisler’s thought.

“He’s always with us,” Connoyer said.

Senior first baseman Dalton Miller nodded.

“Yes, he is,” said Miller, who had played baseball alongside Tollerton for the past nine years or so. “He always will be.”

Tollerton spent the past three seasons hitting second in QND’s lineup, playing either right or center field, and serving as a bullpen arm.

As a junior, when the Raiders went 32-3 and reached the sectional title game, the left-handed hitting Tollerton compiled a .326 average with seven doubles, one home run and 32 runs scored. He pitched seven innings, winning one game and saving two others. He struck out 14 with a 2.40 ERA.

This season, he started all 35 games, while hitting .407 with a team-leading four triples to go with 11 doubles and five home runs. His 48 RBIs were second on the team, a luxury of hitting behind both Schisler and the bottom of a lineup that had a penchant for getting on base.

The John Wood Community College signee walked 23 times, scored 50 runs and was second on the team with 22 stolen bases.

Defensively, Tollerton did not make an error in center field and had three outfield assists. The right-hander had thrown 9 ⅓ innings of relief with one victory and one save. He struck out four and had a 2.25 ERA.

Moreso, he played with energy and enthusiasm that was contagious.

“That he did,” QND coach Rich Polak said. “He loved to play baseball.”

As the Raiders learned of the tragedy throughout the night or early Sunday morning, they reached out to each other to grieve and gathered at the school. After a team meeting inside the school, they walked alone to Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield’s center field and shared a moment with their teammate.

“It was quiet,” senior third baseman Brady Kindhart said. “It has been most of the day.”

Come Monday, that will change. The Raiders will take their traveling sound system on the road and play music at high decibels, similar to the way Tollerton listened to everything.

And they’ll do exactly what he said they needed to do to win.

“Don’t change anything,” Tollerton said after Saturday’s victory. “Play our game.”

That’s why they decided to plow forward.

“It’s what he’d want,” Miller said.