Schuckman: QND’s retirement of No. 5 puts love of family, love of baseball on full display

Quincy Notre Dame officially retired Tucker Tollerton's No. 5 before Friday's game against Sherrard at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Tears were expected Friday afternoon, but the smiles elicited by the memories of Tucker Tollerton and the embrace his family received balanced everything out. That was as much of a tribute to Tollerton as seeing his jersey number retired. Anyone who accompanied the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team on last season’s record-setting journey…

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Photo gallery: QND baseball program retires No. 5 in honor of Tucker Tollerton

Tucker Tollerton's father, Rob, left, and his mother, Vicke, right, were presented with framed No. 5 Quincy Notre Dame baseball jerseys Friday when the number was retired in Tollerton's honor. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — With most of Tucker Tollerton’s extended family, friends and his entire college team in attendance Friday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball program retired No. 5 in honor of the Raiders’ former center fielder, who was killed last May in an auto accident. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt…

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Schuckman: Tollerton watching over his QND teammates in spirit and soul like a hawk

A bird sits perched on the light standard in left-center field at Lincoln Land Community College's Claude Kracik Field during the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team's Class 2A super-sectional matchup with Bloomington Central Catholic on Monday night in Springfield, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The bird took its perch atop the light standard in left-center field in the bottom of the first inning Monday evening, and other than moving from one end of the row of lights to the other, it watched the next three innings of the Class 2A super-sectional baseball game unfold. Little by…

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

The Quincy Notre Dame baseball will face Bloomington Central Catholic in the Class 2A Springfield Super-Sectional at 5 p.m. Monday while grieving the loss of senior center fielder Tucker Tollerton, who was killed Saturday night in a single-vehicle accident outside Hannibal, Mo. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Schuckman: Passion poured into baseball by Raiders’ Tollerton more than good enough to make his impact great

Quincy Notre Dame center fielder Tucker Tollerton, who was killed in a single-vehicle accident Saturday night, played the game to be great and help the Raiders win a state championship. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Tucker Tollerton’s final hit wasn’t squared up on the barrel of the bat. It wasn’t laced into one of the outfield gaps where he’d have the chance to run like a gazelle. It wasn’t driven over the fence to display his increasing bat speed and power. He simply tucked it into a spot…

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Tucked away: Heroics in both ends of seventh inning allow QND baseball team to survive, sweep season series from QHS

Quincy Notre Dame catcher Michael Stupavsky catches a strike taken by Quincy High School's Brady Lowe during Monday's game at the QHS field. | Photo courtesy Samantha Carmean

QUINCY — For Tucker Tollerton, the choice was an easy one. When asked which was more rewarding Monday evening — his game-winning hit in the top of the seventh inning or a game-saving relief performance in the bottom of the frame — Tollerton’s response was immediate. Well, almost immediate. First, there was a huge smile.…

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Raiders ready to come home after winning 10 consecutive road games

Quincy Notre Dame right-hander Jake Schisler earned his fourth victory of the season Tuesday in the Raiders' 12-1 win at Clark County. | Matt Schuckman file photo

KAHOKA, Mo. — The long road home is finally over, and the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team has no blemishes to show from its travels. The Raiders capped a string of 10 consecutive road games with Tuesday’s 12-1 victory over Clark County in which they put together a pair of five-run innings and received another…

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Power-packed punch: Tollerton’s opposite-field home run ignites Raiders’ response to early deficit in victory over Titans

Quincy Notre Dame's Tucker Tollerton hit an opposite-field home run in the first inning to kickstart a five-run rally that carried the Raiders to a 9-5 victory over Chatham Glenwood on Saturday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — No one associated with the Quincy Notre Dame baseball program realized the left-handed hitting Tucker Tollerton had enough pop in his bat to drive a ball over Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield’s high fence in left field. Not even Tollerton himself. “I didn’t think I had that much power the opposite way,” he…

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