Aurora Christian pitcher Zach Zappia faces former travel teammate Alec Novotney in sectional final. ‘Pretty cool.’

Aurora Christian pitcher Zach Zappia faces former travel teammate Alec Novotney in sectional final. ‘Pretty cool.’

This was different. Aurora Christian pitcher Zach Zappia found himself in a unique position Saturday morning. The junior right-hander drew the starting assignment for the Eagles against defending state champion Ottawa Marquette. He would oppose Alec Novotney, someone very familiar. “This was pretty cool,” Novotney said of their playoff matchup. “I’ve seen Zach play baseball before and he’s pretty good, but we had never actually played against ea…