Baseball: David Cox, Nazareth topple St. Igantius

BURBANK – As one of several fourth-year Nazareth Academy baseball varsity veterans, senior David Cox is used to the pressure of lengthy state playoff runs.

This new one in Class 4A came with another welcomed challenge Wednesday. Cox was the starting pitcher for the Reavis Sectional semifinal against St. Ignatius.

“It was amazing. The adrenaline I had to control a little bit,” Cox said. “I came out with too much, wasn’t very good, but then I harnessed it into the right things and then it went well.”

Cox delivered six solid innings and combined with junior Andrew Kouris on a four-hit shutout as the Roadrunners improved to 37-0 with a 5-0 victory in Burbank.

The two-time defending 3A state champions and sectional’s No. 1 seed, Nazareth plays for the sectional title at 11 a.m. Saturday against No. 7 Mt. Carmel (19-14), a 2-0 winner Wednesday over 2023 4A state runner-up Brother Rice.

This was the Roadrunners’ ninth shutout and only 11th victory by five runs or fewer – with two runners thrown out at home.

Cox (6-0) struck out six with two walks and three hit batters. Kouris fanned three of the four hitters he faced.

“My sophomore year, I didn’t have a really good experience against (St. Ignatius) so it was nice to come back and finally do the job,” Cox said.

Cox missed his freshman season with a broken ankle. His sophomore pitching was halted by a broken finger.

In 2023, Cox was a playoff reliever who worked 1.2 innings in the championship victory.

“He seemed a little bit surprised he was starting today, but he’s been money,” Nazareth coach Lee Milano said.

“He’s beaten really good teams (Joliet Catholic, Benet, Marist). He did a really good job.”

Nazareth’s eight-hit offense was fueled by junior catcher and No. 8 hitter Chuck Roche’s three doubles, the first creating a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

The second-year starter hit .369 in 2023 but with just two doubles and a homer.

“That’s been one thing I’ve been focusing on, putting some more power behind the ball and actually driving the baseball,” Roche said.

The first inning proved crucial. Cox hit the leadoff hitter but picked him off first. After walking the next hitter and going 3-and-0 on the No. 3 batter, third baseman Jaden Fauske talked briefly to Cox.

Cox, an Illinois-Chicago recruit, struck out that hitter and the next.

“(First baseman Nick Drtina) put a great tag on the kid. We practice (pickoffs) a lot,” Cox said. “We always hold each other accountable here and (Fauske) was telling me to get back into the zone. And it helped a lot.”

In its first, Nazareth had three strikeouts but only one the rest of the game.

Roche’s opposite-field doubles to right were unique. The first came as Roche kept running as the outfielders converged on the ball and hesitated.

Roche began the fourth with a double aided by the wind and sun affecting right field. Roche scored on senior Cooper Malamazian’s sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.

After Drtina singled and Landon Thome walked to open the fifth, Drtina moved to third on a passed ball and scored on John Hughes’ ground out. With Roche’s most solid double to right, he was reaching second as Thome was thrown out at home, followed by Roche trying for third.

“I found the ball, hit it to the right side and wind did its job,” Roche said with a smile.

By contrast, Nazareth right fielder Joey Corcoran caught the high fly with the bases loaded to end the sixth.

With two outs in the Nazareth sixth, Malamazian singled and Fauske was hit by a pitch. As an infield error trickled into the outfield, Malamazian scored but Fauske was thrown out at home.

St. Ignatius also had runners third and second with two outs in the third, but Cox escaped during a streak in which he retired eight straight.

“We felt that his fastball would give them trouble and he threw the majority fastballs,” Milano said. “Our thing is on defense to avoid the big inning and on offense try to score a run an inning so we did a pretty good job of that.”