Cooper Malamazian closed out Nazareth’s Class 3A state championship win last season. After the final out, he tossed his glove a few feet into the air in celebration.
One year later, Malamazian found himself in the same position. The junior was on the mound, tasked with recording the final outs for the Roadrunners. It’s something he yearned for earlier on Saturday.
“I told [Nazareth coach Lee Milano] that I wanted to close this game down,” Malamazian said. “Last year I closed it and threw my hat pretty high. I had to beat last year. You can’t be boring.”
Malamazian definitely beat last year, tossing his hat a good 10-20 feet into the sky after a 6-4-3 double play clinched Nazareth’s 7-2 win against Grayslake Central at Duly Health and Care Field in Joliet.
“At the end of the game we had to go to Cooper because he is not going to be phased in any situation, Milano said. “[When Malamazian was a freshman] I said he would walk out of here as the best shortstop we ever had. That’s not an insult to anybody we’ve had come through here. Cooper is a different player. He is a money player.”
Nazareth (34-6) won its second consecutive title while starting just two seniors, centerfielder Lucas Smith and pitcher Finn O’Meara.
O’Meara went 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and no runs. He struck out four and walked four. Malamazian pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and no runs. He also made a leaping grab of a line drive while at shortstop. The grab resulted in a crucial double play.
That fielding gem helped David Cox get out of a jam in the fourth inning.
“It gives you all the confidence in your word, having full faith in your defense,” Cox said. “I can always trust them to make the plays.”
Cox, a 6-4 junior, had the highlight moment of the game (and of the two-day state finals). He blasted a gorgeous home run deep to left field in the sixth inning.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” Cox said. “I always dreamed of that and it finally happened. It was a great way to end the state tournament.”
“I think it’s still going,” Milano said. “That probably had to be close to 380 feet. He hit that ball a long way.”
Nazareth led 6-0 after four innings. The Rams (33-8) made things interesting, scoring runs in the fifth and sixth with multiple baserunners in both innings.
“[Grayslake Central] put a lot of fight up, give them credit,” Milano said. “We talked about getting punched in the gut and responding, not reacting. Our kids are pretty battle tested. We’ve been here and we’ve been through it.”
Rams starting pitcher Chris Rodgers lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits. He walked six and struck out one.
Nazareth freshman second baseman Landon Thome, Jim Thome’s son, was hitless in the title game but was a major offensive contributor all season and in the semifinal game on Friday.
“This is a great group,” Thome said. “These guys have really taught me about like, getting in gear. It’s really helped me these two games.”
Sycamore beat Effingham 2-1 in nine innings to win third place in Class 3A.
