Senior Chase Zidlicky has pitched since he was 8 or 9 years old.
This year, he enjoyed his greatest growth in helping a relatively inexperienced Nazareth Academy baseball team to another 30-win season as its No. 1 pitcher.
“We wanted to prove a point that we were still a very good team and compete with most anyone,” Zidlicky said. “I just went out there and competed every time I stepped out on the mound and made sure our team won.”
The Riverside resident won his first nine decisions and added a save until the season finale. The Roadrunners suffered a 6-1 loss to Mt. Carmel in the semifinals of the highly competitive Class 4A Reavis Sectional, June 4. Because of weather conditions, the game was moved to the artificial surface at Triton College.
Nazareth (31-7), the sectional’s No. 2 seed, also lost to Mt. Carmel 5-3 in the 2024 sectional final and again at the hands of junior starting pitcher Jake Matise, who this time threw a complete-game two-hitter with eight strikeouts and one walk on 90 pitches.
After back-to-back 3A state titles by the Roadrunners, they moved up to 4A in 2024 with arguably their most talented roster — six 4-year starters and Division I recruits among a group of 14 seniors.
“It’s almost repeating myself from last year, but [Mt. Carmel] just flat out beat us. It’s nothing that we did or didn’t do. It’s what they did,” Nazareth coach Lee Milano said. “I’m very proud of what we did. To win 31 games after the starters we lost is an incredible feat and a credit to what these guys have done and how they worked.”
Zidlicky was among those standouts, going 9-1 with a 1.06 earned-run average and 85 strikeouts in 59.2 innings. The winning pitcher in the regional final victory over Oak Lawn, he also started against Mt. Carmel (25-14), allowing five hits in 4.0 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.
The No. 5-seed Caravan had just five hits, but in bunches — a single and run-scoring double to open the game in the first and a single, RBI double and two-run single after a walk in a four-run third for a 5-0 lead. Eddie Donnelly (1 strikeout) and Connor McKay (5 strikeouts in 2.2 innings) came in relief.
“Chase was good. He battled. [But] his pitch count was up,” Milano said. “I’m really proud of the way he battled. He’s been our ace all year. I love the way [our relievers] got in and battled.”
Nazareth had no hits or baserunners until senior Chuck Roche’s leadoff single in the fifth. Landon Thome walked and scored on Jaden Fauske’s single in the sixth.
Top-seeded Brother Rice edged Mt. Carmel 3-2 in Saturday’s sectional final and defeated Providence 8-6 in the super-sectional Monday.
“[Mt. Carmel] outplayed us. You can’t really go back and say we should have done this, should have done that,” Fauske said. “That’s a really good team. It just didn’t go our way. That’s what happens in this game.”
Fauske, an LSU recruit, recently had been named the Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year.
“I would trade that [award] for one more day with these guys any day of the week,” Fauske said. “It’s a reflection of hard work but I’d trade that in a heartbeat. None of that’s possible without Coach Milano and the rest of the coaching staff.”
Zidlicky will play at NCAA Division III Middlebury (Vt.) College. Will McGarry (Western Kentucky) and Roche and Andrew Kouris (Harper) also plan to play collegiately.
Zidlicky always had pitching in his blood. His father, Tom, pitched at Illinois. He began this season among three returning seniors on the pitcher staff. The pressure to contribute increased as the other two came down with injuries. He excelled with a repertoire of fastball, curve ball, change up and slider.
“Last year I could throw the fastball and on occasion curve for strikes. This year, I was able to throw all four for strikes,” Zidlicky said. “It’s just confidence and throwing them hard and knowing where they’re going to go.”
His biggest progress on the mound, however, may have been mental. The Roadrunners also were solid defensively despite no senior starting infielders and two freshmen.
“[It was] just kind of knowing within myself that I am good enough to compete with the best of the best and knowing that I have to do it for the team,” Zidlicky said. “And to have trust in the fielders and know that they’ll back me up.”
At Middlebury, Zidlicky will study economics. He can bank on more success as the Panthers recently won their third New England Small College Athletic Conference title in the last four seasons.
“[Nazareth baseball has provided] the mindset, the winning, always being a team, putting God first,” Zidlicky said.
The impact of the program was evident throughout the team after the Mt. Carmel loss.
“Jaden Fauske’s name is going to be called on day one of the draft and he’s bawling his eyes out here. That’s what it matters to these guys,” Milano said. “When that happens, you feel so bad for them but you also know they gave everything they had. To me, that’s a proud moment.”