Senior Connor McKay of Riverside pitched well on Saturday helping the Nazareth Academy baseball team win the Class 3A Nazareth Sectional with just two hits. The Roadrunners received another good outing Monday from sophomore pitcher Jimmy O’Connor but two infield hits weren’t enough as they lost to St. Rita 2-0 in the Class 3A Crestwood Sectional at Ozinga Park after capturing their 10th sectional title in the past 15 seasons by beating De La Salle 3-1.
“It didn’t go how we wanted to, but it happens. That’s the game of baseball,” said McKay, who will play at Northern Illinois. “It’s a lot of emotions but if you look at our season, it was really good. I love all of these boys. I’m so proud of what they’ve done.”
The Roadrunners (29-10) hoped to return to the state finals since back-to-back 3A state titles in 2023 and 2022. They lost in the 4A sectional the past two seasons.
This year’s team started four sophomores and a freshman Monday against St. Rita (28-12) and had won 10 straight after a 1-5 stretch in early May.
Shortstop Landon Thome, a Florida State recruit, was named the Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year after 2025 graduate and MLB draftee Jaden Fauske received the honor last year.
“Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t,” Nazareth coach Lee Milano said. “Real proud in the big picture. Obviously you’ve got one of the best players in the nation in back-to-back years and proud of a team (with our younger players). I’m proud of the way they’ve been resilient. We had a bump in the road toward the end of the season and they bounced back.”
Nazareth’s second baseman Todd Dulaney Jr. (0) jumps and tries to throw out the St. Rita base runner during the Class 3A Ozinga Field Super-Sectional championship Monday, June 8, 2026 in Crestwood, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Nazareth’s short stop Landon Thome (25) completes the double play against St. Rita during the Class 3A Ozinga Field Super-Sectional championship Monday, June 8, 2026 in Crestwood, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
St. Rita’s Julio Gutierrez (24) slides in safely under the tag of Nazareth’s third baseman Gavin Hartigan (4) during the Class 3A Ozinga Field Super-Sectional championship Monday, June 8, 2026 in Crestwood, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark) 
Nazareth’s catch Marco Fiore (5) tags out St. Rita’s Xander Norbut (41) during the Class 3A Ozinga Field Super-Sectional championship Monday, June 8, 2026 in Crestwood, IL. (Steve Johnston/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark)
Thome and centerfielder Kam Alikhan were the lone seniors from the 2023 championship lineup. Alikhan moved from right field after Fauske graduated.
“This is such a special group of guys that we’re playing with. We’ve become so close and I’ve loved these past four years so grateful for everything that happened,” Thome said. “The younger guys were there but I feel like the seniors and the upperclassmen really helped out, just kind of leading them the way and giving them the tips. I was a freshman once playing here and it was crazy, the biggest environment I ever played in so those guys (then) really helped me kind of stay in the game and within myself.”
Nazareth, which batted as the home team, was shut out by No. 2 St. Rita pitcher Will Rewers, who had 10 strikeouts in a complete-game performance.
The Roadrunners’ hits came from freshman Todd Dulaney Jr. beating out an infield grounder to shortstop with two outs in the third and sophomore Gavin Hartigan reaching on an infield popup that fell just behind the pitcher’s mound in the sixth. Thome and Bobby Labuda walked and Nick Petrecca was hit by a pitch. Dulaney was the only runner to reach second after Thome walked.
“(Rewers was) just attacking the zone, coming in there. Two different speeds on the slider, which I haven’t really seen that much of,” Thome said. “That’s a great team hitting-wise and pitching. You’ve got to give them props.”
O’Connor (6-3) allowed just two hits over the first four innings with three strikeouts and four walks and nearly kept the game scoreless. After Julio Gutierrez began the Mustangs’ fourth with a double and advanced on a fly out, O’Connor walked Ryan Jones, who stole second uncontested. Gutierrez scored on a controversial balk with Jones taking third. After another walk, O’Connor threw out Jones trying to score on an infield grounder. Reliever Eddie Donnelly pitched a 1-2-3 fifth and Christian Drye worked the last two innings. The Mustangs scored in the seventh on a wild pitch after two singles and a double steal.
“Our game is playing defense and pitching. I thought we did good job of that,” Milano said. “You’ve got to score runs to win so I guess that (first run) didn’t matter.”
Against De La Salle, McKay allowed just four hits in six innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts. Donnelly and Drye (save) combined for a scoreless seventh. Both teams scored in the first yet the Roadrunners were no-hit through five innings. They broke through in the sixth behind doubles by Thome, who scored from third on an infield ground out by Marco Fiore, and Alikhan, who stole third and continued home when the throw was wild.
McKay joined Thome, Alikhan and Hartigan on the All-East Suburban Catholic Conference team. Thome was named ESCC Offensive Player of the Year.
McKay emerged this season as the Roadrunners’ top starting pitcher with a 7-2 record. Saturday was among his best outings.
“It was an honor (this season),” he said. “I worked so hard to get to that point but I also relied on my teammates backing me up. It was awesome.”