Nazareth’s 31-win season ends with sectional loss to Mount Carmel. ‘They gave everything they had.’

RIVER GROVE – Four-year varsity senior Jaden Fauske and his Nazareth baseball teammates had another tremendous 30-win season thanks to many new faces.

“We had a lot to prove this year with all of the people we lost,” Fauske said.

The postseason, however, once again ended all too soon at the hands of a familiar foe.

For the second straight year, the Roadrunners lost to Mount Carmel and junior starting pitcher Jake Matise, this time 6-1 Wednesday in the Class 4A Reavis Sectional semifinals, which were moved to Triton College’s artificial turf field.

“They outplayed us,” Fauske said. “You can’t really look back and say we should have done this, should have done that. It’s just didn’t go our way. That’s what happens in this game.”

Fauske, an LSU commit, was part of the 2022 and 2023 3A state championship teams and was just recently named the Illinois Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.

“I would trade that for just one more game with these guys any day of the week,” Fauske said. “I think it’s a reflection of hard work but I’d trade that in a heartbeat. None of that would be possible without Coach (Lee) Milano and the rest of the coaching staff.”

The Roadrunners (31-7), the No. 2 sectional seed, held tough after senior starting pitcher Chase Zidlicky limited No. 5 Mount Carmel (25-13) to just one run in the top of the first inning after a single and RBI double by the first two hitters.

The Caravan gained separation with a four-run third and pulled ahead 6-0 in the fifth. Limited to two hits, the Roadrunners were hitless until senior Chuck Roche‘s leadoff single in the fifth. With two outs in the sixth, Landon Thome walked and Fauske doubled him home.

“I’m almost repeating myself from last year but they just flat out beat us,” Milano said. “It’s nothing that we did or didn’t do. It’s what they did.”

This is the Roadrunners’ second year in 4A. They excelled after graduating six four-year starters and 14 seniors.

“To win 31 games after the starters we lost is an incredible feat and credit to what these guys have done and how hard they worked,” Milano said.

In 2024, Nazareth lost to Mount Carmel 5-3 in the sectional final. Matise, the Catholic League Blue’s pitcher of the year, had nine strikeouts in six innings before being relieved in the seventh.

Matise threw a complete game Wednesday with eight strikeouts and one walk on 90 pitches.

“He’s not an overpowering guy but he throws strikes and trusts his defense,” Fauske said. “He throws three pitches for strikes and in high school that’ll take you pretty far.”

As the Roadrunners prepared to bat in the fifth, most fans in their grandstands stood and cheered. With the count 2-and-0, Roche delivered a solid single to left field for their first hit.

“I appreciate all of the fans that come out. It’s probably the most packed it’s ever been,” Roche said.

“There’s no quit in this team,” Fauske said. “We’ve kind of been underdogs a lot this year. We’ve had to fight through injuries, guys going down left and right but I’m glad of the way we battled until the end.”

Zidlicky, the winning pitcher in Saturday’s regional final, allowed five hits in four innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Coming in relief were Eddie Donnelly (one strikeout) and Connor McKay (five strikeouts in 2.2 innings).

Mount Carmel had just five hits but the other three came in succession in the third – a single, RBI double and two-run single. The Caravan’s No. 1-4 hitters Kolin Adams (single, three runs, three walks), T.J. McQuillan (2 for 3, RBI double, run), Anthony Chavez (two-run double, run) and Joey Ireland (two-run double, walk, run) accounted for the offense.

Besides Fasuke, Zidlicky (Middlebury), Roche (Harper) also plan to play collegiately.

The teams Fauske played on had a combined 135-21 record.

“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.”