Libertyville junior Madden Cotts spent the vast majority of his first full varsity season playing second base spotlessly and developing into the type of leadoff hitter that any team covets.
So as the Wildcats won six playoff games in pursuit of their second straight Class 4A state title, Cotts had nary a thought about pitching, something he does extensively in the summer and which his father, Neal, did for a living during a 10-year major league career that included time with both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs.
But there was Cotts, on the mound at Slammers Stadium in Joliet, facing Maine South in the late innings of the state championship game on Saturday night.
“You always have to be ready for whatever challenge you have to face,” he said. “I just had to stay calm out there and have trust in my defense that they would make plays. It’s all about trust in your teammates.”
The Wildcats trusted Cotts too. The Bradley recruit pitched the last three innings in relief as Libertyville rallied to win 7-6 in eight and repeat as the state champion.
Cotts allowed one run on three hits, walked two and struck out three, and he also went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for the Wildcats (31-10-1), who became the third team in five years to win back-to-back titles. Edwardsville did it in 4A in 2022 and 2023, and Ottawa Marquette did it in 1A in 2024 and 2025.
“We’re looking to go back to back to back,” Cotts said. “That’s next on our agenda.”
Libertyville, which fell behind 3-0 and 5-2, scored three runs in the sixth to force extra innings and scored two runs in the eighth to take the lead against the Hawks (26-16) for the first time.
“I never stopped believing in these guys,” Libertyville coach Matt Thompson said. “In our lineup, we have so many guys that can hit and put pressure on teams. These guys just kept on coming through and never gave up. I’m just really proud of the boys.”
There were plenty of key moments for the Wildcats. Senior third baseman Bode Rohrbach hit a double that drove in the team’s first run in the fifth. Senior right fielder Jack Cenar hit a game-tying single in the top of the sixth. Cenar also scored the go-ahead run on a balk in the eighth, and senior left fielder Carson Holmes then drove in Cotts with a critical insurance run after striking out three times.
But with senior right-hander Chase Lockwood unavailable after pitching a complete game in the rescheduled Schaumburg Supersectional against Lane Tech on Tuesday and junior right-hander Brady Buenik also unavailable after pitching 6 2/3 impressive innings in the win over Mount Carmel in the state semifinal on Friday, the Wildcats made their most consequential decision when they called on Cotts. Maine South had scored five runs off junior right-handers Kaden Butt and Aksel McKnight.
Cotts entered the game for the bottom of the sixth, immediately after Libertyville had tied it, and there was no room for error, a bit of a tall task considering he had pitched just 13 innings this season and last threw three weeks earlier in the regular-season finale.
“I got more comfortable as it progressed,” Cotts said. “When I got out there at first, you have both student sections chanting at you. But I started being able to fill up the strike zone.”
Cotts got two quick outs in the bottom of the eighth and then ran into trouble. But after he hit Maine South junior shortstop Alex Vale to force in a run, Cotts clinched the victory with a strikeout.
“There’s nothing like ending a game on a strikeout,” he said. “That was amazing. Those are the biggest three innings of my life. It was one of the best moments of my life. Next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the dogpile, and I couldn’t move.”
Libertyville was far from celebrating early in the game. Maine South scored a run in each of the first three innings as junior center fielder Sean Sladky, junior designated hitter Braden Cremins and senior catcher Luka Stojakovic, a Creighton recruit, each drove in one. Meanwhile, senior right-hander Jack Gianikos, a John A. Logan recruit, was on cruise control, allowing only two singles over four shutout innings.
“Our offense put up enough runs early, and it’s truly about letting the defense do its work,” Gianikos said. “Earlier in the season, I was having some trouble walking some guys and had to realize I could let the defense work. You don’t have to strike everybody out.”
Behind Gianikos, the Hawks had a chance to not only win their first state title in the sport but also avenge their 13-4 loss to Libertyville in the Schaumburg Supersectional last season.
“We thought about that this whole year,” Stojakovic said. “We got a taste last year, and that definitely gave us some drive to get here this year. It just really stinks that we couldn’t come through with this one.”
Cotts had a lot to do with that. Among the more interested parties in the crowd was his father, who knows about playoff pressure. Neal Cotts pitched for the White Sox in all four games of the 2005 World Series.
“It’s a lot harder to watch your son play than to go out there and do it yourself,” Neal Cotts said. “It’s kind of nerve-wracking, but it’s fun watching him compete. He works pretty diligently at it in the offseason, and he loves doing it.
“He’s got a great demeanor to be in situations like this. He was ready for the moment, and that’s what mattered. I’m just a proud parent.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
