For some, the idea of moving from high school to NCAA Division I might seem overwhelming.
Not so for Indiana third baseman Cooper Malamazian. In fact, the acclimation process has gone so smoothly that the 2024 Nazareth graduate was chosen the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week for March 10.
In one nonconference contest against Northern Kentucky and three matchups against Big Ten opponent Penn State, Malamazian started all four games at third base and batted .438 (7-for-16) with five runs and five RBI.
“It’s been a big difference and definitely something to adjust to,” Malamazian said. “But being at Naz kind of prepared me well and playing high-level travel ball helped me adjust to this. …
“We had a long fall, we adjusted to (college baseball) and facing pitching and stuff like that. They prepare us well here, especially offensively. They’re professional and they’re well-known for that and they’re good at that. It’s been definitely different, but I’ve also worked to adjust quickly enough and move into the present day and keep where my feet are and stay present in the moment for sure.”
The highlight of the week for Malamazian came in a 17-6 victory over the Nittany Lions in which he recorded his first career four-hit game in the second game of a doubleheader on March 7.
In that game, Malamazian broke a program single-game record with four doubles. He became only the fourth player in Big Ten history with four doubles in a single game.
“Honestly, it was just one of those games where the balls are falling,” Malamazian said. “My first double was a pretty lucky double and I didn’t hit it too well, but it was down the left-field line and that started the day off.
“After that, I was just getting good pitches to hit. I just found my way to four doubles. Some days are like that and some days, you hit four rockets that are all four outs. Luckily for me, I had a day where all four of those balls found the grass in the outfield. That’s going to happen and obviously, that was a good day to have it.”
Malamazian is the 10th different Hoosier to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Week since 2019. His rookie season has been a good one. In 20 games (11 starts), Malamazian is batting .359 with seven doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 13 runs.
“Winning the award is definitely a cool accomplishment, but I don’t take it too heavily,” Malamazian said. “It’s something you take pride in, but I’m more concerned about how our team is doing and our win column and playing for our team.
“The individual awards are cool but the main focus is to keep moving forward. It’s in the past now and I don’t think too much about it anymore. You have to move on and do what’s best for the team in order to win.”
Through March 22, Indiana was 13-10 overall and tied for fourth in the Big Ten at 5-3.
● St. Ambrose’s Michael Bos (Brother Rice) was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Men’s Volleyball Attacker of the Week for March 3.
Bos hit .553 and averaged 2.82 kills per set to go along with five blocks in three matches.
The sophomore middle hitter hit .643 with 11 kills in a four-set league win over Trinity Christian.
Bos also had 14 kills and three blocks in a five-set conference win over Viterbo.