Some way, somehow, junior infielder Vinny Stubitsch was going to make sure there was a fireworks encore for St. Rita.
The Mustangs prematurely celebrated a would-be state title, dogpiling on the field with fireworks going off only to find out the game wasn’t over — then watched Troy Triad tie it in an unlikely fashion.
Stubitsch, however, just set his sights on the next opportunity.
“Obviously, you’re a little mad that what happened, happened,” Stubitsch said afterward. “But we’ve faced hardships all year and things can happen in the blink of an eye.
“You just have to reset and focus on the next play and try to help your team the best way you can.”
Stubitsch’s best made program history Saturday for St. Rita. He delivered a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Mustangs to a 12-11 win over Triad in an unforgettable Class 3A state championship game at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
It’s the first state title in baseball for St. Rita (30-12), which lost in each of its three previous appearances in the championship game.
Stubitsch finished with a homer and three RBIs, while Julio Gutierrez and Jake Sellis added two RBIs apiece for the Mustangs. Nick Cegielski earned the win in relief, allowing one earned run in 2 2/3 innings after Will Rewers battled through 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight and allowing seven earned runs.
St. Rita coach John Nee knew this team could be the one to get the program over the hump.
“They believed in something bigger than themselves,” Nee said. “Not one guy on this team made it about them ever. It was always about us. It was a different guy every day.
“It was about sacrificing for the better of our team, and when you can get 30-plus guys pulling the rope in the same direction, you can do special things. This is a special thing.”
Stubitsch came up with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth and lifted a fly ball into the right field corner in foul territory.
It was caught, but courtesy runner JJ Quinlan raced home with the winning run for the second day in a row.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Stubitsch said. “I was just looking for the right pitch. I didn’t swing at the best pitch, but the outfielder caught it and we ended up winning it. We’ll take it.”
That came after an insane top of the seventh. St. Rita was one out away from winning and held an 11-8 lead when senior catcher Colin Quinn appeared to catch a foul pop-up near the dugout.
The Mustangs ran on the field to celebrate and fireworks went off, but the ball had popped out of Quinn’s glove and umpires ruled he had not secured the catch.
Carter Gaskill then hit a game-tying three-run homer for Triad (36-6).
“I caught it and then I kind of took my eye off it,” Quinn said. “I saw a video and saw it popped out. I caught it and took a step, but I don’t know the rule. I blacked out in the moment, so I don’t know what happened.
“But we overcame it.”
The Mustangs trailed 2-0 in the first inning before Stubitsch capped a five-run bottom of the first with his second homer of the season, a two-run shot to left that bounced back into the field of play.
That also created confusion but was ruled to have gone out and hit something beyond the wall.
“I’m obviously not the biggest power hitter, but I was rounding first base saying, ‘Get out, ball, get out,’” Stubitsch said. “Then the left fielder threw it back in and I was like ‘What’s going on?’ Then the base umpire said it was a home run.
“It was just amazing after going down two runs to help the team out in a big way.”
Little did Stubitsch know that would be far from the most unusual play of the day. But in the end, he was the hero after all.
“It took us another inning to do it, but we came out victorious,” Stubitsch said. “And that’s all that matters.”
