What a day for Vinny Stubitsch.
The junior second baseman went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs Saturday as St. Rita won the Class 3A baseball state championship with an 12-11 victory in extra innings over Troy Triad.
Stubitsch hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning for St. Rita (30-12), which trailed 2-0 but came right back by scoring five runs for a 5-2 lead on the way to the program’s first state title.
The Mustangs, who finished second in 2009, 2010 and 2014, actually jumped to an 11-4 lead with two runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth at Slammers Stadium in Joliet.
Troy Triad (36-6) rallied with three runs in the top of the sixth and then four more in the top of the seventh that featured a controversial call to force an 11-11 tie and extra innings.
In the bottom of the eighth, however, Stubitsch hit a sacrifice fly to foul territory with the bases loaded to score JJ Quinlan and start the celebration the Mustangs for a second time.
Julio Gutierrez also had three hits with two RBIs for St. Rita, while Jayden Ibarra and Jake Sellis added two hits. Ibarra added two RBIs and Joe Camer scored twice.
This story will be updated later in the day.
