Rain Delay, Premature Celebration All Lead To Memorable First State Baseball Title

For the first time in school history, an Illinois high school baseball team hoisted the trophy. But it did not come without several interesting factors coming into play.

St. Rita of Cascia High School, an all-boys Catholic high school located in Chicago’s Southwest Side neighborhood, won the Class 3A Illinois High School Association State Baseball Championship with a thrilling 12-11 win in eight innings over Troy. They had finished as runners-up three times previously.

Al appeared to be going smoothly towards St. Rita capturing that elusive title, as they led 11-4 after five innings of play. That outburst of runs included a two-run homer from eventual savior Vinny Stubitsch in the first.

Crazy Seventh Leads To Extra Innings, Walk-Off Winner

But things started getting weird a couple of innings later as Troy rallied in the seventh with a game-tying three-run home run from Carter Gaskill, according to a report by the Journal Star. The longball only came about after the umpires ruled a potential game-ending catch was not fully secured, halting the celebration and extending the contest.

Following an hour-long, and a scoreless top of the eighth for Troy, Stubitsch stepped to the plate and delivered a sacrifice fly that scored JJ Quinlan. And this time, St. Rita was able to fully celebrate as state champions for the first time.

“I’m just so happy for our community,” St. Rita head coach John Nee told the Chicago Sun Times. “So happy for all the guys that wore the uniform and all the hard work those guys put in to get us to this point. And for this group to get us over the hump.

“They believed in something bigger than themselves. When you get 30-plus guys pulling the rope in the same direction, you can do special things. And this is a special thing.”

Memorable Season For St. Rita Included 30 Wins, State Championship

The Mustangs went 30-12 this past season, entering the state baseball playoffs as a top seed. In the sectional finals, they eliminated Marian Catholic, 6-2, before clipping Nazareth Academy in the super-sectionals, 2-0.

In the state semifinals, St. Rita edged East Peoria, 2-1, before besting fellow No. 1 seed Triad in the finals, 12-11.

Stubitsch finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, as Aden Gutierrez had three hits and plated two runs. Jake Sellis added two hits and a pair of RBI, with Joe Camer scoring twice. Gregory Zaber was awarded the win on the mound, retiring all three batters he faced in the eighth with a strikeout.

Will Rewers pitched five-plus innings, striking out eight.

Add us as a preferred source on Google