SOUTH ROYALTON — In a rematch of last season’s VPA Division III baseball state championship, Thetford Academy came out on top again, pulling away from White River Valley High late to pick up a 9-5 win at Alumni Field on Friday afternoon.
Leading by two runs entering the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers scored four runs on a sacrifice fly from freshman Eli Kraemer, a hit batter, and a two-RBI double from senior Xander Oshoniyi to go up 9-3, and held on for the victory.
The matchup, tightly contested until the late innings, was precisely what Thetford Head Coach Kris Keelty expected against an opponent his squad has faced in either the D-III finals or semifinals the previous three seasons.
“I knew White River Valley was going to come out and compete their tails off — they always play us tough, and today was no different,” Keelty said.
Despite defense he described as “sloppy” and hitting that “was not what it could be,” Keelty acknowledged being pleased to escape with a win.
Wildcats’ Head Coach Devin Cilley said it was the best game his squad had played all season.
“I was really proud of the boys,” he said. “That’s a really good team over there, we fought hard against them all day. Obviously it wasn’t what we wanted, but the fight and the drive and the comebacks, that was all great stuff — I’m actually pretty happy right now.”
In the early portion of the contest, the scoreboard was at a standstill as Wildcats’ senior starter Jacob Benoit and Panthers’ starter Oshoniyi went to work.
Thetford struck first in the top of the third inning. After loading the bases, senior Sam Kraemer hit a bloop to shallow left field, and miscommunication between fielders allowed the ball to drop for a single and give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers added another run when the next batter, junior Oliver Sarazin, popped up to the catcher behind home plate.
An errant throw in an attempt to cover an empty home plate to prevent a tag-up allowed Thetford’s baserunner to come home and take a two-run lead before the end of the inning.
The Wildcats responded in the bottom half of the frame. Junior Leland French-Dyer led off with an infield single and moved to third on a bunt and groundout.
With two outs, Benoit helped himself out and scored French-Dyer on an infield hit that deflected off of Oshoniyi’s glove.
After the next batter, senior Quinlan Grace singled to left field, junior Jackson Scott hit a single of his own to right field, scoring Benoit to tie the game 2-2.
The Wildcats then took a 3-2 lead on a fielding error before Thetford escaped the inning.
Thetford retook the lead in the top of the fourth on a two-RBI double from sophomore Miles Lawrence that spelled the end of Benoit’s day.
Thetford extended its lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth on a double to deep left field from senior Owen Goodrich, before the offense broke through for a big inning in the top of the sixth to go up 9-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats scored two runs on a hit to left field from French-Dyer that drove in a teammate but scored on a throwing error.
Lawrence came in relief in the bottom of the seventh for Thetford to close the door on any comeback.
The Panthers (8-0) host Lyndon on Monday at 4:30, while the Wildcats (5-5) visit West Rutland on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
