BURLINGTON — After waiting 37 years for their second baseball championship, a third took hardly as long for Thetford Academy.

Less sweet? Maybe, but when you can’t break a long drought, staving off a local foe in the rubber match of a three-year rivalry and getting revenge for a playoff heartbreak a year ago does just well enough.

Powered by many of the same elements that led to a breakthrough in 2023 — fearless pitching from a freshman who wasn’t the least bit scared of the moment, timely hits, and mistake-free defense — the second-seeded Panthers fought back from an early deficit to win, 4-1, over the undefeated top seed White River Valley and claim the VPA Division III baseball crown on a cool, clear evening at Centennial Field.

“I’m grateful,” Thetford coach Kris title Keelty said.

Keelty, a former Hartford assistant in his first season at Thetford and first season as a head coach, became the rare coach to go the distance in year one. “Grateful to be around a great group of kids,” he said. “They’re talented, they work hard, they stay out of trouble. I could not ask for any more. It’s been a great transition for me.”

Two years after Xander Oshoniyi powered the Panthers to the title with a dominant six-inning start, another freshman shined for Thetford. Miles Lawrence overcame two early errors in the field to record a pair of hits and two runs, then stepped to the mound in relief of starter Oshoniyi to deliver a nine-out save in shutout fashion.

“In the first couple innings, I made a couple of errors,” said Lawrence. “Had to get kind of locked in. It fired me up a lot and I came back and battled.”

Did he feel the pressure of a state title game?

“Yeah, a little pressure. But I knew my defense had my back and we could do it,” said Lawrence.

After a tight two opening innings, White River Valley drew first blood in the bottom of the third on a trio of infield balls. Lawrence, playing shortstop, bobbled a Holden Rediker ground ball to give the Wildcats a baserunner. Then, after Jacob Benoit legged out a single to second base, Lawrence threw high looking to finish off a double play and gifted the Wildcats the early 1-0 lead.

It didn’t take Lawrence long to redeem himself, though.

After JD Farrell walked to open the fourth, Lawrence connected on a pitch from WRV’s Quinlan Grace, driving the ball to center field and under the glove of Issac Wimett to score Farrell and tie the game. The Panthers pounced from there, taking the lead when Owen Goodrich lined a double that narrowly snuck inside the right-field line before Ollie Sarazin sent a nearly identical ball down the left-field line to double the Panther advantage.

“That was just the one inning where things didn’t go right,” said White River Valley coach Devin Cilley of the fourth frame. “If you have one inning where they don’t go right, that can be the game.”

After winning three straight titles in their first three years as a unified school, White River Valley have now lost three consecutive state finals. This one was different, though, not just because White River Valley entered as the top seed, but because the game felt genuinely tight from end to end.

White River Valley fell 6-0 in the 2023 title game and 7-0 a year ago.

“I told them that the last couple of years that we’ve been here and lost, I’ve really kind of walked away from it and felt like we didn’t really give it our all the whole game. And I felt like today they did that,” said Cilley. “I was really proud of them for that.”

For a second straight year, the Wildcats saw their manic energy and aggressive baserunning tactics stifled by a disciplined approach from their opponents. Three White River Valley runners were thrown out on the basepaths, including a pair in the sixth inning in what felt like the turning point of the game.

Thetford increased its advantage in the top half of the inning when Lawrence scored on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt from Evan Patterson, but White River Valley seemed to get a lifeline when a 1-1 pitch hit Benoit to open the inning.

Instead, things unraveled twice.

Benoit, stealing on a first pitch, was out on a close play at second. Then Grace followed up his single by attempting to take third on a Wyatt Cadwell bloop single. He was thrown out with an excellent relay, ending the inning and placing Thetford just three outs from the title.

A hard-hit single from Ty Couture opened the bottom of the seventh with at least a brief flash that White River Valley might repeat its comeback heroics from the semifinal, but Lawrence quickly recovered. A groundout and strikeout put the Wildcats to the brink before Rediker’s high popup was corralled with a diving effort by Liam Brooks to kick off the Thetford celebration.

Thetford recorded six hits to White River Valley’s five, including five doubles, and committed two errors versus just one to the Wildcats.

White River Valley loses five senior starters: Zander Clark, Donavan Craven, Brayden Russ, Cadwell and Rediker — while also graduating Sonny Snelling and Dylan Hatch.

“That I’m proud of them and that I love them,” said Cilley, when asked what he wanted his team to know. “They had a hell of a year and this game doesn’t define the team. … We’ve had really good teams the last couple of years but you don’t get to come back and have celebrations if you get second which is too bad. This is one of the best teams that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some really good ones, too.”

Thetford graduates just two seniors in Farrell and Patterson, as the Panthers will look to reload for a successful defense in 2026.