Spaulding baseball avenges 2021 championship loss with first title win in 32 years

Grady Chase kept his runner-up medal hanging from his rearview mirror. A subtle reminder that the championship loss is behind Spaulding and extra motivation for the 2022 outfit.

A complete overhaul to the Crimson Tide program followed last year’s loss. They would no longer be the team that could just hit, fielding was just as important as scoring runs and pitching, paramount to the success of a championship team.

“We had players that can play good defense, but we were known for putting up runs,” Spaulding coach Dan Kiniry said. “It was a learning experience for all of us as we watched U-32 last year.”

As the Tide (18-1) rushed over teams this spring, still with their run-happy offense, only three opponents scored more than three runs against them. The team that was known for hitting, was now known for playing baseball.

And No. 1 Spaulding, 363 days after losing to U-32 in the final, pitched and defended its way to the first baseball title for the Capital Division program in 32 years, topping No. 2 Lyndon Institute 4-2 in the Division II championship on Saturday afternoon at Centennial Field.

“Sometimes you have to feel the pain before you can get to the mountain top and last year, we certainly felt the pain,” Kiniry said. “These guys learned from that, I learned from that, and it wasn't about having the best players, it’s about having the best team.”

Against the Vikings’ (16-4) ace, Austin Wheeler, the Crimson Tide bats were nearly silenced. Only three hits netted Spaulding the win. And none were bigger than Cole McAllister’s two-out, two-run double to left field.

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Down 2-0 in the second inning, McAllister, the Tide’s leadoff hitter, worked Wheeler to a 3-2 count and fouled off a handful of pitches before driving in Averill Parker and Dylan Bachand, both of whom reached on walks. Parker and Bachand had advanced to second and third advanced on a Hayden Kennedy sacrifice bunt that found refuge on the first baseline.

“Can't strikeout in those situations,” McAllister said of the at-bat. “With two outs you have to put the ball in play, and I didn't really care how I got a hit, I didn't really care how hard, I just needed to put it in play and let the rest take care of itself.”

Now tied and a runner on second, Spaulding’s Danny Kiniry stepped into the batter's box and sent a line drive to center that was misplayed, scoring McAllister.

“That was such a huge moment in the game, such a huge momentum changer for us,” Dan Kiniry said of McAllister’s hit. “I think it shifted the entire momentum of the game, right after that, Danny comes up and it's a laser to center.”

Spaulding had secured its first lead. And behind Kieran McNamara’s five innings, five strikeout and three walk performance, the Tide didn’t surrender it.

The Tide added another run in the fifth inning on Zack Wilson’s bloop single to left that scored Christian Titus, who was pinch running for Danny Kiniry.

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Lyndon jumped on McNamara for two runs in the first inning. Two-hole hitter, Wheeler, started the sequence with a base hit to right field and advanced to second on a pass ball. Trevor Lussier then doubled to center, scoring Wheeler. Dylan Miller singled up the middle to plate Lussier.

Wheeler dealt five innings of three-hit ball with three strikeouts. Parker recorded the save pitching two innings, allowing no hits and one strikeout.

In the seventh, Kennedy made one of his two base-hit stealing plays, by tracking down Wyatt Mason’s line drive in the gap in left-center, highlighting the complete team that Spaulding had become.

“I looked at our experience here last year, we got beat by U-32 and I said 'We’ve got to be better in all aspects,'" Kiniry said. "Offense, defense and pitching. We needed the defense and the pitching today.”

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Contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter: @ByJacobRousseau

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont H.S. baseball: Spaulding wins first title win in 32 years