South Burlington Wildcats cruise to first Vermont Legion baseball state crown since 2007

The South Burlington Wildcats had to win at least one game Thursday to claim their first Vermont American Legion baseball state crown since 2007.

One big inning took care of that.

Thanks to a seven-run fourth, the Wildcats built an insurmountable lead in what turned into a 7-3 victory over Manchester in the title game of the double-elimination state tournament at St. Peter's Field in Rutland.

Manchester had to win to force a decisive game against South Burlington, which entered Thursday undefeated from the winner's bracket. The Manchester-South Burlington matchup was delayed a day due Wednesday's rainy weather.

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In the final, Kaiden Quinn picked up the win, going six innings and allowing four hits, three earns (two earned) while striking out nine for the Wildcats (19-4), who extended their winning streak to seven games. At the plate, Kyle Tanis doubled twice with an RBI, Liam O'Connor went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and Cedric LeMothe went 2-for-4 with a run driven in for the Wildcats, who tallied 11 hits in total.

Bennett Campbell also doubled and Mason Sweetser went 1-for-3 with RBI to aid South Burlington's offense. For Manchester, Cosby Lux took the loss, yielding seven runs but none of them earned over six innings.

In the big fourth frame, O'Connor and Tanis doubled in runs on back-to-back at-bats to swell the South Burlington lead to 7-0. South Burlington went 5-0 in tournament play, which started with a 3-2 decision over White River Junction Post 84 on Saturday .

South Burlington advances to Northeast Regionals in Manchester, New Hampshire . They will play the N.H. state champion on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

South Burlington's Quinn named Legion tournament MVP

Kaiden Quinn of South Burlington was named the tournament MVP. The rest of the all-tournament team, via the Rutland Herald , includes:

Pitcher: Bennett Campbell, South Burlington. Catcher: Kyle Tanis, South Burlington. First base: Jackson Emery, Brattleboro. Second base: Hudson Deck, Manchester. Shortstop: Liam O'Connor, South Burlington; Max Brownlee, Manchester. Third base: Aiden Gray, South Burlington. Outfield: Aidan Davis, Brattleboro; Evan Dennis, St. Johnsbury; Cedric LaMothe, South Burlington. Utility: Seb Dostal, Manchester; Averill Parker, St. Johnsbury; David Harris, Essex; John Satterfield, Brattleboro; Trevor Arsenault, Montpelier; Wyatt Mason, St. Johnsbury; Dylan Brown, Lakes Region; Adam Littlefield, South Burlington. Sportsmanship: Wyatt Cadwell, White River Junction.

Contact Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5 .

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: South Burlington Wildcats cruise to first Vermont Legion baseball state crown since 2007