By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter
It’s not often that a 12-3 victory in the regular season ends with a Gatorade bucket bath. Those types of things are typically reserved for the state championship. Woodstock head baseball coach Jason Tarleton hopes to have experienced both by year’s end, after earning his 200th career win as coach over Leland and Gray last Thursday night.
“It is a good milestone,” he said after being doused in ice-cold water by seniors Aksel Oates and Riley O’Neal. “It’s not something I imagined getting. The only thing I’ve had my sights set on is a state championship, and that’s never changed. I’d trade every single one for a shot at the title.”
Coach Jason Tarleton
Basking in the glow of the stadium lights, Tarleton remained humble, praising those who helped him get to the career achievement. “There are so many people who made it possible,” he said. “So many good players, good coaches. I’m thankful for everyone that helped.”
To win number 200, a game had to be played. Woodstock came into the night looking for a slice of revenge after the Rebels handed the Wasps their lone loss of the season two weeks ago. They aimed to do so by leaning on Drew Gallagher on the bump.
The game started off rocky for Woodstock, as a fielding error allowed a Rebel run to score, putting them behind 1-0. But it wouldn’t take long to rally back. Spurred by aggressive baserunning, including two steals from Oates, the Wasps scored two in the inning to go up 2-1.
“We noticed that the pitcher had a slow delivery and the catcher had a slow pop time,” said Tarleton on why his team came out eager to steal. “We’re always scouting in warm-ups, and we want to run if we get on base to manufacture runs.”
On the mound, Gallagher locked in, keeping Leland and Gray scoreless for the next four innings. A pitch-choice adjustment led to dominance. “They really focused on timing up his slider, so he moved to rely more on his fastball,” explained Tarleton. “He controlled his pitches well and was smart with attacking their best hitters.”
Woodstock tallied their third run in the fourth inning after a ground ball to second base by Brody Allen scored a runner. Then, the offense exploded for five runs in the fifth, thanks to two opposite-field RBI singles from Liam Crowl and Zach Peterman put the team ahead 8-1. “We have been talking about that, how we have been struggling the last couple games with runners on base,” said Tarleton. “We have guys who can provide in those situations, and tonight we took advantage.”
After a solid first few innings, Leland and Gray’s Conner Richardson lost control on the mound, hitting three Wasp batters and allowing several hits in the final two innings.
The Rebels fought back in the top of the sixth inning to close the gap to 8-3, but Woodstock added four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the commanding 12-3 lead. In the seventh, Gallagher flashed his high-octane fastball to record two strikeouts of the opponent’s top of the order to close his coach’s milestone victory.
Gallagher was incredible, pitching a complete game while allowing just three runs on three hits, while collecting 14 strikeouts and giving up four walks.
The win improves Woodstock’s record to 9-1 on the year with just four games remaining. At this time, the Wasps are second in the Vermont Principals Association’s Division III rankings, behind undefeated Thetford Academy.
