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Springboro surprises Butler in baseball thriller.

Upstart Panthers defeat seasoned Aviators.

Ron Alvey

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By Ron Jackson, Staff Writer Updated 12:31 AM Saturday, April 18, 2009

A word to the wise in the high school baseball world: Don’t underestimate youthful Springboro.

Just ask Vandalia Butler. The Aviators reached the Division I regional semifinals last season and returned eight players from that squad. They fell to Boro, 7-6, Friday April 17. The crossover battle counted in the standings.

Boro raises its record to 6-3 and 2-1 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference South while Butler slips to 7-4 and 3-1 in the GWOC North. Graduation depleted last year’s state-ranked and 25-5 Boro squad that featured four Division I players.

“We got a bunch of no-namers coming up and they’re improving with each game,” said returning senior shortstop Bryce Drew. “We have more sophomores in the lineup than seniors. We just came back from Florida (Disney World Complex in Orlando) where we bonded and won four out of five. There is less pressure on us than last year.”

The game was a classic battle with rallies, lead changes, defensive gems and comebacks. Boro opened up a 3-1 lead before Butler scored two in the fifth and one in sixth to take a 4-3 lead.

In the decisive sixth, the unfazed Panthers scored four, highlighted by James Sheltrown’s two-run single. Junior Taylor Terrell and sophomore Ian Huss started the outburst with back-to-back hits.

“We’ve used nine different lineups in nine games and will probably write a different one (Saturday),” said Boro coach Mark Pelfrey. “Our young kids are still learning what varsity ball is all about and how to win. It’ll be a slow process. We’ve been struggling at the plate, but had eight hits. That’s encouraging.”

Seniors Drew and Sheltrown had two hits apiece. The Akron-bound Sheltrown ranks as one of the state’s top senior catchers. He nailed a would-be base stealer in the first inning.

“James is a difference-maker back there,” Pelfrey said. “Opponents pretty much don’t run on his gun.”

“Catcher has a hose,” said Butler coach Trent Dues. “It was a heckuva high school battle. They had a couple two-out line drives that fell and our line drives just didn’t fall. We had several situations where we could’ve lengthened the lead, created a gap but we couldn’t do it.”

Contact this writer at  (937) 225-2478 or rjackson @DaytonDailyNews.com

More game photos at DaytonDailyNews.com/go/preps

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