BRADFORD, Vt. — The exuberant shout emanated from the home dugout Tuesday as Oxbow High entertained Thetford in a VPA Division III softball clash.

“Hit it louder!”

The hosts certainly did so, orchestrating a virtual cacophony of bat smacks and hand slaps and raucous cheers during a 21-1 pasting of the visiting Panthers. The rematch of last season’s division title game was never close and ended after five innings because of the run rule.

Can the Olympians claim a fourth consecutive state title?

“I sure hope so,” fifth-year coach Chuck Simmons said after his team improved to 5-0 and dropped Thetford to 3-2. “It’s so fun to come to practice and work on the little things that count.

“It’s all about preparation and doing the hard drills and making sure we’re all on the same page.”

Oxbow produced eight hits and 12 runs during the third inning. It ended with Simmons instructing consecutive runners to purposely take illegal early leads off base, resulting in the frame’s final two outs.

Oxbow pitcher Anastase Bourgeois allowed two hits and an unearned run while striking out 12 Panthers and walking none. Paige Tremblay, her Thetford counterpart, surrendered 14 hits and 21 runs, nine of them earned. She struck out one Olympian and walked seven.

Noemi Rosa drove in six runs with three hits, including a grand slam on which Thetford center fielder Natalie Perry flipped over the netting fence in a valiant effort to catch the ball. Brooke Osgood also had three hits for the hosts.

Elea Morgan and Autumn Murphy had the Thetford hits.

Oxbow’s 12-player roster features nine girls who play club softball outside the high school season, including the Bourgeois sisters, pitcher Anastase and catcher Mazie, who compete for a team in the Boston area.

The foundation of the Olympians’ success, however, is the Connecticut Valley Little League, which draws from towns including Bradford, Corinth, Piermont, Wells River, Bath, Newbury, Woodsville and Haverhill.

“I get kids who have played travel ball since they were 10,” said Simmons, who has coached youth softball and baseball for more than a decade. “They’re very knowledgeable on defense about where the runners are at all times and knowing what to do with the ball when it’s hit to them.”

Combine that with refined hitting and pitching, and it’s no wonder Oxbow is 25-0 during the past two seasons. Simmons said last year that the Olympians missed the cutoff for petitioning to play up a division in 2024, so the chances of a fourth consecutive crown look quite strong.

“A lot of our players have parents who played for Oxbow,” said Simmons, whose program is 11-2 in state championship games. “Success has always been part of playing here.”

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.