It was time for the Oneida and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill baseball teams to step into the Tri-Valley League and see if they could stand out once more. For the Indians, the big test came Thursday, against defending Section III Class A champion Whitesboro, and it led midway through the contest before the Warriors rallied late and beat them by a score of 8-5. Trailing 5-0 going into the fourth inning, Oneida suddenly tied it with a five-run rally, most of the runs coming home when, with the bases loaded, Kyle Armstrong and Dylan VanDresar both hit two-run doubles. However, Whitesboro absorbed the blow and, in the sixth, notched the decisive three-run rally. Mitch Cavanagh, pitching in relief of Armstrong and starter Chris Morehouse, took the loss. Two days earlier, Oneida got a visit from Utica-Notre Dame and, with one big rally and standout pitching, earned a 4-1 victory over the Jugglers. Through four innings, Dylan VanDresar was containing UND’s bats, but a second-inning tally had pushed the Jugglers ahead 1-0. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Oneida surged ahead with all four of its runs, keyed by Jordan Koons’ two-run double off the wall and Tyler Mallinder bringing home another run with a well-timed squeeze bunt. VanDresar gave way to reliever Mitch DuBois, who saw Mallinder stop one rally in the sixth with a diving catch, then escaped his own trouble in the seventh when, with the bases loaded and two out, he forced a fly ball to end it. VVS had a similar struggle with Camden in its league home opener – and also would win, too, edging the Blue Devils 4-2. Through four innings, the Red Devils had just one hit off Blue Devils pitcher Cody Sullivan and trailed 2-1. But in the fifth, two different errors brought home the tying run, and Collin Laguzza’s double scored two more and put VVS ahead. Laguzza had pitched, too, until Tyler Mautner relieved him and breezed through the sixth. In the seventh, Jesse Whitmeyer, trying to close it out, loaded the bases with nobody out, only to strike out John Gums and Parker Smith and, with Jake Come’s groundout, gave the Red Devils the win. It proved even closer in Friday’s game against Utica-Notre Dame, but once again VVS had the right formula and, with a late comeback, beat the Jugglers 3-2. Jesse Whitmeyer did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and finished with 11 strikeouts. But the Red Devils only led 1-0 when UND finally got some hits in that fifth frame and tied it, then used another run in the sixth to move ahead 2-1. Down to three outs, in the top of the seventh VVS saw Matt Silker, three-for-three on the game, draw a walk. After reaching second on a passed ball, Silker brought home the tying run on a pair of grounders, the last one a Juggler error. Laguzza singled, and Whitmeyer himself stepped up and provide the go-ahead hit, his single scoring Mautner. Then, with that one-run margin, Whitmeyer put a runner on third base in the bottom of the seventh, but got Zack Kesterton to ground out to end it.