When the season began and the weather was hardly warm, Matthew Thorsen already had heated up. In a senior season that will go down as one of the greatest produced by a Section II baseball player, the standout shortstop/pitcher applied his four P’s: passion, persistence, precision and power.
Thorsen, who will play his college baseball at Northeastern, began his final season with the Panthers by belting at least one home run in his first eight games. In all, Thorsen delivered 16 home runs, drove in 48 runs, scored 57 times and stole 33 bases to go along with going 8-0 on the mound with a 0.84 earned run average as Chatham captured the Class C state championship for the second straight year.
“I was never going up to the plate thinking I had to hit a home run to keep the streak alive, but there definitely was some pressure,” Thorsen said. “I didn’t let it get into my head. When I walked up to the plate, I was trying to do a job for the team — nothing more.”
The Panthers cruised through the competition in the Patroon Conference and tested themselves outside league play. When it was time to compete in the Section II Class CC/C playoff, Duanesburg pushed Chatham to the brink before the Panthers rallied to win 3-2.
“It gave us a lot more confidence when we beat Duanesburg because we knew we could come back,” Thorsen said.
Whether it was playing shortstop, pitching or hitting, Thorsen managed to deliver superlative results. He earned Patroon Conference Player of the Year plaudits and did the same during the winter in helping Chatham win the Class C sectional title in basketball.
Thorsen got the start in the state championship baseball game, which ended up being a 12-6 victory over Tuckahoe.
“Going back-to-back was something that was legendary and that is what the team was striving for,” Thorsen said. “It is a great feeling to achieve…
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