ADDISON COUNTY — In recent local high school softball play, Vergennes won three times and Middlebury won twice, while Otter Valley split two games, including suffering a costly loss at rival Fair Haven.
Mount Abraham hosted Spaulding on Tuesday and picked up a forfeit win; see story, Page 1B.
OV, Mount Abe and VUHS are all trying to earn top-four seeds in Division II. The Vermont Principals’ Association will release pairings on Tuesday.
COMMODORES
On Friday, the Commodores scored four times in the first inning on the way to a 10-1 win over host South Burlington. Emilee Trudo tossed a complete-game three-hitter and struck out 12, and Taylor Paquette andDani Brown each doubled to spark the attack.
On Saturday, the Commodores got a key double from Sarah Poirier-Thayer in a two-run sixth inning that allowed them to rally past host Rice, 3-2. Paquette earned the pitching win, striking out nine, allowing four hits and one earned run.
On Tuesday, the Commodores blanked visiting Mount Mansfield, 8-0, as Brown tossed a shutout, striking out 10, and hit a two-run homer in a seven-run second inning. According to Coach Mike Sullivan, Brown has yet to allow an earned run this spring. Paquette doubled home two runs, and Trudo also picked up two RBIs in the decisive inning.
At 11-2, the Commodores stand in third place as of Wednesday in the VPA standings heading into their final games — they are set to host Missisquoi on Thursday and Spaulding on Friday, both at 4:30 p.m.
TIGERS
The Tigers made it three wins in four games and improved to 6-9 with two road wins. On Saturday, they scored two unearned runs in the 11th inning to edge host Burlington, 4-2, with Payton Buxton picking up the pitching win.
On Tuesday, five Tigers knocked out at least two hits apiece in a 12-2 decision at Colchester. Cassondra Laroche doubled twice and singled, Makayla Foster andHannah Lawrence added three hits apiece, and Krisandra Provencher andAhleiyah Mason-Rivera each doubled twice. Buxton fanned 11 and earned the complete-game win.
The Tigers are scheduled to host South Burlington at 4:30 p.m. on Friday to wrap up the regular season. They will open the postseason on the road despite their late surge.
OTTERS
On Monday, OV defeated host Leland & Gray, 10-1, as Taylor Aines tossed a three-hitter, fanning five. Megan Santell sparked OV with three hits, four runs and three RBIs, while Cortney Poljacik and Aines each tripled and singled, Amy Jones doubled and singled, and Maia Edmunds singled twice.
On Tuesday, host Fair Haven avenged an earlier defeat with a 9-4 victory over the Otters. Anna Fabian earned the pitching win, striking out two and walking four. The Slaters took advantage of OV miscues to make the most of their seven hits and three walks off Aines. Timi Carone had three of those hits and scored three times, while Marissa Lamoureux andKayla Stoodley added two hits apiece. Santell led OV with two hits, and Brittany Bushey scored twice.
Fair Haven improved to 9-6 and can lock down a No. 8 seed with one more win. OV dropped to 10-4 and faces a key home game vs. 9-5 Hartford on Thursday. Hartford is now in sixth place, one behind OV in the D-II standings, and an OV loss could flip the teams in the standings.
OV’s Friday home game vs. Mount Anthony was postponed. No makeup date had been announced as of Wednesday morning for that game, which could also affect OV’s seed if played. Tuesday’s loss means OV might not be able catch Mount Abe, which is 12-3 with one game remaining, or VUHS, which is 11-2 with two games left, and thus cannot earn a top-four seed.