ADDISON COUNTY — As the local high school softball regular season ended late last week, Vergennes won twice, Otter Valley split a pair and Mount Abe won its only game late in the week. All secured home games at least in the first round of the Division II playoffs.
Surging Middlebury won its final game, but will likely be seeded 10th in the D-II playoffs, which means away-contests in the tournament.
The Vermont Principals Association was set to release playoff pairings early on Monday.
COMMODORES
After defeating D-1 Missisquoi in extra innings on Thursday and D-I Spaulding in Barre on Friday, 14-2 VUHS will get at least the No. 2 seed in the D-II tournament.
In Vergennes on May 29, Dani Brown’s eighth-inning single up the middle sent home Taylor Paquette to give the hosts a 1-0 victory over Missisquoi. In doing so, Brown helped improve her pitching record — she went all eight innings on the mound for the win. She struck out 15 and yielded only four hits, while going 3-for-4 at the plate. The Commodores’ Kayla Charron recorded four singles. Arica Bushey went eight innings in the loss for the Thunderbirds, which will be a top-four seed in Division I with a 13-3 record.
At Spaulding, Commodore pitcher Emilee Trudo held the home team to one run on two hits, striking out eight, to lead Vergennes to a 4-1 win. Tamara Aunchman belted a pair of home runs for the Commodores. Vergennes had nine hits vs. losing pitcher Brooke Benoit.
OTTERS
The Otters won by one run on Thursday in Brandon but lost by the same margin the next day at home.
In the first game, OV led Hartford by two runs going into the fifth, but the Hurricanes inched back to deadlock the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. That’s when, with two outs, a Megan Santell hit down the first base line dropped in among three Hurricane fielders. That was enough to allow Taylor Aines to score from first to give the Otters a 4-3 victory.
Pitching ace Aines, who retired eight straight at one point, notched the win with just one hit against her. The Otters got a run in the first on an Amy Jones single, a wild pitch and Santell’s RBI single. OV upped the lead to 2-0 in the fourth on Cortney Poljacik’s lead single, a sacrifice, an error and an infield out.
On Friday, Aines was again in fine form, and so was Mount Anthony pitcher Bailey Ports — neither walked a batter. For MA, which is ranked No. 2 in Division I, Ports struck out seven and surrendered only four hits; Aines fanned six and gave up five hits. The game was tied at 1-1 when Makayla Farrara singled and came around to score the winning run. OV’s run scored on a groundout by Maia Edmunds. MA claimed the 2-1 win.
OV coach Pattie Candon is expecting her Otters to be the No. 5 seed in the Division II playoffs.
EAGLES
Mount Abe claimed a 4-3 victory over BFA-St. Albans, D-I’s No. 3 seed, on Thursday in Bristol.
After the Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kendra Thompson hit a bloop single that scored two runs and the Eagles walked off with the win. The Burlington Free Press reported that Thompson’s hit, her third, scored a runner from third to tie the game and the winning run crossed the plate on the errant throw home.
Sam Reiss had an RBI single for Mount Abraham (13-3), Meghan Livingston went 3-for-3 at the plate and Rachel McCormack earned the win, pitching three scoreless inning in relief.
TIGERS
Middlebury ended season 7-9 with a home win over D-I South Burlington on Saturday
Makayla Foster had two hits and stole three bases in the 11-8 Tiger victory. Pitcher Justina Jackson earned the win for Middlebury.