BRANDON — The No. 3 seeded Otter Valley Union High School baseball team won its first two Division II playoff games late last week and will play on Tuesday for a berth in the final.
The 12-6 Otters are scheduled to travel to meet No. 2 Fairfax (13-3) at 4:30 on Tuesday. No. 1 Lamoille (17-1) is set to host No. 4 U-32 (12-5) at the same time as, unlike last season, the D-II tournament has followed regular-season form. The time and place for the final has not been announced.
On Friday, the Otters made the most of four hits to defeat 2016 finalist and No. 6 seed Bellows Falls, 5-1. Payson Williams tossed a four-hitter and struck out six, allowing only an unearned run. He worked out of trouble after walking six, including starting a first-inning double play (one of two the Otters turned) with the bases loaded. Reilly Shannon also ended the fourth inning by throwing a Terrier out at home.
OV took a 2-1 lead in the third when Derek Aines doubled, one of his two hits, and scored on an errant throw as he stole third. The Otters picked up an unearned run before Nate Hudson added some insurance by drilling a two-run double in the sixth to make it 5-1.   
On Thursday, Aines tossed a complete-game six-hitter and struck out 10 as the Otters outlasted No. 14 Milton, 6-3. A three-run sixth-inning proved decisive. Josh Beayon and Shannon poked two hits apiece and Williams picked up two RBIs to pace OV’s attack.