OV Baseball captures top seed
By RUSSELL JONES
The Otter Valley baseball team is the number one seed in the Division II playoff bracket and are poised to make a deep run after a disappointing exit from last year’s playoffs.
The Otters ended their season with a 7-1 victory over Fair Haven on Friday, May 24, to finish the season at 15-1. They checked off victories against tough D-I opponents Rutland and Mt. Anthony and their only loss of the season came against a tough D-I Brattleboro squad.
The Otters mopped up the rest of their division with only three games that saw a final score closer than three runs. Senior Josh Beayon has been dominant on the mound and Kollin Bissette and Patrick Mcgeighan have been good down the stretch.
The offense is clicking and the defense rarely makes errors, leaving opponents scratching their heads on how to beat the Otters.
OV will begin their playoff run on Wednesday, May 29, at 4:30 p.m. by hosting Mill River. A win will see them face off with the Bellows Falls/Hartford winner in Brandon on Friday, May 31, at 4:30 p.m.
OV lacrosse
The Otter Valley lacrosse team will take on 1-9, U-32 on Wednesday, May 29, in the first game of the D-II playoffs at 4 p.m. in Brandon. The lax’ers finished off their season with two disappointing losses to Hartford in the same week, 4-18 in the first game and 2-5 in the second.
The Otter’s Alec Stevens has been impressive in the net all season and Hayden Gallo has helped lead the offense. The Otters have been on the lower half of the D-I rankings all season, finishing with a 7-5 record. Their only losses coming against either D-I opponents or the two games against Hartford, who is ranked second in the division.
The Otters should steamroll past U-32 and will likely take on Stowe on Saturday at 4 p.m. Stowe would be a challenge for the Otters, who have not played anyone in the top four of their division with the exception of Hartford.
OV girl’s tennis
The Otter girl’s tennis squad will go into the playoffs with a 3-8 record and the six-seed. The Otters secured wins against Mt. St. Joseph Academy, twice, and finished the season with a win against Hartford on Wednesday, May 22.
They will face a 9-2 Burr and Burton squad on the road on Wednesday, May 29.
Proctor baseball
The Phantom baseball team ended the season with a .500 record, winning four of their last six to finish at 6-6. The Proctor team received a boost as shortstop Joe Valerio returned from injury recently.
They will be a four-seed going into the playoffs and will face a 7-8 Blue Mountain team in Proctor on Friday, May 31, at 4:30 p.m. A win there will see them take on the winner of a game against one-seed Black River and Sharon/MSJ.
Proctor softball
Coach Abby Bennett has her team tuned up and ready to play as the Phantom finished with a 12-3 record. The Proctor squad won eight in a row and nine of the last 10 down the stretch, finishing with a win over Black River on Friday, May 24.
Their only losses came against Division III Green Mountain and two losses to rival West Rutland.
Proctor will take on Black River on Friday, May 31, at 4:30 p.m. in Proctor. A win in that game will likely force a showdown against West Rutland where the Phantoms will look to get revenge for the two regular season losses.
West Rutland softball
The West Rutland Golden Horde may be the two-seed in the D-IV playoffs, but they have performed like a number one seed all season long. In fact, they are tied with the actual number one seed with one loss each, but West Rutland has four more wins than Danville.
Danville will take a 10-1 record, along with the top seed, into the playoffs and the Horde, 15-1, will take the two-seed. The Danville squad ended up with three-tenths more average index points, the stat used to determine playoff rankings, than West Rutland. The Horde will face off against 2-13 Twinfield on Friday, May 31, at 4:30 p.m. They would play on Tuesday, June 4, against the winner of the Proctor/Black River game.
