Roundup: RHS survives test from U-32 | Sports

The No. 7 seed Rutland boys tennis team held off a tough challenge from No. 10 U-32, winning 4-3 in the first round of the Division I playoffs on Tuesday at White Memorial Park.

The tightest battle of the day came at No. 2 doubles where U-32’s Gabe Goldstein and Brody Beaudet beat Dietrich Caler and Tom Goldberg 6-1,3-6, 10-8.

U-32 got its other two wins at No. 1 and No. 5 singles. At No. 1, Lincoln Smith beat Rutland’s Giuseppe Marchese 6-3, 6-1 and Julian Fitz beat Tanner Ciufu 6-1, 7-6.

At No. 2 singles, RHS’s Eli Rosi Beat Finnegan O’Donnell 6-1, 6-3, at No. 3 Graham Seidner beat Rory McLane6-0, 6-3 and at No. 4 singles Robin Rushing beat Phinn Low 6-0, 7-6.

Rutland picked up a win at No. 1 doubles as well with Ben Cerreta and Sebastian Pell beating Zephyr Low and Noah Kopsco 7-6, 6-1.

Rutland (9-3) advances to play the winner of No. 2 Burr and Burton and No. 15 Colchester. U-32 finishes the season 4-7.

BASEBALL

Spaulding 9, RHS 0

BARRE — Errors were costly for the No. 13 seed Rutland baseball team, as it fell to No. 4 Spaulding 9-0 in a Division I first round game on Tuesday.

RHS pitchers allowed just three hits to the Crimson Tide, but the defense did the hurlers no favors. The fifth inning was the roughest of the bunch as Rutland made six errors allowing for six Spaulding runs.

Chase de Castro allowed seven runs in his outing for Rutland with only one being earned.

De Castro, Aaron LeFrancois and Colin Rider had a hit apiece for Rutland, who finished the season 5-11.

Spaulding improved to 15-2, moving into the Division I quarterfinals. 

OV 6, Montpelier 2

BRANDON — The No. 8 seed Otter Valley baseball team earned a date with No. 1 Missisquoi Valley, topping No. 9 Montpelier 6-2 in a Division II first round game on Tuesday.

Andy McEnerny had another standout start for the Otters, going 6 2/3, allowing two runs and striking out nine. 

“He goes out there and competes and does his job,” said OV coach Mike Howe. “He’s somebody I can always rely on.”

Luca Polli was 3-for-3 with a RBI and a double for Otter Valley. Isaiah Wood had two hits and drove in two urns, while Caleb Whitney also had two hits.

Otter Valley (10-7)’s D-II quarterfinal with the Thunderbirds will be on Saturday.

FH 13, Middlebury 5

FAIR HAVEN — The No. 7 seed Fair Haven baseball team struck early and often, topping No. 10 Middlebury 13-5 in a Division II first round game on Tuesday.

The Slaters plated seven runs in the opening inning to take total control, Sawyer Ramey had two triples in the first inning and finished the day 4-for-5. Tyler Niklasson had a double and single and scored twice, while Max Kyhill drove in three runs. 

Carson Babbie went four innings on the mound, allowing six hits and striking out six. Alex Patch went the rest of the way, pitching scoreless relief. 

Fair Haven (10-7) has date with No. 2 U-32 in the D-II quarterfinals on Friday.

Northfield 7, WR 3

WEST RUTLAND — The No. 10 Northfield baseball team knocked off No. 7 West Rutland 7-3 in the first round of the Division IV playoffs on Tuesday.

A four-run first inning was crucial for the Marauders. Ajua Cheney had a big two-run hit in that opening inning.

Gus Covarrubias was an offensive bright spot for the Golden Horde with two singles and a double. Andrew Bailey pitched six innings for Westside and Grady Johnson pitched the seventh inning.

West Rutland finished 8-9 and loses just senior Noah Olson to graduation. Northfield improved to 3-12 and plays No. 2 Proctor in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Thetford 14, MRU 0

THETFORD — The No. 14 seed Mill River baseball team’s season came to an end, falling to No. 3 Thetford Academy 14-0 on Tuesday in a Division III first round game.

Mill River finished the season 2-15, while Thetford improved to 10-6 ahead of the D-III quarterfinals.

SOFTBALL

OV 16, Lake Region 4

(5 innings)

BRANDON — The No. 6 seed Otter Valley softball team’s bats came to play early on and pushed the Otters to a 16-4 win in five innings against No. 11 Lake Region in a Division II first round game at Candon Field on Tuesday.

OV plated 13 runs across the opening two innings to take control. 

Grace O’Connell led the offensive charge with a four-hit day, including two doubles. Ryleigh LaPorte had a two-hit day, including a triple, and Sydney Gallo tripled as well. 

Mackenzie McKay struck out five for Otter Valley.

The Otters (11-6) are at No. 2 Lyndon in the Division II quarterfinals.

GM 15, Randolph 10

CHESTER — The No. 5 seed Green Mountain softball team won a slugfest against No. 12 Randolph in a Division III first round game on Tuesday.

“Randolph is a lot better than their one-win record lets on,” said GM coach Todd Parah.

Green Mountain was paced by Riley Paul’s four RBIs and Abby Williams two RBIs. Paul had a triple that she ended up scoring on via a throwing error.

Brie Howe-Lynch and Paul split pitching duties with Paul having a very effective outing when Howe-Lynch got into trouble.

Green Mountain improved to 8-9 and plays the winner of No. 4 Bellows Falls-No. 13 Williamstown in the D-III quarterfinals on Friday.

Fair Haven 19, Woodstock 10

FAIR HAVEN — Fair Haven cranked up the bats and advanced in the Division III softball playoffs by beating Woodstock 19-10 on Tuesday.

Savannah Wilkinson had two hits and five RBIs for the Slaters and catcher Jaylena Haley had a double and three RBIs to show for her three hits. Amelia Munger contributed three hits and Maddie Egan had two. Tori Raymond added a double and single.

The Slaters had to rally as the Wasps forged an 8-5 lead.

Raymond pitched the first four innings and Riley Babbie entered a shut the Wasps down the rest of the way.

The No. 7 Slaters take a 6-11 record to Thetford on Friday to meet the No. 2 Panthers.

“We don’t know much about them but we didn’t know much about Woodstock,” Fair Haven coach Bill Jones said.

Jones is stepping down after this season so the next loss will bring down the curtain on his coaching career. He is in no hurry for that to happen.

Windsor 8, MRU 1

WINDSOR — The No. 8 seed Windsor softball team ended No. 9 Mill River’s season with an 8-1 win on Tuesday in the opening round of the Division III playoffs.

Mill River finished the season with a 7-9 mark, while the Yellow Jackets (6-11) play undefeated top seed Oxbow in the D-III quarterfinals.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Cardozo honored

CASTLETON — After a breakout sophomore season which helped the Castleton baseball team to its winningest campaign since 2018, Jackson Cardozo was named to the All-Region II Third Team by D3baseball.com Monday.

An outfielder from Southington, Conn., Cardozo emerged as one of the Little East Conference’s most dangerous hitters with the league’s third-best batting average of .386. The second-year Spartan provided a healthy dose of power in the lineup with five doubles, five triples, and four home runs. Team highs of 51 hits, 31 RBIs, 17 multi-hit games, and nine multi-RBI contests showcased his ability to terrorize opposing defenses at the dish.

Cardozo committed just one error in 70 chances in right field, finishing with a .986 fielding percentage. In the home finale against Southern Maine, Cardozo caught a pop fly then launched a bullet to the plate in time to double up the Huskies.

The Constitution State native is the Spartans’ first D3baseball.com All-Region representative since Davis Mikell in 2017.