ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â MAY Â 30, Â 2013
KARL LINDHOLM
SPORTS
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Girls’  lax  hangs  on  for  victory
Not  just  a  folk hero:  a  real  player Late  last  summer,  I  was  chatting  with  Lynn  and  Mike  McKenna  in  front  of  the  Middlebury  Market  about  the  woes  of  the  Red  Sox,  who  were  headed  for  last  place,  OLPSLQJ WR D PLVHUDEOH ÂżQLVK They  were  waxing  enthusiastic  DERXW 5HG 6R[ RXWÂżHOGHU 'DQLHO Nava,  their  favorite  player.  Nava  is  a  most  unlikely  major- leaguer.  The  Red  Sox  plucked  him  from  independent  ball  in  2008  af- ter  playing  for  the  Chico  Outlaws  of  the  Golden  Baseball  League  in  California.  The  Red  Sox  paid  the  Outlaws  $1.00  (that’s  right  —  one  dollar)  for  the  rights  to  sign  him.  He  was  the  last  thing  from  a  golden  boy  destined  for  athletic  success,  weighing  70  pounds  when  he  entered  high  school  and  growing  only  to  5’5â€?,  150  pounds  by  gradu- ation.  At  Santa  Clara  University,  he  failed  to  make  the  baseball  team  as  a  walk-Âon  and  served  instead  as  the  team’s  equip- PHQW PDQDJHU )RU ÂżQDQFLDO UHD- sons,  he  transferred  to  the  College  of  San  Mateo  where  his  baseball  career  started  in  earnest.  Returning  to  Santa  Clara  for  his  senior  year,  he  made  the  team,  but  went  undrafted.  He  headed  to  inde- pendent  ball,  played  well,  signed  with  the  Red  Sox,  and  began  work- ing  his  way  up  through  the  minor  leagues.  ,Q KLV ÂżUVW PDMRU OHDJXH DW EDW IRU WKH 5HG 6R[ RQ -XQH in  a  nationally  televised  game,  on  WKH YHU\ ÂżUVW SLWFK,  Daniel  Nava  hit  a  grand  slam  homer,  thereby  earn- ing  a  place  in  baseball’s  trivia  Hall  of  Fame,  and  helping  the  Sox  to  a  10-Â2  win  over  the  Phillies. He  hit  just  that  one  home  run  in  60  games  for  the  Red  Sox  in  2010.  The  next  year,  2011,  he  failed  to  make  the  big  club  and  was  not  pro- tected  on  the  team’s  40-Âman  roster.  All  29  other  major  league  teams  passed  on  signing  him.  He  spent  the  entire  2011  season  playing  for  Pawtucket,  the  Red  Sox  AAA  team.  At  28  years  old,  he  was  in  danger  of  being  released.  He  (See  Lindholm,  Page  3B)
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
VERGENNES  UNION  HIGH  School  senior  Molly  Ambrose  connects  with  the  ball  during  Tuesday’s  game  against  Middlebury.  Vergennes  won  the  game,  10-Â0. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
VUHS  softball  blanks  host  Tigers Commodores  near  high  seed  by  topping  rebuilding  MUHS By  ANDY  KIRKALDY heading  into  a  Friday  game  at  Mill  MIDDLEBURY  —  On  Tuesday,  River,  is  also  seeking  that  seed. IRU WKH VHFRQG VWUDLJKW JDPH WKH 9HU- But  Tuesday  belonged  to  Trudo,  gennes  Union  High  School  who  set  the  tone  by  striking  softball  team  got  a  two-Âhit,  “Our RXW WKH VLGH LQ WKH ÂżUVW DQG route-Âgoing  pitching  perfor- captains DOORZHG RQO\ WZR LQÂżHOG mance  from  a  junior  hurler  have been singles,  by  sophomore  des- against  a  county  rival.  ignated  hitter  Rachel  Shel- doing a Last  week,  Taylor  Pa- drick  in  the  third  and  senior  quette  produced  an  8-Â2  win  pretty good ULJKW ÂżHOGHU 0ROO\ :ULJKW over  visiting  Mount  Abra- job trying to in  the  fourth.  She  walked  ham.  On  Tuesday,  class- keep them none,  and  only  one  other  mate  Emilee  Trudo  tossed  motivated. batter  reached,  sophomore  a  13-Âstrikeout  gem  as  the  They’re a Krisandra  Provencher,  on  a  Commodores  beat  host  sixth-Âinning  error. good group Middlebury,  10-Â0. Trudo  said  all  of  her  98+6 LPSURYHG WR of girls. I’m pitches  were  effective,  and  KHDGLQJ LQWR LWV ÂżQDO UHJX- very pleased she  was  hitting  her  spots.  lar  season  game  at  Spauld- with them.â€? “It  all  seemed  to  be  ing  on  Thursday.  There,  — MUHS coach working  pretty  good,â€?  Tru- Coach  Mike  Sullivan  said  Polly Rheaume do  said. he  would  deploy  the  third  of  And  she  appreciated  the  his  junior  pitching  trio,  Dani  Brown,  defensive  support. as  the  Commodores  tried  to  nail  down  ³,W GHÂżQLWHO\ GRHV KHOS ,W IHHOV VH- the  No.  3  seed  for  next  week’s  Divi- cure,â€?  Trudo  said. sion  II  playoffs.  Fair  Haven,  11-Â4  MUHS  coach  Polly  Rheaume  noted Â
that  Trudo  grew  up  in  the  Middle- bury  area,  and  she  was  happy  that  the  98+6 MXQLRU LV GRLQJ ZHOO “Emilee  did  a  great  job.  I’ve  known  her  since  she  was  little,  and  ‌  she’s  been  very  dedicated  and  motivated,â€?  Rheaume  said.  “It’s  good  to  see  her  do  well,  (but)  I  wish  we  could  have  done  better  against  her.â€? The  3-Â10  Tigers  are  in  rebuilding  mode  after  losing  a  number  of  key  players,  but  Rheaume  said  the  team  has  had  good  leadership  while  main- taining  a  positive  outlook  and  working  hard.  “Our  captains  have  been  doing  a  pretty  good  job  trying  to  keep  them  motivated,â€?  she  said.  “They’re  a  good  group  of  girls.  I’m  very  pleased  with  them.â€? 2Q 7XHVGD\ 98+6 VFRUHG WZLFH LQ WKH ÂżUVW /RVLQJ SLWFKHU .ULVWHQ *RV- selin  walked  leadoff  hitter  K.C.  Am- brose,  and  Trudo  followed  with  a  bunt  single.  A  throwing  error  scored  (See  Softball,  Page  3B)
MIDDLEBURY  —  The  Middle- bury  Union  High  School  girls’  la- crosse  team  held  off  a  second-Âhalf  charge  by  visiting  Burlington  on  Tuesday  and  prevailed,  18-Â13.  The  Tigers  improved  to  9-Â4,  while  the  Seahorses  dropped  to  5-Â8.  The  Tigers’  May  24  game  at  0RXQW 0DQVÂżHOG ZDV SRVWSRQHG $W SUHVV WLPH RIÂżFLDOV ZHUH WU\LQJ WR reschedule  the  game  for  Wednesday,  although  the  weather  was  uncertain.  The  Tigers  are  also  scheduled  to  play  DW &KDPSODLQ 9DOOH\ RQ )ULGD\ DV WKH UHJXODU VHDVRQ HQGV 7KH 9HUPRQW Principals’  Association  will  release  playoff  pairings  on  Monday,  with  MUHS  still  in  the  running  for  a  No.  2  seed  behind  undefeated  South  Bur- lington.  Against  Burlington,  Emily  Kier- nan  scored  four  of  her  game-Âhigh  six  goals  as  the  Tigers  bolted  to  a  late  ¿UVW KDOI OHDG RI %XW WKH 5HE- HOV VFRUHG WKH ÂżQDO WKUHH JRDOV RI WKH ÂżUVW KDOI WZR LQ WKH ODVW PLQXWH DQG ÂżYH RI WKH ÂżUVW VHYHQ LQ WKH VHFRQG half  to  cut  the  Tiger  lead  to  15-Â13  with  7:56  remaining.  MUHS  hung  on  as  Kiernan  and  Kiera  Kirkaldy  (three  goals,  an  as- sist)  scored  two  goals  apiece  in  the  second  half,  while  Emily  Robinson  contributed  one  of  her  three  goals  and  two  of  her  four  assists. 6RSKLD 3HOXVR JRDO ÂżYH DVVLVWV set  up  Robinson’s  timely  second- KDOI VFRUH -XOLD 5RVHQEHUJ FKLSSHG in  two  goals  and  an  assist,  Emma  %HVW KDG D JRDO DQG DQ DVVLVW DQG -X- lia  Cluss  also  scored.  Casey  O’Neill  VFRUHG ÂżYH JRDOV IRU WKH 6HDKRUVHV BHS  goalie  Alja  Medic  made  four  saves,  and  Tiger  goalie  Baily  Ryan  was  credited  with  nine  stops. Â
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ScoreBOARD HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Boys’ Lacrosse 5/24  Colchester  vs.  Mt.  Abe   .................  12-Â7 5/24  Rutland  vs.  OV   ............................  17-Â7 5/24  VUHS  at  Rice   .................  Ppd.  to  5/30 5/25  MUHS  at  Spaulding   ..................  Canc.  5/25  OV  at  St.  Johnsbury   ...................  Ppd.  5/28  Essex  vs.  MUHS   ........................  16-Â10 5/28  Milton  vs.  Mt.  Abe  .........................  16-Â6 Girls’ Lacrosse 5/28  MUHS  vs.  Burlington   .................  18-Â13 Baseball 5/24  OV  vs.  Leland  &  Gray   .....................5-Â0 5/24  MUHS  at  Burlington   ........  Ppd.  to  5/31 5/24  Mt.  Abe  at  Rice   ...............  Ppd.  to  5/30 5/25  Missisquoi  at  Mt.  Abe   ......  Ppd.  to  5/31 5/25  VUHS  at  Spaulding   .........  Ppd.  to  5/30  5/28  VUHS  vs.  MUHS   ...........................  9-Â1 5/28  S.  Burlington  vs.  Mt.  Abe  ..............  14-Â5 5/28  OV  vs.  Fair  Haven   .........................  5-Â3 Softball 5/24  Brattleboro  vs.  OV   ..........................7-Â0 5/24  MUHS  at  Burlington   ........  Ppd.  to  5/31 5/24  Mt.  Abe  at  Rice   ...............  Ppd.  to  5/30 5/25  Missisquoi  at  Mt.  Abe   ......  Ppd.  to  5/31 5/25  VUHS  at  Spaulding   .........  Ppd.  to  5/30  5/28  VUHS  vs.  MUHS   .........................  10-Â0 5/28  Mt.  Abe  vs.  S.  Burlington   .............  11-Â3 5/28  Fair  Haven  vs.  OV   .......................  10-Â4
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Boys’ Lacrosse 5/30  VUHS  at  Rice   ...........................  4  p.m. 5/31  Burlington  at  MUHS   ..................  4  p.m. 6/1  Hartford  at  OV   ..........................  10  a.m. 6/1  Rice  at  Mt.  Abe   .........................  11  a.m. 6/1  Lamoille  at  VUHS   ..................  3:30  p.m. 6/3................................  Playoff  Pairings  Set Girls’ Lacrosse 5/31  MUHS  at  CVU   .....................  4:30  p.m. 6/3................................  Playoff  Pairings  Set Baseball 5/30  VUHS  at  Spaulding   ...................  4  p.m. Â
(See  Schedule,  Page  3B)
Commodore  pitching  strong  again VUHS  tops  MUHS  behind  Stapleford  as  playoffs  loom
&2002'25( 6+2576723 '(9,1 +D\HV PDNHV D WKURZ WR ÂżUVW WR JHW WKH RXW RQ D 0LGGOHEXU\ EDWWHU 7XHV- day  afternoon.  Vergennes  won  the  game,  9-Â1.
Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
By  MARSHALL  HASTINGS MIDDLEBURY  —  The  rivalry  EHWZHHQ 0LGGOHEXU\ DQG 9HUJHQQHV union  high  school  teams  on  the  base- ball  diamond  always  seems  to  bring  excitement,  especially  with  precious  playoff  points  at  stake.  Such  was  the  case  on  Tuesday,  when  for  the  third  straight  game  the  Commodores  received  a  stellar  pitching  performance,  with  the  result  being  a  9-Â1  victory  over  Middlebury.  The  win  moved  the  defending  Divi- sion  II  champions  to  9-Â6  as  the  sea- son  turns  toward  -XQH :LWK WKH “People are getting loss,  the  Tigers  to  3-Â10  back from dropped  in  the  competitive  injury. We Metro  Division. are doing “We  are  getting  a lot better in  the  groove,â€?  winning  as a team, said  pitcher  Charlie  having our Stapleford,  who  heads in threw  six  innings  the game.â€? of  three-Âhit  base- — pitcher EDOO IRU 98+6 Charlie “People  are  get- Stapleford ting  back  from  injury.  We  are  do- ing  a  lot  better  as  a  team,  having  our  heads  in  the  game.â€? Stapleford  kept  the  Tiger  offense  at  bay  while  striking  out  seven  and  allowed  only  two  batters  to  reach  EDVH WKURXJK WKH ÂżUVW IRXU LQQLQJV Using  an  overpowering  fastball  and  a  sharp  curveball,  Stapleford  was  able  to  keep  the  Tigers  off  bal- ance.  Stapleford  painted  the  corners  like  an  artist  while  using  his  biting  curveball  to  put  away  MUHS  hit- ters. “Charlie,  once  again,  pitched  well,  which  is  encouraging,â€?  not- HG 98+6 FRDFK *HRUJH 5LQJHU “We’ve  had  three  good  outings  in  a  (See  Baseball,  Page  2B)
 LOK-ÂSZE  LEUNG
Middlebury  sophomore  wins  NCAA  tennis  crown KALAMAZOO,  Mich.  —  Middlebury  College’s  Lok-ÂSze  Leung  on  Saturday  captured  the  2013  NCAA  Division  III  wom- en’s  tennis  singles  championship.  ,Q WKH ÂżQDO LQ .DODPD]RR 0LFK the  sophomore  earned  a  6-Â1,  6-Â3  win  over  Kristin  Lim  of  Clare- mont  Mudd-ÂScripps.  Leung  became  Middlebury’s  second  women’s  tennis  singles  champion  —  Helen  Mutter  took  home  the  title  in  1993. Leung  earned  straight-Âset  wins  LQ DOO ÂżYH RI KHU PDWFKHV LQ ZLQ- ning  the  crown.  She  earned  a  6-Â1,  6-Â1  win  over  Bronte  Goodhue  of  6HZDQHH GHIHDWHG 6RÂżD 9HJD of  Texas  Lutheran,  6-Â3,  6-Â1  in Â
the  second  round;Íž  topped  Katie  Cecil  of  Carnegie  Mellon  in  the  TXDUWHUÂżQDOV DQG LQ KHU VHPLÂżQDO PDWFK GHIHDWHG -RUGDQ Brewer  of  Amherst,  6-Â3,  7-Â5. In  the  fall  of  2011,  Leung  won  the  Intercollegiate  Tennis  As- sociation  singles  national  title.  Last  spring,  she  advanced  to  the  NCAA  title  match  before  falling,  and  in  the  fall  of  2012  she  also  reached  the  ITA  singles  champi- onship. Leung  also  helped  the  Panther  women  reach  the  NCAA  quar- WHUÂżQDOV HDUOLHU ODVW ZHHN 7KH Panther  men’s  tennis  team  also  UHDFKHG WKH 1&$$ TXDUWHUÂżQDO round  last  week  before  falling. Â