ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
High school nines drop first games
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
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ADDISON COUNTY — The Vergennes, Mount Abraham and Middlebury union high school baseball teams all dropped their season openers on the road on Tuesday in Metro Conference play. COMMODORES The Commodores fell to St. Johnsbury, 2-0, despite a complete-game, one-hit effort from losing pitcher Hunter O’Connor. The Hilltoppers scored twice in the second inning on an error and RBI grounder. O’Connor struck out seven and walked none, but was outdueled by St. J’s Patrick Grennan, who fanned 10 batters and also walked none. Devin Kimball doubled for VUHS. EAGLES Host Mount Mansfield used a sixrun sixth inning to break open a close game and defeat Mount Abe, 11-2. Winning pitcher James Gaboriault hit a key two-run double in the sixth. TIGERS The Tigers were no-hit by Essex hurler Maverick King, who struck out 13 batters and walked none as the Hornets prevailed, 1-0. Bruce Wright started and took the loss for the Tigers.
MATT DICKERSON
Angler enjoys ‘OK’ fishing Another opening day of trout season has come and gone. Many anglers were enjoying the annual Fly Fishing Film Tour at the Town Hall Theater and the Otter Creek Classic fly-fishing tournament. Thanks to a lack of melting snow, they were fishing in the best early April fishing conditions Vermont has had in years. Sutton Doria won the pro division of the tournament with a record eight trout on opening weekend. Stephen Dokus, who won the amateur division, was not far behind with seven fish — enough total inches that he would have had second place even in the pro division. But while they enjoyed nearly ideal opening day conditions, I was spending much of the last two long weekends wandering (and in one case sprinting) around airports, cramped in airplanes, and dealing with delays, missed connections and lost luggage on my way to and from first Iowa and then Oklahoma. The travel was not, however, completely without angling pursuits. This past Sunday afternoon, after a busy Friday giving talks at a small college in Shawnee, followed by Saturday and Sunday mornings speaking in a nearby community, my host Phil and I hit the road for a long drive east to the self-proclaimed trout capital of (See Dickerson, Page 3B)
CATHERINE SCHOTT WORKS hard to right herself in a whitewater portion of the New Haven River during Saturday’s race, which was organized by the Vermont Paddlers Club. A record 48 paddlers competed in the eighth annual race between Lincoln and Bristol.
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Area softball teams open Metro play ADDISON COUNTY — The Mount Abraham Union High School softball team won its opener on the road on Tuesday, but at the same time Middlebury and Vergennes came up short. EAGLES The Eagles pounded out a 15-6 Metro Conference victory at Division I Mount Mansfield. Winning pitcher Rachael McCormick tripled and doubled, Macey Ross cleared the bases with a double, Emily Aldrich poked two hits and drove in three runs, and Katelynn Ouellette added a pair of hits. The Eagles also took advantage of six Cougar miscues. TIGERS Host Essex used a no-hit pitching performance by Allie Rutz to blank the Tigers, 4-0. Rutz fanned 10 and walked one and also homered for the Hornets. Losing pitcher Payton Buxton struck out nine and allowed seven hits for the 1-1 Tigers. COMMODORES The Commodores dropped their opener at St. Johnsbury, 9-6. The Hilltoppers’ Jade Cote hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Other details were not available on this game.
Independent photo/Evan Johnson
Paddling into spring
Warm temps draw record numbers to race By EVAN JOHNSON LINCOLN — The nearly snowless winter and dry spring has
meant low water on the rivers and creeks around Addison County. But for experienced and novice white-
water paddlers alike, the low water levels were an invitation to come out to compete.
LEANNE BERNIER, WHO claimed third place in the women’s division of Saturday’s race, flies through a portion of whitewater on the New Haven River.
Independent photo/Evan Johnson
This past Saturday morning, a record 48 paddlers took to the ledges on the New Haven River between downtown Bristol and Lincoln for the eighth annual race — known simply as the “New Haven Race” — organized by the Vermont Paddlers Club. Club Director Ryan McCall said that in the years he’s been running the race, he’d never seen so many people looking to participate. “There’s something about the low water that makes it more friendly and more accessible,” he said. The paddling nonprofit American Whitewater describes this stretch of the New Haven River next to Lincoln Road as a classic Vermont whitewater run. When water levels are at their normal depth, the 1.3-mile stretch of river is classified as a difficult class four, with multiple rapids and drops. (Whitewater paddling runs are classified from one, the easiest, through six, typically described as nearly impossible and extremely dangerous.) In the spring, melting snows and rain push water levels higher (See Paddlers, Page 2B)
Middlebury softball wins five of seven; 200 for coach
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SENIOR catcher Carlyn Vachow went 3 for 4 at the plate with a home run and 4 RBIs in the opening game of a doubleheader against St. Lawrence Tuesday afternoon. Independent photo/Trent Campbell
MIDDLEBURY — In recent play, the Middlebury College softball team won four non-league games before and after a weekend NESCAC West Series in which they dropped two of three to visit- On April ing Wesleyan. A 13, the sweep on Tuesday Panthers gave Coach Kel- swept two ley Bevere a 200- five-inning 129 record in her 10-season tenure games leading the Pan- from host New thers. The Panthers England this season are College, 13-8, 1-4 in the 15-2 and league, heading into a three-game 13-1. set at home this weekend with NESCAC West foe Hamilton. On April 13, the Panthers swept two five-inning games from host New England College, 15-2 and 13-1. (See Panthers, Page 3B)
Sports BRIEFS Tiger girls tennis improves to 4-0 MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School girls’ tennis team on April 15 defeated visiting Lake Region, 6-0, in the process improving to 4-0 this spring. The Tigers are off until April 28, when they are scheduled to visit Harwood. The second doubles match was not contested. In individual matches for the Tiger players: • At No. 1 singles, Charlotte Keathley won, 7-6, 6-0. • At No. 2 singles, Claire Wulfman won, 6-2, 6-0. • At No. 3 singles, Monroe Cromis won, 6-1, 6-2. • At No. 4 singles, Ember Benatti won, 6-0, 6-0. • At No. 5 singles, Calista Carl won, 4.6-, 6-1, 1-0. • At No. 1 doubles, Katie Isham and Zibby Chamberlain won, 6-0, 6-0.
OV boys’ lacrosse topples Randolph RANDOLPH — The Otter Valley Union High School boys’ lacrosse team outscored host Randolph on Monday, 14-11, in a Division III clash. OV evened its record at 1-1, while the Ghosts dropped to 0-3. Colton Leno led the OV attack with four goals and four assists, while Collin Eugair had three goals and an assist and Tyson Cram scored three times. Keenan Pratt scored twice and set up one goal, Erik Sherman recorded a goal and an assist, Fran Hunt netted one goal, and Will Ross assisted two scores to round out the Otter offense.
ScoreBOARD HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Baseball 4/19 St. J vs. VUHS .................................2-0 4/19 Essex vs. MUHS............................10-0 4/19 Mt. Mansfield vs. Mt. Abe ..............11-2 Softball 4/19 St. J vs. VUHS .................................9-6 4/19 Essex vs. MUHS..............................4-0 4/19 Mt. Abe vs. Mt. Mansfield ..............15-6 Boys’ Lacrosse 4/19 OV vs. Randolph .........................14-11 COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Lacrosse 4/17 Midd. vs. Hamilton .........................14-4 4/19 Midd. vs. Union ..............................15-7 Softball 4/19 Midd. vs. St. Lawrence ....................9-7 4/19 Midd. vs. St. Lawrence ....................6-5
(See Schedule, Page 4B)