ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016
ANDY KIRKALDY
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
t 4DIPPM /FXT t -FHBM /PUJDFT
More questions than answers for AL East teams Corey Buxton asked me last week what I thought about the Red Sox’s chances this year. To be honest, I said, I hadn’t really sized it up. But then I rattled off, well, is pitcher Clay Buchholz going to make it through the year healthy? Were the end-of-the-season surges by fellow hurlers Joe Kelly and Rick Porcello last year for real, or are they going to be mediocre again (or worse)? How healthy is Eduardo Rodriguez, and can he build on his strong rookie season as a starting pitcher? Are outfielders Jackie Bradley and Rusney Castillo going to hit? Is Hanley Ramirez going to field OK at first base? Is there an all-you-caneat buffet in Boston safe from Pablo Sandoval? Will the bullpen hold up with new acquisition Carson Smith out with injury and 42-year-old Koji Uehara reporting “general soreness,” something to which a 60-year-old pickup soccer player can relate? I was going on and on until Corey finally summed it up: “A lot of question marks.” To be fair, Boston has some pluses: David Ortiz at DH, Pedroia at second and Xander Bogaerts at short, young catcher Blake Swihart and capable backup Ryan Hanigan behind the plate (with Christian Vazquez nursing his rocket arm back to health in Pawtucket), all-world Mookie Betts in right field, terrific outfield defense, and starter David Price and closer Craig Kimbrel, the offseason pickups to anchor the pitching staff. They could be OK. The funny thing is you could say the same thing about the entire American League East. Every team has its pluses and minuses, its knowns and unknowns, or, as Donald Rumsfeld would say, its known unknowns. The Yankees have plugged their (See Kirkaldy, Page 3B)
ScoreBOARD
COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Lacrosse 3/26 Midd. vs. Bowdoin .........................20-9 3/29 Midd. vs. Dickinson........................12-7 Men’s Lacrosse 3/26 Bowdoin vs. Midd. ................. 9-8 (OT) Baseball 3/26 Midd vs. Oberlin...............................8-4 3/6 Oberlin vs. Midd.................................5-3 3/27 Carthage vs. Midd. ........................13-8 3/28 Westminster vs. Midd. ...................29-8 3/28 G. Adolphus vs. Midd.....................10-9 3/29 Westminster vs. Midd. .................15-14 Softball 3/25 Chicago vs. Midd. ............................2-1 3/25 W. VA Tech vs. Midd. .....................11-5 3/25 Midd. vs. S. Maine ...........................3-2 3/26 Midd. vs. Oberlin............................11-0 3/26 Midd. vs. Thomas ............................8-0 3/27 Midd. vs. Buffalo St..........................6-5 3/27 Midd. vs. Thomas ............................5-2 3/27 Luther vs. Midd. ...............................5-0
PANTHER FRESHMAN HENLEY Hall, above, chases down a loose ball during Saturday’s game against Bowdoin. Below, junior Mary O’Connell set a Middlebury record Saturday with nine goals and four assists against the Polar Bears. Middlebury won the game, 20-9. Independent photos/Trent Campbell
Women’s lax wins two more, now 7-0 Panthers ranked No. 2 after romps By ANDY KIRKALDY MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team recently added two more big wins, rolling past visiting NESCAC foe Bowdoin on Saturday, 20-9, before heading to Pennsylvania and defeating Dickinson, 12-7, on Tuesday. The Panthers moved to 7-0 heading into a Wednesday game at Stevenson. They are the only undefeated team remaining in NESCAC, and they have moved up to No. 2 in the NCAA Division III coaches’ poll, trailing only unbeaten defending national champion Cort-
land State. Middlebury’s most impressive stretch in those two games came early vs. No. 20 Bowdoin, 3-4 overall and 0-4 in NESCAC play: The Panthers blitzed Bowdoin with five goals in the first 4:04. Mary O’Connell, who finished with a single-game program record of 13 points with nine goals (on nine shots) and four assists, figured in all of those goals. After the Panthers’ aggressive midfield defense forced a failed Bowdoin clear, middie Laurel Pascal fed O’Connell in transition at 1:32. That strike was the first of five Panther goals in the next 2:32. The next three scores were almost iden(See Lacrosse, Page 4B)
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girls’ Lacrosse 4/4 St. Albans at MUHS .................4:30 p.m. 4/6 MUHS at Burr & Burton ...........4:30 p.m. 4/8 Woodstock at MUHS ...............4:30 p.m. Boys’ Lacrosse 4/4 OV at Randolph ............................4 p.m. 4/7 Woodstock at MUHS ....................4 p.m. 4/9 U-32 at Mt. Abe........................... 11 a.m. 4/11 Mt. Abe at OV .............................4 p.m. Baseball 4/8 OV at Burr & Burton.................4:30 p.m. Softball 4/9 OV at Bellows Falls ....................11 a.m. COLLEGE SPORTS Women’s Lacrosse 4/2 Midd. at Amherst............................ Noon 4/6 Hamilton at Midd...........................5 p.m. 4/9 Midd. at Bates................................ Noon Men’s Lacrosse 4/2 Amherst at Midd............................2 p.m. 4/6 Midd. at Hamilton..........................5 p.m. 4/9 Bates at Midd................................1 p.m. Baseball 4/1 Midd. vs. Williams in AZ...........1:30 p.m. 4/2 Midd. vs. Williams in AZ (2) ..........2 p.m. 4/5 Norwich at Midd. ...........................4 p.m. 4/8 Midd. at Wesleyan ........................4 p.m. 4/9 Midd. at Wesleyan (2).................... Noon Softball 4/2 Midd. at Amherst (2) ...................... Noon 4/3 Midd. at Amherst............................ Noon 4/5 Union at Midd. (2) ....................3:30 p.m. 4/9 Skidmore at Midd. (2) ...................1 p.m. 4/10 Midd. at Johnson (2) ...................1 p.m.
CHASE CRAM, ABOVE, of the Vergennes Area Youth Wrestling Club ties up an opponent during Saturday’s tournament in Colchester, while teammate Cecilia Didyoung, above right, fights off a takedown. Right, Taylor Stearns earns a first-place finish for the Vergennes Area Youth Wrestling Club Saturday in Colchester. Courtesy photos
Youthful city-area wrestlers faring well COLCHESTER — Members of the Vergennes Area Youth Wrestling Club fared well this past Saturday, when all 32 who participated in a tournament in Colchester placed in the top five in their age groups. Nine Vergennes wrestlers earned first-place finishes, eight
took seconds, five were third, six were fourth, and four were fifth. Taking first place from the Vergennes team were Jackson Scribner, Kaidin White, Payton Thompson, Mason White, Issac Preston, Jamison Couture, Ethan Hallock, Taylor Stearns and Wilder Devine.
t $MBTTJëFET t 3FBM &TUBUF
Men’s tennis still unbeaten COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Middlebury College men’s tennis team breezed to wins in its first four matches of its trip to California this week, improving to 7-0. The Panthers, finalists in NCAA Division III a year ago, are ranked No. 3 this season. At least one tough test awaits in their final two games out West: After visiting D-II Riverside on Thursday, the Panthers will travel to No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, the defending NCAA champion. On this past Saturday, the team opened its trip with an 8-1 victory over Division II Concordia in Costa Mesa. The Panthers took all three doubles points against the Eagles. At No. 1, Ari Smolyar and Noah Farrell prevailed, 8-1. At No. 2, Palmer Campbell and Hamid Derbani posted an 8-5 win. At No. 3, Timo van der Geest and William de Quant needed extra play to earn the point for Middlebury, 9-8. In singles, at No. 6 van der Geest picked up a 6-2, 6-0 decision. At No. 3, Campbell earned the match-clinching point with a 6-3, 6-3 win. The four remaining matches all needed tiebreakers. At No. 4, de Quant won, 6-1, 3-6, 10-3, and at No. 5 Derbani won 7-6, 1-6, 10-5. At No. 2, Smolyar was edged, 3-6, 6-4, 14-12. At No. 1, Farrell won, 6-1, (See Men’s tennis, Page 3B)