East Montpelier, Vt.
The victory gives the defending state champion Wasps the chance to win back-to-back titles when they face top-ranked Chelsea at Burlington High School later this week.
The third-seeded Wasps got off to a fast start and never trailed at No. 2 seed U-32, building an early 5-1 lead en route to an 8-6 halftime edge. Woodstock then scored the first five goals after the break to build a 13-6 lead. From then on, it was about survival as the Wasps’ defense did enough to stifle an impressive U-32 comeback attempt.
“It’s really exciting. To see all their hard work pay off by going to the championship game is really well deserved,” Woodstock coach Amanda Soule said.
Leading scorer Lauren Kaija paced the Wasps’ attack with six goals and two assists. Grace Vosburgh, Miranda Johnson and Kallan Piconi each added two goals. Abby Kaija and Lily Doton had a goal and an assist each. Nikki Sweeny also scored.
Goalie Megan Dalton had eight saves to anchor the Woodstock defense. “She had a fabulous game for us with some great saves and some really awesome clears,” Soule said.
The win is the sixth in a row for Woodstock (11-6 overall). The upcoming state title game matchup with Chelsea will be third contest between the teams this season. Woodstock handed the top-seeded Red Devils (13-3) two of their three losses this season. Woodstock beat the Red Devils 14-10 at home on April 25 and then won 12-11 at Chelsea on May 23.
South Royalton
Second-seeded South Royalton scored three runs in the second inning, seven in the third and six in the fifth to blow out the Bucks in the Vermont D-IV semifinals. The win sets up a state championship matchup with No. 8 seed Danville later this week. The Royals did not face the Indians during the regular season.
Nicholas Howe was 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Royals’ 17-hit attack. Freshman Jacob Hewitt was on base four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks while also driving in two. Andrew Moore was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Starting pitcher Dalton McDougall was 2-for-3. Josh Scoskie added two hits. Justin Brock was 2-for-4 with a double. McDougall allowed two hits and walked seven while striking out six.
“They’re playing their best baseball at the end of the season. The last 4-5 games they’re playing really well. As of now, we’re having fun, smiling and looking ahead to the next round,” South Royalton coach Mike Ballou said.
St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Eleventh seeded Hartford out-hit No. 2 seed St. Johnsbury 7-3 and just missed scoring a game-tying run in both the sixth and seventh innings.
With the tying run on second in the sixth inning, Jordy Allard rocketed a ground ball down the third base line that would have scored the game-tying run, but was called foul.
Austin Gaudette then capped a long at bat in the seventh inning with a ground ball deep into the hole at shortstop with runners on first and second. Gaudette was called out on a very close play at first to prevent what would have been a bases loaded, one-out situation. Hunter Perkins followed with a fly ball to deep center field that was caught for the third out.
“I told the kids I’m proud of this group. We really showed up and played our best baseball at the right time of the year. I thought we were the better team today but the score didn’t show it,” Hartford coach Jarrod Grassi said.
Hunter Perkins pitched the first four innings, walking five while giving up three hits and striking out three. Allard pitched the next two innings, striking out five. Hunter Perkins and Tyler Hamilton were each 2-for-3. Allard singled and had a sacrifice bunt. Jacob Perkins had an RBI single in the fifth inning, was hit by a pitch and had a sacrifice bunt.
“The kids grinded, made plays and got back into it. It’s a tough one. It was as good a baseball game as you’ll ever find. It’s heartbreaking; this is a great group of kids,” Grassi said.
Hanover
Waterman arrives at Dartmouth following three years as the associate head coach for Division III Pomona-Pitzer in California, helping the Sagehens to a No. 5 ranking in the West in 2014 and a second-place finish in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Prior to his time at Pomona-Pitzer, Waterman spent more than a decade on the coaching staffs at Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State after graduating with a degree in kinesiology from Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Hanover
The Boxborough, Mass., native becomes the 118th captain in program history. Josh Hartley and Grant Opperman will take on the roles as the team’s alternate captains during their final year in Hanover and join Hesler in the Big Green’s leadership group.
Hesler is coming off his best season to date, finishing second on the team with 21 points as a sophomore. His 11 goals were second on the team behind only his linemate Jack Barre (12).
Quechee
A field of 118 professional and amateur golfers will kick off the 36-hole championship today at 7:30 a.m. The Open is in its second year back at Quechee after a 16-year absence but is without defending champion James Driscoll.
The Massachusetts native and former PGA Tour pro could not commit to the tournament a year after his four-shot victory last summer, which came 20 years after his victory in the 1995 New England Amateur at Quechee.
This week’s field includes last year’s runner-up, Ryan Zylstra, along with several Upper Valley competitors. Grantham’s Evan Russell, the Kimball Union Academy and University of Hartford graduate, will compete this week.
The rest of the local list includes Lebanon High golfer Pat Pelletier, former Hanover High competitor Sam Brackett, one-time Oxbow High golfer Alex Hume, Hanover Country Club pro Alex Kirk and two other recent high school graduates and current college competitors, Hanover’s Nate Choukas (Trinity College) and Hartford’s Zach Temple (Castleton).
Whereas last year’s Open played out on Quechee’s Highland layout, this week’s tournament will head to the flatter, but equally challenging, Lakeland course. The pro field will be playing for a portion of a $50,000 purse.