Mill River stumbles, Vergennes nabs upset
Toolbox
By Tom Haley STAFF WRITER - Published: June 3, 2009
NORTH CLARENDON — The No. 13 Vergennes Commodores shook up the Division II state softball pairings, dealing No. 4 Mill River a stunning 9-4 upset in the playdown round on Tuesday.
The result left Mill River coach Gary MacDonald grasping for an explanation. His team got off to an 0-3 start but rallied to a 12-4 record and became the only team to defeat No. 1 Otter Valley during the season.
"That was the worst game we played since the second game of the season," MacDonald said. "I can't understand it.
"Even in batting practice, we didn't hit the ball well. I don't know what it was today."
The result was more plausible to first-year Vergennes coach Mike Sullivan.
"We have been playing our best toward the end of the year," Sullivan said. "This is exactly what I was looking for."
His top pitcher, senior Katie Curler, did not make the trip. She stayed home to take an exam so junior Devon Lane took the ball and threw the complete-game victory. She did not have anywhere near the velocity as Mill River sophomore Amanda Ley (14 strikeouts), but the Minutemen never made real good contact against her.
"She keeps the ball low and when she does, she is very hard to hit," Sullivan said.
The Minutemen took a 4-2 lead into the fourth inning but that is when the game took a dramatic turn as the Commodores scored three in the fourth and four in the fifth.
They scored those seven runs with only three hits as a combination of wild pitches, passed balls and errors did in the Minutemen.
Everything that could go wrong for the Minutemen did and a great example of that occurred in the fourth inning when Ley actually dropped her pitch and had the ball squirt behind her. Megan Paquin was on second and took off for third. The throw to third sailed out of play, enabling her to cross the plate.
That typified the day for the Minutemen as the Commodores got their nine runs on only six hits.
Tabby Danyow had the only hit for Vergennes in their three-run fourth and Sam Flynn and Danyow collected the only hits in the four-run fifth. Lane, Flynn, Virginia Royal and Alyssa Kilburn all crossed the plate in the fifth, giving the 'Dores their 9-4 lead.
Vergennes was poised to take control early as Ley walked the game's first three batters. But she escaped with no damage, thanks to a big assist from her catcher. Amanda Plouffe picked Margy Kerschner off third base and then Ley struck out the next two batters.
That was the beginning of a strikeout extravaganza by the hard-throwing Ley. She had 10 walks, though, to go with the 14 whiffs.
"I was on the Internet today and noticed she was a little wild in the last couple of games. We told our batters to be very patient up there," Sullivan said.
Sullivan felt his players were taking that instruction too literally in the first inning, when they struck out twice without swinging with runners on base.
It was only the fourth win against 13 losses for the Commodores.
The Minutemen had just six hits off Lane. She struck out seven, including the last two hitters of the game. She walked none and had one hit batsman.
Ley led the Minutemen, going 3-for-4. She used her speed to leg out two bunt singles. Chelsea Rudenis added two hits.
Rudenis gave the Minutemen a spark in the first inning when she lined a single that got under the outfielder's glove for a three-base error. After Rudenis circled the bases, the Minutemen had a 1-0 lead.
They still did not hit with authority against the hard serves of Ley, but they did enough to manufactures runs and capitalize on Mill River's mistakes.
Now, they will meet the winner of today's game between No. 5 Mount Abraham and No. 12 Bellows Falls. The Commodores met Mount Abe during the season and were competitive with the Eagles, falling 7-5.
tom.haley@rutlandherald.com
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