MANCHESTER, Vt. — For the first time in program history, the Hartford High softball team will open the upcoming playoffs as Vermont Division II’s top seed. The Hurricanes, who beat Division I Burr & Burton, 18-5, in five innings on Saturday, also captured the Southern Vermont League B title.

“These girls show up and are ready to play,” said fourth-year coach Danielle Tenney, who inherited a slumping program when she was hired months before the 2020 season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. “A lot of history is being made for Hartford.”

The Hurricanes were 19-30 during the final three seasons of Gary Gervais’ nine-year tenure as coach. They nosedived to 9-25 during two seasons under Bob Beisler in 2018 and 2019. Tenney, a former Stevens High standout and NCAA Division I college player, is 29-21 overall at Hartford and 24-10 the last two seasons.

Saturday, the Hurricanes’ lone senior, pitcher Marina Grassi, allowed seven hits and five runs, all earned. She struck out eight Bulldogs to push her season total to 104, and walked one. 

First baseman Logan Evans hit a home run for the second consecutive game and added a single and a double. Faith Brown drew a walk and hit a home run and Becca Keelty and Grassi each had two singles.

Hartford enters the postseason having played only a handful of Division II opponents this season. Two of its losses are to Division I foes. The Hurricanes are 17-45 in the playoffs since their first, sanctioned contest in them to end the 1974 season. The Red, White and Blue has fallen in the quarterfinals each of the past two campaigns.

Mill River 3, Woodstock 1

WOODSTOCK — Senior Jordan Allard was strong in the pitcher’s circle during the Wasps’ regular-season finale, but the Minutewomen’s Olivia Graham was even better, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Allard also scored Woodstock’s run after being hit by a pitch and moving around the bases on Mill River’s inability to prevent pitched balls from reaching the backstop.

The Wasps had runners at first and third with two outs during the seventh, but Dillon Moss, who had just singled, was called out for failing to be on the base when Graham re-entered the circle. Woodstock (4-8) will be on the road for the first round in the VPA Division III playoffs.

BaseballWoodstock 15, Mill River 1

CLARENDON, Vt. — The Wasps dropped the Minutemen to 1-14 before busing home for a night game against Windsor.

Woodstock 9, Windsor 6

WOODSTOCK — The Wasps improved to 7-8 with their second victory of the day, taking advantage of five Yellowjackets errors during the teams’ regular-season finale. Vince Petrone had three hits for Woodstock and Hayden Pascarelli had two hits for Windsor (2-13).

U-32 8, Thetford 3

THETFORD — J.D. Farrell had three hits and Tommy Amber two for Vermont Division III member Thetford (9-6). The Division II Raiders are 12-4. The Panthers enter the playoffs seeded third.

Rivendell 17, Poultney 2

POULTNEY, Vt. — The Raptors won for the third time in four games to finish the regular season at 7-8 and await their seeding in the Vermont Division IV playoffs.

U-32 4, Oxbow 3

BRADFORD — The Olympians (2-14) closed the regular season with five consecutive losses and their second, one-run defeat of the campaign.

Bishop Brady 6, Stevens 2

CONCORD — The Cardinals’ five-game winning streak was snapped by the Giants, who completed a 15-1 regular season. Stevens (10-6) will await its seed in the NHIAA Division III playoffs.

Girls LacrosseHartford 15, Spaulding 8

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Hurricanes completed their second consecutive undefeated regular season and have won 35 consecutive games during the past two years. The defending Vermont Division II champions improved to 78-23 under sixth-year coach Heather Hartford, who inherited a program that had gone 15-99 during the nine seasons before her hiring.

Addie Cadwell had four goals and eight assists against the Crimson Tide (9-7) to become her program’s single-season scoring record holder with 105 points. The junior is also its career points leader with 211.

Hartford graduated 16 seniors and returned only five starters this season.

“This group has worked hard and developed a team chemistry that is so fun to coach and watch on the field,” Hartford said.

Track and FieldHartford’s Lowe excels atEssex Invitational

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. — Hartford High’s Ayodele Lowe scored the only first-place finish among area teams by winning the high jump at 6 feet 1 inch and the long jump at 21 feet 6 inches.

The meet included 50 Vermont schools across all four divisions. The top six finishers in each event qualified for the New England Championships.

Other top finishes for Hartford were Jordan Davis, third in the discus and javelin, and Gabe Guillette, fourth in the 200 meters. The 4x800 relay team of Tighe Hrabchak, Joey Knapp, Gavin Farnsworth and Bennett Moreno set a school record in the 4 by 800 relay with a time of 8:49.25, good for seventh place among 13 teams.

Thetford Academy had several strong finishes, including second in the girls 4 by 400 with Charlize Brown, Ava Hayden, Madelyn Durkee and Maya Dixon finishing less than five seconds behind the winner, Essex, with a time of 4:12.28.

Hayden was fourth in the 1,500 and 800 meters and Brown and Durkee were third and fourth in the 400 meters. Brown tied for fourth in the pole vault with Marisa Cook of Oxbow and Cassandra Armstrong of White River. Audri Pettirossi of Windsor placed second in event.

For the Panthers boys, Ulysses Junker-Boyce finished third in the long jump and triple jump and fourth in the 100 meters. Thetford’s Finn Linehan was second in the pole vault and White River Valley’s Zach Armstrong was third. Rueben Keefe of Oxbow had a third-place finish in the high jump.

Anita Miller of White River Valley was third in the 1,500 and fourth in the 3,000. Also for the Wildcats,  Armstrong was fourth in the 200 meters, Eleanor Prestridge was fourth in the discus and Amara Calhum-Flowers took fourth in the 300 meter hurdles.  

Sydney Schoenbeck, a Rivendell freshman who trains with Hartford, qualified for the New England Championships with a fifth-place finish in the long jump and sixth place in the 200 meters.