Vermont Team Of The Week - Otter Valley
May 30, 2019
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Vermont Team Of The Week - Otter Valley
“We’ve played with a little chip on our shoulders,” noted the Otter Valley head coach. “We didn’t meet our goal last year and you could tell in March when we got together they were going to give it their all.”
The Vermont Prep Baseball Report Team of the Week got off to a good start in the postseason with a 15-5 win on Wednesday, moving the squad to 16-1 on the season.
“We have great senior leadership,” explained Howe. “We have seven seniors that all start and have played a lot of baseball for us. All are two-year starters and most of them are three-year starters. That helps the focus on fundamentals.”
The top four in the batting order are all averaging better than .400, with two also the leaders of the pitching staff.
Cleanup hitter Josh Beayon, a left-handed hitting first baseman, is batting a team-best .500 while the southpaw committed to Keene State is 7-0 on the mound with a 0.72 ERA. Three-hole hitter Patrick McKeighan is also a Keene State recruit. The shortstop/pitcher is averaging .460 while winning five of six decisions on the hill with a 2.00 ERA.
Nate Hudson, who has only struck out once batting second in the lineup, is hitting .440 with 20 RBIs while Reilly Shannon, a third-year leadoff hitter, is averaging .410. Hudson plays third base or short when McKeighan is pitching while Shannon mans center field.
Sophomore catcher Alex Polli has stepped in to replace a four-year starter behind the plate and is batting .350 for Otter Valley.
“He’s really improved dramatically, even since the start of the season,” Howe said of Polli. “He calls a great game and does a good job blocking. He’s had a very successful season.”
As has the team, which won the Naugatuck Valley League for the third year in a row, beating Fair Haven last Friday in the final game of the regular season to take home the title.
D-2 state champions in 2017, Otter Valley lost in the quarterfinals last season for Howe, now in his seventh season with the program and sixth as head coach.
“They won state in 2013 before I got here,” Howe noted about the Otter Valley program. “A quality culture has been created. My first couple years we struggled a little but the last few years with this group has been fun. The kids love being around each other and as a coach when you get a team that does that you know they’re going to work hard and play hard for each other.
“A commitment to fundamentals has been a key to our success.”
Bellows Falls, a team Otter Valley has beaten twice this year both games by two runs, is up next in the tournament this Friday in the quarterfinals.
“They’re very well coached,” Howe pointed out. “I played for their head coach when I was playing legion ball and he does a really good job.
“We’re the number one seed so we’re at home all the way through so that should help. We have to throw strikes and we have to make the plays.”