Time for the highly anticipated Vermont Scoreboard baseball playoff predictions. Last year, Shane correctly predicted Essex winning the D-I title while Trey picked Rice to win it all.
Trey’s Picks:
With so many teams bunched together at the top, I ignored seeds and just went with who I think is hot and has the pitching to win.
Division II: Burr & Burton over Missisquoi
Division III: Northfield over Winooski
Division IV: Danville over Blue Mountain
Division I:
| Playdowns | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
| 1. Colchester | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 1. Colchester | |||
| 16. Spaulding | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 8. CVU | |||
| 8. CVU | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 8. CVU | |||
| 9. Harwood | ||||
| Tue 6/7 | 8. CVU | |||
| 4. Rice | ||||
| Wed 6/1 4:30pm | 4. Rice | |||
| 13. Hartford | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 5. BFA | |||
| 5. BFA St. Albans | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 5. BFA | |||
| 12. North Country | ||||
| June 10 | 6. MMU | |||
| 2. Essex | at Montpelier | |||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 2. Essex | |||
| 15. South Burlington | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 2. Essex | |||
| 7. Mt. Anthony | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 7. Mt. Anthony | |||
| 10. Brattleboro | ||||
| Tues 6/7 | 6. MMU | |||
| 3. Rutland | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 3. Rutland | |||
| 14. St. Johnsbury | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 6. MMU | |||
| 6. Mt. Mansfield | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 6. MMU | |||
| 11. Burlington |
Shane’s Picks
This year’s bracket was one of the hardest to fill out over any sport in recent memory. The reason, like I’ve said all year, is that the teams are all pretty equal and as many of you know anything can happen in the playoffs. I wish this was like the NCAA Hoops Tournament and I could pick multiple sheets of integrity, but I’ll have to go with what I have below. My picks were based mostly upon what I have predicted each coach will do with their starting pitchers in game 1, and how these rotations would play out through the end of the playoffs with advancement. Most likely, many teams will go to a 2-man rotation for playoffs to maximize their starting pitchers, if they are able to go on a 4-game winning streak. In a year like this, many teams may seem slighted by not being picked as the winner (I’m going with a rematch of last years DI Title Game, with BFA taking it this year), but if you disagree with my picks feel free to comment, and if you’re a player on any of these teams I’m sure you can use it as a great motivator. There can only be one champion, let the fun begin tomorrow!
Division II: Missisquoi over Burr and Burton
Division III: Northfield over Winooski
Division IV: Blue Mountain over Danville
Division I:
| Playdowns | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
| 1. Colchester | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 1. Colchester | |||
| 16. Spaulding | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 1. Colchester | |||
| 8. CVU | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 8. CVU | |||
| 9. Harwood | ||||
| Tue 6/7 | 5. BFA St. Albans | |||
| 4. Rice | ||||
| Wed 6/1 4:30pm | 4. Rice | |||
| 13. Hartford | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 5. BFA St. Albans | |||
| 5. BFA St. Albans | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 5. BFA St. Albans | |||
| 12. North Country | ||||
| June 10 | 5. BFA St. Albans | |||
| 2. Essex | at Montpelier | |||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 2. Essex | |||
| 15. South Burlington | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 2. Essex | |||
| 7. Mt. Anthony | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 7. Mt. Anthony | |||
| 10. Brattleboro | ||||
| Tues 6/7 | 2. Essex | |||
| 3. Rutland | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 3. Rutland | |||
| 14. St. Johnsbury | ||||
| Fri 6/3 4:30pm | 6. Mt. Mansfield | |||
| 6. Mt. Mansfield | ||||
| Tue 5/31 4:30pm | 6. Mt. Mansfield | |||
| 11. Burlington |
What are your thoughts? Feel free to post in the comments below… Be sure to follow @VTscoreboard on Twitter to receive updates as the playoffs progress.
The MMU coach said to the free press that the pitcher he saw when they lost to MAU was the hardest thrower they have faced all year. Is he really that fast or was the coach looking for an excuse? and he may be the hardest pitcher he has faced but keep in mind he has not seen Sam Spencer, who is arguably the hardest thrower in the state. Any thoughts?
lol…look at the very first comment hahaha. “MAWho?”
@excited, i play for bratt, we played MAU in the first round, lost 3-0 obviously, but, we faced the same kid MMU did, he threw very hard, that is no excuse for the MMU coach, not only did he throw hard, but he had great command and a very good, (slow) curveball. this other pitcher, Tyler Kunzmann, who they have throwing on saturday, throws very hard as well, they are a great team. best 2 pitchers in the state by far. and Kunzmann is the best hitter in the state.
south > north.
People do not give him enough credit because he is a little wild. But Nick Salerno is the hardest pitcher in VT high school baseball. There are other kids that can throw 80-85 but the only two kids in the state that i know of above these speeds are Tyler Kunzmann (MAU) & Nick Salerno (EHS). And Best hitters in the State Nick Swim (.558) or maybe Ryan Crowley (.528) with 4 bombs and lead the metro in RBI’s.
@ Excited…Are you serious? I have 2 points…
1. Baldic throws in the mid to upper 80′s, while Spencer might throw 80. He’s not that quick.
2. Considering Sam Spencer plays at MMU, do you suppose the MMU coach has seen him pitch? Or is there another Sam Spencer I don’t know about?
best hitters in the state? come on, yes Nick Swim is very very good. Tyler kunzmann is way overrated as he was held to like 2 for 8 against rutland. an actual good team. Rutland Boasts two of the best hitters in the state in Mike Triller (Playing at Clemson next year) and Junior Sam Major. Triller hit .528 and boasted 26 runs also hitting 6 doubles. And Sam Major hit .568 and drove in 34 RBI’s. and also had two homeruns and somewhere near 6 triples (Rutland plays without a fence). How about that for best hitters in the state?
^^ Good points above, glad someone pointed that out
@excited
We played MAU twice, beat them twice. We saw Baldic, We saw Kunzmann. Spencer is much better than both. Baldic throws a very flat fast ball with nothing amazing on his curve. Kunzmann throws the ball in the low 80′s and we shelled him. Nothin amazing off speed. We played against MMU in the playoffs and Spencer pitched a complete game against us throwing in the upper eightys with a 12 6 curve that was very tight. And i kno the speed numbers because the castleton coach was at both games WITH radar. No arguing on those sorry. MAwho? (who also got an easyeasyeasy playoff schedule, and dont say oh well we beat MMU who you did’nt. we faced spencer, you didnt, you got lucky, you’ll lose tomm, and we beat you twice, by very demanding leads) rest my case GO GREEN KNIGHTS BABAY
totally agree with Rutland Baseball. except im not sure that Rice will win. Rutland and MAU had much better hitters 1-9 then any of the teams in the North. Rice has 3 maybe 4 good hitters. Rice also has no over powering pitchers. Poland does not throw hard but might be enough to keep Rice in the game, being a very crafty lefty pitcher, however i think MAU’s pitching will shut down Rice. I think CVU or St. Albans would have put up better of a fight then Rice against MAU but i guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.
Triller is not playing at Clemson next year
Wow you guys are stupid. I was saying that the guy who commented first thought that brat was gonna beat mau in the first round instead mau goes to the finals. “are you serious?” I bet you feel dumb now.
But I agree with Rutland Baseball and I think Rice will take this one despite the absence of their head coach who is going to a preplanned important trip to Russia.
And yes, *baseball* triller IS playing at Clemson next year, as of 2 weeks ago, i confirm this, here and now, that he IS
so don’t leave Rutland under rated, i dont believe anyone else who put up those numbers like them? or have a kid playing at an ACC D1 baseball school next year.
Triller is definitely not playing baseball at Clemson next year
Triller is going to clemson next year. That makes 2 division 1 baseball players for the south
Why do people have to bring up this north vs south stuff, it makes no sense. This is not the Civil War!!! ha! The south always is competitive in all sports. This site is about the northern VT teams because the ones who run it are based up north and they see mostly northern teams. It has nothing to do with which part of the state is superior or inferior. I think if the VPA would allow more games, you would see more of the northern and southern teams playing each other. I think it would be better for all of the Vermont teams.
If Triller goes to Clemson, I wish him the best of luck. That is a great opportunity for him and hopefully he does end up on the field and gets to hit. It is very hard for players from the Northeast (especially VT) to make it in D1 baseball because there is not enough time to play even when the weather does cooperate!! Triller will just have to work hard and earn a spot and I wish him all the best. Who is the other D1 player as I do not recall someone else being mentioned.
Triller isnt good enough to step on the field at Clemson. The last player to go to Clemson, Casey Harmen, won a state title his senior year and didnt lose in the quarters. No Clemson for Triller.
Rutland Baseball – I disagree with your opinion on Baldic. You saw Baldic only once, in his first game back from injury. And while you got the best of him It wasn’t as if you lit him up. I think Baldic has better stuff than Spencer. Your assessment of their breaking balls I feel is incorrect. I think Baldic’s breaking pitch is sharper and tougher to pick up, while you can see Spencer’s curve earlier. Spencer was good, but I felt your team had many chances early to open up a lead against MMU but failed to pick up a key hit, especially the top of the order. I will say I think Kunzman and Spencer are comparable, but Spencer’s performance against Rutland was impressive. But it wasn’t as overpowering as Baldic’s 2 post season starts against Bratt and MMU.
On the DI players from the South – Mike Triller is an excellent VT high school player, and an outstanding person. Yes I hear he is going to Clemson also, but I don’t think he has a real opportunity to play in his first 2 seasons at least. I have talked to a college coach who says that Triller is walking on to try out, but isn’t guaranteed a spot on the roster. I think if there is a kid who can play DI in this year’s senior class it’s him, but playing in the ACC is another world. I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts on 15-20 pounds of muscle that he could play there, but that’s not taking anything for granted. If it can be done with hard work, Mike Triller is the one kid who can do it.
The other DI player is Ed Lewiecki, who is going to Siena. He is a very solid Vermont player who also has the frame to make in in the America East, but for him to compete there he will also need to make improvements to his game.
Harman also only got to play at clemson because the coach there, Jack leggett, went to SBHS as a kid. Same as Harmen. Also going as a hitter is alot harder down there than as a pitcher.
Eddie Lewicki from BBA is going to Siena as a pitcher
Harmen went there on his own merits. He is a proballer now. nobody gets into a program like that on politics. He led them throughout the playoffs last year. get a clue!
I personally am related to Casey Harman. There’s a reason that he went there. Sure, getting recruited was a lot easier considering it was the school Leggett was familiar with the most in the Northeast and Vermont. Obviously he didn’t go there to sit the bench. He had to work hard, and so far it’s paid off. He’s now pitching professionally.. If this kid is playing at Clemson, he will have to earn it on the field. Good luck to him.
“Harman also only got to play at clemson because the coach there, Jack leggett, went to SBHS as a kid. Same as Harmen. Also going as a hitter is alot harder down there than as a pitcher.”
Look at his stats there and that will prove you wrong, yes that did help him but he obviously went on there to be one of there best and he was.
For the last time triller IS Playing at clemson and he does has a spot on the 35 man roster. I personally played with triller for 2 years and I know for a fact he will prosper and succeed at Clemson. So all of you people who are doubting him, get a life bc u obviously don’t have the skills like triller to play in a d1 school. People who are ignorant fools, come to Rutland and we will show you acceptance letter.
Geez Jim, getting kinda personal. I don’t think you need to call names. Are we going back to grade school??! People are discussing his prospects – that is what you do on a forum like this. I think most are wishing him luck not doubting him but people are being realistic about VT baseball players and D1 baseball and it is nothing personal about the player. So forgive us iignorant people with no life!
Good luck to Triller – you have your work cut out for you but I am sure you know that. I am sure you will make your family, your school and yourself proud.
What’s good