Mad River Valley Little League's opening day parade and celebration was followed by multiple games on May 6, 2023. League spokesperson and coach Seth Cohen reported that Majors baseball beat Northfield 9-0. Seve Cohen pitched a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts and only giving up one hit. Tyler Davis had a two RBI double and West Butler, Davern Merrill and Oliver Witzel had key hits.
In Minors softball, the Mad River Valley minors softball team played two games against Northfield and Waterbury. The first game against Northfield certainly showed some early season struggles, Cohen said. Mad River gave up 9 runs in the first few innings, but crawled back in the later innings. Mad River lost the game 9-4. The girls cleaned up a few things and had a strong showing against Waterbury in the second game. Isla Goodman got the start, struck out several batters and only gave up one run over two innings. Maddy Kent came in to pitch, shut down Waterbury and got the save. Mad River got their first win of the season 5-4.
In Majors softball, Mad River Valley majors softball team played against rival Waterbury. Both teams had some early season struggles to work through, but then it turned into one heck of a game, the coach said. After going back and forth, Waterbury edged out a 12 to 11 victory over Mad River.
In Minors baseball, both Mad River minors baseball teams played against two different Waterbury teams. In game one, Mad River Red took on Waterbury Black. Right from the first pitch, it was Mad River Red's day. Charlie Goodman was the starting pitcher for Mad River, pitching two innings, striking out six, only allowing one base runner and zero runs. Forrest Russell pitched the next two innings with similar results. Russell struck out five batters and only allowed one run. At the plate, Mad River Red did everything right from watching balls to crushing strikes, Cohen reported. The game even featured an inning-ending three-run inside-the-park home run from Brayden Canarecci. Mad River Red won the game 20 to 4. Game 2 featuring Team Green vs Waterbury Navy was the thriller of the day, according to the coach. Hollis Butler got the start and pitched amazingly, only giving up one run over three innings. Fast forward to the sixth and final inning. Mad River Green was down 7 to 6 in the bottom of the sixth, with two outs and bases loaded. Max Phillips was the batter and quickly got two strikes on him. But on the next pitch, Phillips laced a walk-off double down the first base line. Mad River Green ended with the big win 8 to 7 over Waterbury.
