With the Vermont high school sports seasons are wrapping up, the playoff are set to begin on Wednesday afternoon. Here are the matchups for all the local teams.

No. 5 Arlington baseball (6-8) vs. No. 12 Chelsea (3-11)

These two teams will meet up on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Arlington Rec Park. The two teams have not met this season and have no common opponents. The Eagles will rely on Alex Halwey for their starting pitching and he is coming off a strong season. Gunnar Beach is the Arlington threat at the plate, but the team has a few players who can get themselves on base. The team has been finding their groove as the regular season finished up and defenitely has some good baseball in them. I expect the Eagles to beat Chelsea in the first round, and they will advance to play No. 4 South Royalton (7-9) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at South Royalton.

No. 13 Long Trail softball (3-10) at No. 4 Twinfield (11-2)

The Long Trail softball team will be hard pressed to come up with an upset on Wednesday afternoon. The Lynx have only on win this season - the other two wins came from forfeits. While they had solid pitching, they struggle at the plate and that will come back to bite them against a tough team like Twinfield, who has only lost two games this season and has put up double-digit runs in seven games so far this year.

No. 5 BBA baseball (11-5) vs. No. 12 Mill River (7-9)

The BBA baseball team finds themselves in an interesting situation. The


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Bulldogs have lost five games this season, but all to Div. I opponents. With three pitchers, Jake Oliver, Jake Stalcup and Evan Sawyer, throwing well, BBA should advance past Mill River on Wednesday afternoon. In the second round, the Bulldogs would likely face No. 4 Harwood, who has almost the same record as BBA (11-4). Harwood has a weaker strength of schedule than the Bulldogs, so I can see BBA pulling that one out, on the road, to advance to the semifinals. There the Bulldogs would likely face No. 1 Bellows Falls (13-3). The two teams have three common opponents, Div. 1 Brattleboro and Hartford and Div. II Otter Valley. Bellows Falls fell to Otter Valley and Brattleboro and beat Hartford. BBA beat Otter Valley and Hartford and lost to Brattleboro. I think the Bulldogs strength of schedule pays off for them in this round and they advance to the state final for the third straight year.

No. 3 BBA boys lacrosse (11-4) vs. No. 14 Vergennes (2-12)

It has been an interesting season for Burr and Burton boys lacrosse, but lost in the madness has been how good this team can be. Playing a Div. I heavy schedule, the team earned the No. 3 seed in Div. II. The team should advance fairly easily through the first two rounds, unless they beat themselves. They will probably face off against No. 2 GMVS, who they beat 19-12 earlier this season. Unless the team beats themselves, I see no reason they should not advance to the state final game.

No. 4 BBA girls lacrosse (11-4) vs. No. 14 Hartford (2-12)

The Burr and Burton girls lacrosse team once again has qualified as a high seed and wants to return to the Div. II ttile game. They will rely heavily on senior captain Brooke Sabol for their goal scoring and will continue to play a tight defensive game. Their first test will probably come in the second round when they face No. 5 Hartford, who has an 11-5 record. Should they get past Hartford, they wouyld face No. 1 Rice in the semifinals. I do not seeing them beating the 15-1 Rice team, but one thing that coach Dave Miceli is win, so nothing would surprise me.

No. 11 BBA boy tennis (8-6) at No. 6 Brattleboro (12-2-1)

The Burr and Burton boys tennis team has rebounded this season and grabbed a winning record. It probably will not be enough though, as they face a team that has beat them twice this season already in Brattleboro. The two teams will meet on Wednesday afternoon at Brattleboro. A lot will depend on No. 1 and No. 2 singles, where Max Gomez and Brennan Webb have on and off days this season. I do not see the Bulldogs going very far this season in a stacked boys tennis bracket.

No. 1 BBA girls tennis (15-0) vs. No. 8 Lake Region (2-8)

Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, the Burr and Burton girls tennis team will advance to their fifth straight state final season. There they will most likely face No. 2 Montpelier (14-1). With a new coach and a bunch of new faces, I did not expect the BBA tennis domination to continue this season at an undefeated rate. I stand corrected. If BBA does end up playing Montpelier in the final, I will be there because I expect some of the finest tennis of the year as those teams duke it our for the title.