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Red-hot Valhalla on brink of state title
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Valhalla Vikings
Record: 21-4
Coach: John Hayes
Semifinal schedule
Saturday
at Adirondack Complex
Valhalla (#5 in state) vs. Section 5’s Mynderse (#9 in state), 9 a.m.
Section 4’s Windsor (#4 in state) vs Section 2’s Chatham (#3 in state), 9 a.m.
Championship
Saturday
Semifinal winners, 2 p.m. at Adirondack Complex No. 2
Postseason MVP: Jade Fumarelli. Valhalla is truly a complete team but Fumarelli was the hero of the game in the regional championship. She had two RBIs, made a game-saving, diving catch over the fence to rob a homerun and also threw out a runner at home in one of the best individual performances of the year. With Fumarelli patrolling the outfield, Valhalla is in business.
Top players:
Danielle Maffei: Valhalla coach John Hayes gushes when he talks about Maffei’s play this season saying, “Danielle is playing the way we always knew she could.” Maffei is a leader and her and Fumarelli consistently make the plays that Valhalla needs in the outfield.
Maddy DeMilio: The rock behind the plate for the Vikings, DeMilio is the glue that holds the team together. Valhalla thrives off of her leadership and DeMilio thrives off of leading. She homered in both regional games and with the way she’s swinging the bat, she may not be finished.
Brandi Coon: Hayes calls Coon a “warrior” and it’s easy to see why. Coon is a solid, consistent player on both offense and defense. She can swing the bat well and makes big time plays at shortstop.
Scouting the state final four
The state playoffs are the state playoffs for a reason. All three remaining teams Valhalla could face in the tournament can hit the ball and have good pitchers on the mound, too.
The Vikings will first face Section 5’s Mynderse in the semifinals. Mynderse defeated Penn Yan 10-5 in a state qualifier game and then cruised past Section 6’s Cleveland Hill 13-6 on Tuesday afternoon. With Mynderse’s ability to put up runs, freshman pitcher Sydney Holtz and DeMilio will have to bring their A games and keep runners off the bases.
If Valhalla wins, they will face the winner of Windsor and Chatham in the championship game at 2 p.m. that afternoon.
Both Windsor and Chatham are accustomed to keeping opposing teams off the board with both teams posting shutouts in their regional games. Chatham seems to be the favorite as they have junior star pitcher Kayla Doty (committed to UConn) and have only given up one run in their entire postseason.
Either way, the Vikings’ bats will need to come alive if they want to finish their incredible Cinderella season with a state championship.
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