Monday was to have been opening day for high school baseball and softball in Vermont, but local ball fields are still too soggy for play.
Brattleboro rescheduled their home openers with Drury. The baseball team will play Drury on Thursday at Tenney Field, while the softball ball team will make up its game with Drury at Sawyer Field on April 14.
There was still snow on the Leland & Gray baseball and softball fields late last week, so both teams have pushed their openers to Tuesday, April 22. The softball team opens at Rutland, while the baseball team travels to Green Mountain.
Winter is clinging to the Deerfield Valley, so opening day for Twin Valley is pushed back to Monday, April 21, when the baseball and softball teams head up to Woodstock.
Bellows Falls won't play their first home baseball game at Hadley Field until Wednesday, April 16, when the Terriers host Mount Anthony. The softball team's home opener, against Twin Valley, is pushed to Thursday, April 24.
Track and tennis seasons will open on schedule, however. Brattleboro hosts Bellows Falls and Twin Valley for a meet at the Freeman track on Thursday, April 10, at 4 p.m. The Brattleboro boys' tennis team takes on Bellows Falls at the Hadley Field courts on April 9, while the Brattleboro girls open at the BUHS courts against Springfield. Both matches start at 4:30 p.m.
Softball leagues seek teams
• The Brattleboro Area Softball Association needs a few new teams, players, and umpires.
The development of the West River Park has made it possible to expand the men's league. So far this spring there are four new teams, bringing the total to 31 teams in five divisions. This league plays an 18-game schedule from April 29 through August, concluding with a double-elimination tournament.
Official registration for this league is Wednesday, April 16, from 6 to 7 p.m. with the Brattleboro Recreation and Parks Department at the Gibson-Aiken Center.
On May 30, the newly-initiated coed division begins play at Living Memorial Park and West River Park. This league will play a 12-game schedule concluding in a double-elimination tournament in August. Official registration for this league is May 23rd at a site to be determined.
For more information on forming a team for either league, getting on the roster as a player, or umpiring, call Brownie Towle at 802-254-2824.
Trout season begins April 12
• The water is still pretty cold and running fast, and your favorite spot for trout might still show signs of the long winter, but trout season opens in Vermont on Saturday, April 12.
Vermont's catch-and-release bass fishing season in lakes starts the same day, and continues through June 13. Only lures and flies may be used, and bass must be released immediately.
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department cautions anglers that the use of felt-soled boots or waders in Vermont waters is prohibited in order to prevent the spread of the invasive, single-cell algae Didymosphenia geminata, commonly known as didymo or rock snot. Anglers also are reminded to use sinkers that are not made of lead.
Fishing license fees are $25 for adult residents, $8 for residents 15-17, $50 for adult nonresidents, and $15 for nonresidents 15-17. One-, three-, and seven-day fishing licenses also are available for nonresidents. Children under 15 do not need a fishing license in Vermont. Licenses are available at www.vtfishandwildlife.com and at agents statewide.
Race for the Reason to benefit Food Connects
• This year's 12th annual Race for the Reason, on Saturday, April 26, benefits Food Connects, a Windham County nonprofit dedicated to cultivating healthy farm and food connections in classrooms, cafeterias, and communities.
The event features a 5-kilometer walk/run and 10-kilometer road race. Both begin and end at SIT/World Learning's campus in Brattleboro. It will be held rain or shine, with registration from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and racing at 10.
The race is presented by Net Impact SIT, the local chapter of an international network of socially conscious professionals and academics who use business solutions to change the world for the better.
Past race beneficiaries include the Boys and Girls Club of Windham County, United Way, American Cancer Society of New England, and the ALS Association of New England.
This year's beneficiaries have close ties to SIT and its graduate program, as Food Connects was co-founded and staffed by SIT Graduate Institute students who have firm commitments to sustainable development of communities through food access.
Food Connects works with Windham Farm and Food to deliver locally sourced food directly to parents in the school community. Member schools include Brattleboro Area Middle School, Brattleboro Union High School, Marlboro School, NewBrook School, and Putney Central School.
A $25 race registration includes refreshments and an event T-shirt. For more information, visit www.raceforthereason.org.
Bowl for Kids' Sake raises nearly $60,000
• Bowl for Kids' Sake, a community-wide Youth Services event that raises money for its Windham County Big Brothers Big Sisters program, grossed nearly $60,000 on April 5.
Sporting neon, swirl-patterned tie-dyed T-shirts, more than 300 bowlers - friends and colleagues who formed teams to entire families and many area businesses - were a kaleidoscope of color at the lanes of Brattleboro Bowl.
The eye-catching T-shirts, worn this year by all participants, mimicked the team uniform of Johnny's Gutter Kings, from Massucco & Velto, the Bellows Falls-based law office team honored this year for supporting this event for the past two decades. They brought in more than $2,000 in pledges for the cause.
Organizers say Ann Richards was the top individual fundraiser of the day, raising more than $1,075 in pledges from friends and colleagues, followed by Konstantin von Krusenstern, who raised $900, and Linda Thurber, who has raised $455 to date.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is still collecting pledges and donations. Learn how you can get involved by calling Youth Services at 802-257-0361, or donate by visiting www.firstgiving.com/youthservices.