Under coach Bob Lockerby, Bellows Falls baseball uses a simple formula for success - good pitching and defense, just enough hitting, and aggressiveness on the base paths to keep opposing teams off balance and to manufacture runs.
The formula works even when much of the lineup is young and inexperienced, as the Terriers are this year. Against Burr & Burton on Saturday at Hadley Field, all the elements were on display in a 5-4 win over the Bulldogs.
“I don't have a senior on this team,” Lockerby said, “but I am very happy with these guys.”
BF fell behind in the third inning when Cody Roberts tripled to right and Seth Wilkins drove him in with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Bulldog lead.
Terriers starting pitcher Colby Howe gave way to freshman reliever Brady Illingworth in the fourth inning. Inheriting a bases-loaded jam with one out, Illingworth struck out the first batter he faced, but gave up a three-run double to Roberts, pushing the Bulldogs' lead to 4-0.
BF chipped away at that lead, hard. Howe scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the fourth; Zach Streeter scored on a botched pick-off throw to third; and Illingworth was struck by a pitch with the bases loaded, making it a 4-3 game. Streeter scored again in the fifth inning on an infield error and tied it up.
Big brother and junior catcher Ethan Illingworth guided his brother home to his first varsity win. Brady retired the Bulldogs in order in the sixth, and then Ethan ensured he would pick up the victory. After Brady reached on an infield hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Ethan smashed a two-out double to right, driving Brady in for what would prove the winning run.
Brady then responded with a perfect seventh for the first victory of the season for the 1-1 Terriers.
“If you'd told me in January that I'd have an all-Illingworth battery to start the season, I would have said you were nuts,” Lockerby put in. “Brady certainly showed that he was capable today. I didn't plan on using him in the seventh, but he was throwing strikes, so I left him in.”
Lockerby said he was most impressed with how his young team didn't get down when they fell behind. “I can't complain about the way they played, but I know we're going to get better as a team.”
Softball
• After starting the season with two big wins, Brattleboro lost a close one on April 14 - a 7-5 defeat in 11 innings at the hands of Drury at Sawyer Field.
Drury used three bunt singles in the top of the 11th to score three runs for their first win of the season. Cat Record was the winning pitcher. Despite scattering 12 hits, she managed to get nine strikeouts in the complete game victory.
Hannah Wilson took the loss for the Colonels. Maddie Derosia had two hits, including a triple.
The Colonels bounced back from that loss with a 25-3 rout of Mill River on April 17, finishing the week with a 7-0 shutout of St. Johnsbury on Saturday at Sawyer Field.
Wilson threw a three-hitter, walking five and striking out six. The infield defense behind Wilson kept those walks from turning into big innings for the Hilltoppers.
At the plate, Wilson drove in three runs with a single and a double. Daisy Giroux, Devin Millerick, Siera Butler, and McKinlie Carpenter all hit safely for the 4-1 Colonels.
Baseball
• Brattleboro logged its first win of the season when the Colonels beat St. Johnsbury, 8-5, at Tenney Field on Saturday. Danny Richardson picked up the win, and Kevin Tao got the final out to earn a save. Richardson scattered eight hits, with seven strikeouts and three walks.
The defense was tighter for the Colonels in the win, with only one error. Jimmy Mills, Michael Rooney, Kassidi Ramirez, and Richardson all doubled. Ryan McAuliffe chipped in with a run-scoring single for the 1-3 Colonels.
Boys' lacrosse
• Brattleboro clobbered Marble Valley League opponent Otter Valley, 28-4, in Brandon on April 17 for their first win of the season.
The Colonels kept total control of the game as César Borges scored in the first minute. Ten more goals soon followed for an 11-0 first-quarter lead.
A bit of a defensive letdown followed in the second quarter as the Otters scored four times, but the Colonels regrouped to put the game away with six more goals before halftime, adding six in the third and five in the fourth.
Brennen Zolnoski had six goals and an assist, while Sam Siegel and Jake Atomanuk each had four goals to lead the 1-1 Colonels. Tanner Freeman tallied two goals and two assists.
Also on the scoresheet: Evan Perkins (one goal, two assists), Liam Perra (one goal, three assists), Jack Gagnon (two goals and an assist), Borges (two goals), Robyn Avery (two assists), Iziah Cliché (one goal), Johnny Curtis (one goal and two assists), and Perry Legg (three goals).
Bryce Fletcher and Ian Cebek split time in goal for the 1-1 Colonels.
Track and Field
It's great when you can qualify for the state meet the first time you step on the track for the season.
That's what happened to Brattleboro's Catey Yost, who won the 800 meter race in 2:40.30 in the Colonels' first track meet of the season on April 10 in Bennington.
The Colonel boys and girls each finished second to Mount Anthony in their respective six-team meets.
Eve Pomazi won the 200 in 28.6 seconds and second in the 400 to lead the Colonel girls; Nevada Powers took second in the 1,500 and 3,000; Abby Manning was second in the javelin; and Danielle Wood came in fourth in the 100.
Colonel boys boast several individual winners: Dan Burdo (high jump, 5 feet 6 inches); Ryan Gilligan, (3,000, 10:53); Miles Goldenbird (javelin, 134 feet); Josh Parro (long jump, 18-3.5); and Dakota Peterson (shot put).
Goldenbird was second in discus and third in the triple jump. Parro was second in the triple jump, while Dan Burke placed third in the 3,000; Sheldon Burnell finished third in the high jump.
Stay off the trails
• As we saw from the April 15 burst of sleet and snow, spring is coming in fits and starts. While your lawn may be drying out, it's still mud season on Vermont's hiking trails.
The Green Mountain Club urges hikers to stay off muddy and high-elevation trails unless they still have extensive snow or ice cover. That's because high elevation soils usually take until Memorial Day to dry out, especially on north slopes and evergreen-shaded trails.
Hiking trails on state lands managed by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Green Mountain Club are closed until Memorial Day weekend. Hikers are also strongly discouraged from using hiking trails in the Green Mountain National Forest until Memorial Day weekend.
Generally along the Long Trail, national forest land extends south from Mt. Ellen in Warren to Massachusetts. State parks and forests run north of Appalachian Gap in Buels Gore to Canada, including more than 25,000 spectacular acres conserved by the Green Mountain Club.
If you still want to get outside - and how can you not at this point - Appalachian Mountain Club recommends mud season hikes at www.GreenMountainClub.org.