In 2017, the Vermont Principals' Association green-lighted ultimate disc (don't call it Frisbee, since that is a trademarked name) as a high school varsity-level sport. After years of unofficial club status, this year marks the first official season as a VPA-sanctioned activity.
Played on a field slightly smaller than a football field by teams of seven, ultimate is a simple game. Players pass a disc down the field until a teammate catches it in the end zone. If the disc is dropped, it is turned over to the other team.
No officials are used; players police themselves. No game clock is used on the field; the first team to score 15 points within the allotted 90 minutes for a match wins. And it is a game where girls and boys can play on the same team, since speed and agility are more important than size and strength.
As spring sports go, it requires less gear than lacrosse, has more continuous action than baseball or softball, and it is much less structured than track & field or tennis. It's a sport for the free spirits and non-conformists or, as one parent commented, “it's a sport for the hippie kids.”
Leland & Gray and the Brattleboro Brattlesnakes, as the ultimate team calls itself, faced off at West River Park on April 30, and the Rebels came away with a 15-6 win.
Watching the game, you quickly see that ultimate is not as easy as it looks and that it requires a lot of running up and down the field. That's why both rosters are well stocked with members of the soccer, cross-country, and nordic ski teams.
Brett Worden gave the Brattlesnakes their first score of the game. But the Rebels recovered quickly and outscored the Brattlesnakes, 8-2, before halftime.
Sam Thibault scored three times and Fox Pickering, Liam Towle, Hunter Leavitt, Christian Cannella, and Even Bernard all caught passes in the end zone. Worden and Paul Aquadro scored for the Brattlesnakes.
“I was pleased with our execution on both offense and defense,” said Rebels coach Paul Paytas. “The difference between the way we played in our first game today, and the way we played in our scrimmage [a week earlier] is exceptional. People know the rules now and seemed more comfortable out there.”
It also helped to have players such as Lucas Newton, who threw for six goals, and to have good defenders like Towle, who had six blocks.
Aquadro, Julia Luna, and Aidan Murphy scored in the second half for the Brattlesnakes, while Matt Emerson scored twice and Towle, Bernard, Owen Woodard, Landon Beach, and Trey Crego each scored for the Rebels.
“This was our first time having our full squad together,” said Brattlesnake coach Clark du Pont. “We were just trying to work on some strategy and technique.”
Leland & Gray had three more matches last week. In a doubleheader on May 1, the Rebels beat Sharon Academy, 13-3, and lost to Rice, 13-11. The Rebels finished the week at 2-2 after a 15-5 loss to Burr & Burton on May 3.
Lacrosse
• In a chippy, penalty-filled contest, Mount Anthony beat the Brattleboro boys, 9-3, on May 1 at Natowich Field. Each team received 13 penalties, but it was the Patriots that rallied from a 2-0 deficit to score five unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead at the half.
Jeff Potter scored four goals to lead the Patriots. Gus Williams had two goals for the Colonel boys, and Ryan Tyler also scored.
At Rutland on May 3, the Brattleboro boys came up short again in a 11-5 loss. Rutland got its first goal just 19 seconds into the game, and quickly built up an 8-2 lead before the Colonels steadied themselves in the third quarter.
Goals by Tyler and Williams cut the Rutland lead to 8-5 in the third quarter, but the Raiders scored three goals in the fourth to put the game away. The Colonel boys ended the week at 2-3-1.
• The Brattleboro girls started out last week with a 12-8 loss to Burr & Burton at Natowich Field on April 29. The Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead before the Colonels battled back to make it 6-3 at halftime.
After Brattleboro's Mollie Patenaude scored the first goal of the second to make it 6-4, the Bulldogs made sure the Colonels did not get closer.
Liz Day led the Colonels with three goals and two assists. Tobin Lonergan was credited with two goals, but two others were disallowed due to an illegal stick. Brianna Paul and Olivia Romo also scored.
Rutland eked out an 18-14 win over the visiting Brattleboro girls on May 2. Logan Kinsman led the Raiders with seven goals and three assists. Day and Lonergan had five goals each for the Colonels, who ended the week at 3-3.
Baseball
• Pitcher Zinabu McNeice held Mill River to just two hits over four innings as Brattleboro rolled to a 12-2 win over Mill River at Tenney Field on April 29.
McNeice struck out three and walked three in gaining the win. He got plenty of run support as Tyler Millerick, Jack Price, Brenden Gilbeau, and Evan Finnell all had one hit and one RBI.
Winning pitcher Adam Newton got even more support in a 23-0 mercy rule road win over Hartford on May 1. Newton struck out 11 batters over five innings, giving up just one hit and three walks.
Hunter Beebe, Jeremy Rounds, Newton, and Millerick all had three hits each. Newton drove in five runs, while Beebe and Millerick each drove in three.
The Colonels ended the week with a tense 2-0 loss to Burr & Burton in Manchester on May 3. After five scoreless innings, the Bulldogs broke through against losing pitcher Brenden Gilbeau in the sixth when Joey McCoy walked, stole second, and ultimately scored on a single by John Morgantini.
Burr & Burton got their insurance run in the same inning, when Ethan Senecal was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run. McCoy, the winning pitcher, struck out 10 and held the 6-2 Colonels to just two hits. Gilbeau gave up five hits and no walks in the loss.
• Leland & Gray beat Proctor, 13-3, in five innings on April 29 in Townshend.
Christian Thomsen hit a home run and got another base hit to lead the Rebels. Kristian Pierson had two hits and scored two runs, Chris Bovat and Kaie Quigley each scored two runs, and Ayden Bills had a base hit.
Pierson and Dylan Greenwood split the pitching duties, and combined on a three-hitter.
On May 1, Quigley was the hero with a two-run double and a triple as the Rebels beat Woodstock, 12-4. Thomsen went the distance to pick up the win. He struck out nine and held the Wasps to three hits. The Rebels are now 4-3.
• Caden Marchinowski drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the winning run and pitcher Ben Simpson went the distance as Rutland pulled out a 3-2 win over Bellows Falls in a taut eight-inning game at Hadley Field on April 29.
Simpson held the Terriers to just four hits, striking out seven and walking four. He also drove in the tying run in the seventh inning with a two-out base hit.
BF's McGregor Vancor was the hard luck losing pitcher in relief of Garrett Brown, who had 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
Softball
• Brattleboro pitcher Leah Madore got the start and made the most of it with 11 strikeouts in a 15-1 road win over Hartford on May 1. Madore scattered four hits and walked just one batter to get the win.
Rachael Rooney led the Colonels' offense with four hits, two RBIs, and four stolen bases, while Mya McAuliffe had three hits and drove in four runs.
Madore and Kelly Derosia spilt the pitching duties and combined on a no-hitter against Burr & Burton in a painless 23-0 mercy rule win in five innings on May 3. Each pitcher walked one batter as Derosia struck out four in two innings of work, while Madore finished up with eight strikeouts.
Rooney and Derosia had three hits each and drove in five runs between them as the Colonels finished the week at 7-1.
• There have been some lopsided softball scores this season, but Rutland's 55-1 win in a five-inning mercy rule shortened game over Bellows Falls on April 29 tops them all.
Rutland's Sam Bates had two grand slams (both in the same inning), a triple, two doubles, and a single to lead the Raiders. Agatha Menconi tripled, drew four walks, and scored six runs, while Samera Rideout tripled and had three more base hits.
The outcome was slightly less worse against Otter Valley on May 3, a 23-1 loss in five innings. The Terriers are 1-5, with four of the losses coming via the mercy rule.
• Leland & Gray lost a 15-11 slugfest to Woodstock on May 1. Trailing 11-3, the Wasps rallied to score 12 runs in the final two innings off losing pitcher Abby Lowe. Ainsley Henderson led the 3-4 Rebels with three hits.
BOC boat swap is May 11
• The Brattleboro Outing Club's 20th annual sale/swap of canoes, kayaks, rowboats, rowing shells, stand-up paddle boards, small sailboats, and related gear will be held on Saturday, May 11, at The Outlet Center, 580 Canal St. Swaps will take place from 11:30 a.m. to noon, with the sale following from noon to 2 p.m.
Consignments will be accepted on Friday, May 10, from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Special arrangements can also be made. Trailered boats will be accepted on Saturday only.
No motors, or motorboats, will be accepted. Owners set the prices, and BOC retains 10 percent of the final sale price. Donations of usable boats and gear are greatly appreciated. Proceeds from the sale/swap help fund the BOC's paddling program. For more information, call Larry McIntosh at 802-254-3666.
Rec. Dept. holds sign-up sessions
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will hold their annual Summer Program Registration Extravaganza on Wednesday and Thursday, May 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main Street).
One may register for their summer programs - Summer Day Camp, Little Peoples Camp, “Hoop It Up” Basketball Camp, B3 Camp, Gymnastics Camp, Track & Field, Discounted Pool Passes, Lacrosse Camp, Mad Science Camp, and more - all at one convenient location.
For more information on programs and events, visit www.brattleboro.org, “Like” them on Facebook, call 802-254-5808, or stop by the Recreation & Parks Department office at 207 Main St., Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m.
Senior bowling roundup
• The first week of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl began last week with a six-way tie for first place and a six-way tie for second place.
Starting the season off at 4-1 are Stars & Strikes, Great Lakes, Team BDR, Team DDL, Pin Huggers, and Team 5. The six teams that started out at 1-4 are Stayin' Alive, Team MNR, Tres Amigos, Team JKL. 3 Stooges, and Tornadoes.
Jeanne Czuy had the women's high handicap game (263), while Pam Prouty had the high handicap series (656). Fred Ashworth had the men's high handicap game (259), while Dick Cooke had the high handicap series (672). Stayin' Alive had the high team handicap game (687), while Stars & Strikes had the high team handicap series (1,904).
In scratch scoring, Warren Corriveau Sr. rolled a 224 and a 212 as part of his 614 series. Gary Montgomery had a 213 on the way to a 524 series, while Duane Schillemat didn't have any 200-plus games, but still eked out a 501 series.
For the women, Carole Frizzell rolled a 170 and a 203 as part of her 511 series. Top scorers included Czuy (186) and Lorraine Taylor (176).