BELLOWS FALLS — Five local high school baseball players recently participated in the annual North-South doubleheader, with the top, recently-graduated senior ballplayers throughout Vermont.
The Brattleboro Union High School battery included pitcher Devin Rhodes and catcher Kyle Whitworth, who were both named to the squad, along with another pretty good local battery from three-time state champs Leland & Gray, pitcher Gabe Pozzi and catcher Tyler Russell. Also named to the team was Vermont Academy and Brattleboro Post 5 Legion infielder/pitcher Adam Harrison.
Rhodes and Whitworth are the type of players who are a coach's dream, for they are not only have exceptional talent but also work hard and lead by example. Both players were also selected to this year's All-Marble Valley League team, with Rhodes having an outstanding year both on the mound and at the plate while Whitworth led the team in hitting with a .396 batting average.
Whitworth will be attending Lyndon State College in the fall and vying for a catcher's role, while Rhodes will be looking for a roster spot on the squad at Lasell College in Newton, Mass.
For the Rebels' Russell and Pozzi, being chosen for the annual North-South classic is the icing on the cake for their high school baseball careers. After helping to lead Leland & Gray to three straight Division III state championships, Russell, who will be playing Legion baseball for Bellows Falls Post 37 this summer, will be attending Franklin Pierce University in search of his own roster spot.
As for the game itself, the North and South teams split their doubleheader, with the North taking the first game 5-4, before the South came back in the nightcap, 9-4. In the South win, Leland & Gray's Pozzi and Russell played major roles in the victory, as the pair helped stop a North rally before producing an insurance run late in the game.
In the top of the sixth and ahead by only a run, Pozzi entered the game as a pitcher with runners on first and second with no outs, then proceeded to protect the lead with his longtime battery mate Russell by inducing two infield pop-ups and a fly ball to center to get out of the inning.
Then in the bottom of the inning, Pozzi drew a walk at the plate before - you guessed it - Russell drove in a big run with a base hit to help pad the lead. Pozzi earned the win and Russell was instrumental in that victory in their last games as a high school ball players.
Legion baseball roundup
In the second weekend of the American Legion Baseball season, Brattleboro Post 5 shut out Chester Post 67 in a rout, 12-0, on Saturday, before suffering a tough loss to Hartford on Sunday, 5-4.
In the Chester game, Isaac Earle got the win for Post 5, giving up just one hit while striking out 10. Spencer Thurber and Ross Meyer led the offense with two hits each, while Meyer also had three RBIs in the win.
Brattleboro rallied late against Hartford with three runs in the seventh inning and one in the eighth, but it would not be enough in the one-run loss. Meyer and Kyle Whitworth each had two hits in the loss, while Adam Harrision saw some time on the mound.
Guarino named All-American
Recently graduated Brattleboro Union High School girls lacrosse star Kelsey Davis Guarino was recently given the highest individual honor a student athlete can receive: high school All-American, as handed-down by the governing body of U.S. Lacrosse.
The 17-year-old former BUHS star and team captain, who has been playing lacrosse since the third grade, helped lead her team to an 11-6-1 record this past season while also setting two team records with 67 career assists and 164 total points. She also registered a cool, 97 career goals along the way.
Guarino will attend the University of Vermont in the fall and is trying out for the Catamounts lacrosse team, which would be a huge accomplishment for the Southbury, Conn. native, who now lives in Guilford with her parents, Rob Davis and Susan Guarino.
Three local players selected to Shrine team
Three local players will represent the Vermont squad for the 57th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl.
Brattleboro's Devin Rhodes and Davin Freeman and Bellows Falls' Josh Pratt were recently selected to represent the Green Mountain State against New Hampshire on Saturday, Aug. 7, at MacLeay-Royce Field in Windsor.
Getting picked for the Shrine team is the ultimate honor for Vermont and New Hampshire's high school football players. But the 72 graduated seniors who will be on the field in Windsor will not just be playing for their respective state's bragging rights. They will be playing to help raise money for Shrine hospitals in Montreal, Québec, and Springfield and Boston, Mass.
Freeman was considered one of the best defensive backs in the state and was selected to the Vermont All-Division I team at that position. He showed his versatility on offense for the Colonels as a receiver, fullback and kicker.
Rhodes played at center for the Colonels and, like Freeman, was also named to the Vermont All-Division I team. He can also play on the defensive line.
Pratt is a hard-nosed linebacker who was selected to the All-Division III team last season. He also saw time at fullback for the Terriers.
The Vermont team will be led by Charlie Burnett of Essex High School, while Kennett's Ken Sciacca coaches the New Hampshire team.
The two teams will open their nine-day training camps starting on July 29 at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, N.H. Both squads will make the traditional trip to the Springfield Shriners Hospital to visit patients on Aug. 1.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 on game day and $20 for reserved seating. For more information, visit www.maplesugarbowl.com.
Local track and field icon steps down
The 35th annual Vermont State Heptathlon and Decathlon at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester recently featured many of the best high school track and field stars in the state.
The event has been organized by Dr. Jerry Jasinski, a semi-retired chemistry professor at Keene State College. He started the event in 1976, when he was the track and field coach at Springfield High School.
Jasinski, who has done so much for track and field in Vermont, recently announced that he will be stepping down as the event organizer.
Originally from Newport, N.H., Jasinski was a great high school student athlete in his own right, playing football, basketball and track. He was named to the Shrine team and also set the state high jump record in 1958, a record that stood for 10 years. He also finished second overall in the 1958 New Hampshire state decathlon. While pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire, Jasinski continued to play basketball and track and field.
Over the years, Jasinski stayed very active in high school athletics in both Vermont and New Hampshire, coaching track and field at Stevens High School in Claremont, N.H., and in Springfield, while also officiating high school basketball, football and track events for some 35 years.
Even more impressive than this man's athletic achievements: his professional credentials. As a professor of physical/inorganic chemistry at Keene State College, a few of his many professional affiliations include the American Chemical Society, American Crystallographic Society, Sigma Xi, American Institute of Chemists and the Council for Undergraduate Research of the New England Association of Chemistry Teachers.
“I really enjoy organizing the state decathlon/heptathlon, although it has become quite an undertaking over the years,” Jasinski said in the spring of 2007. “We have upwards of 80 student athletes participating every year, from all over the state, and it is a great way for these athletes to finish off their high school careers with one last two-day event.”
Jerry Jasinski is a professional who, it seems, would not have much spare time for extracurricular activities. Yet this man went above and beyond as a coach, game official and event organizer to provide better athletic opportunities for countless high school athletes throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. Somehow I get the feeling, however, that Jasinski will find a way to fill the void, but he sure is going to be missed as a genuine Twin State track and field guru.
In this year's event, senior Brittany Pfaff of Rice High School captured the heptathlon by crushing her school's record (3,230 points) with 4,219 points. Junior Mike Dimambro from Essex won the overall decathlon. The Bellows Falls boys' squad had the best local finish, taking first place overall in the team decathlon, while individually, Bellows Falls's Ryan Hayward and Jason Garciadeable finished sixth and tenth, respectively.