It doesn't happen very often, but it feels great when it does.
When Keene, N.H. and Brattleboro meet up on the baseball diamond, Keene usually wins. On April 20 at Alumni Field in Keene, the Colonels ignored the script and came away with an 8-5 win over the Blackbirds.
Brattleboro starting pitcher Jolie Glidden pitched five strong innings and left with the score tied 3-3 after giving up seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
The Colonels broke the tie in the top of the sixth inning by scoring four runs. A two-run single by Turner Clews and an RBI single by Willem Thurber accounted for three of the runs.
Reliever Alex Bingham then closed out the game with four strikeouts in the last two innings. The Colonels' defense gave Keene a chance to take back the lead with a pair of errors in the sixth and seven innings.
Brattleboro made six errors in all, but got enough hitting to get the win. Thurber went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, while Aaron Petrie, Zinabu McNeice, Sam Bogart, Tucker Sargent, and Clews all had base hits and Reed Sargent successfully executed a squeeze bunt to drive in a run.
The win improved Brattleboro's record to 2-0.
Baseball
• Bellows Falls started their week with a split of a doubleheader with Otter Valley in Brandon on April 18. The Otters won the first game, 8-2, while the Terriers were victorious in game two, 8-1.
In the first game, Jordan Beayon starred at the plate and on the mound for the Otters. He went 3-for-3 with a double, while striking out 13 in six innings of work pitching. Jake Moore had two hits for BF.
In the second game, Jack Cravinho pitched a complete game to give BF the win, scattering seven hits over seven innings.
On April 21, the Terriers fell to Burr & Burton, 13-3, in a five inning game shortened by the mercy rule. Things looked good for BF at the start when leadoff hitter Jamison Nystrom hit a home run. But the Bulldogs rallied for five runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Pitcher Jeb Monier took the loss for the 1-3 Terriers.
Softball
• Bellows Falls is starting the season strong. On April 19, the Terriers beat Poultney, 15-2, in a five-inning game.
Grace Wilkinson went 4-for-4 for the Terriers, driving in two runs. Winning pitcher Izzy Stoodley struck out eight, walked two, and gave up two hits in her five innings of work.
While the Terriers lost to Fall Mountain, 15-3, on April 21, BF is undefeated against Vermont competition.
Ultimate disc
• Leland & Gray spoiled the varsity debut of Mill River's Ultimate program with a 14-8 win on April 20 in North Clarendon.
Andrew Tolbert led the Rebels with three goals, while Jackson Fillion, Warren Roberts, Trevor Hazelton, and Nick Patronic each scored two goals. Fillion finished with a team-high six assists, and Patronic, Kate Petty, Finch Holmes, and Stephen Shine each scored their first career goal.
BCC offers golf clinics for women
• Brattleboro Country Club's Golf Pro Michael Zaranek will be offering four women's clinics to help golfers and potential golfers increase their enjoyment of the game.
“Golf is a great game for women,” Zaranek said in a news release. “Clinics help develop basic skills. Golf is challenging, but with practice and patience, it can be very empowering and fun.”
“Mike is a gifted teacher of the game of golf,” said Marilyn Scholl, president of the BCC Women's Golf Association, the sponsor of these clinics. “Every time I interact with Mike, my game improves and as my game improves, I have more fun. These clinics are a great value.”
Cost will be $10 per person, per clinic. Come to one or come to all of them, and if anyone doesn't yet have their own clubs, there will be clubs available to borrow. Clinics will be held on Saturday, April 30, at 10 a.m. and noon; Wednesday, May 4, at 4 p.m. (focusing on chipping and putting); and Wednesday, May 11, at 4 p.m. (focusing on using drivers and long irons).
Brattleboro Country Club is located at 58 Senator Gannett Drive, off Upper Dummerston Road. For more information, contact Mike Zaranek at 802-257-7380.
Grace Cottage hosts Spring into Health 5K
• Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital's 13th annual Spring into Health 5K will take place on Saturday, May 7, with a shotgun start at the Townshend Common at 8:30 a.m. Or, if you prefer, choose the virtual option and sign up to run, walk, roll, or stroll at a time and place of your own choosing.
The hospital says that so many participants have liked this pandemic-era flexibility that they decided to offer the option again. “You can complete your 5K by running, walking, rolling your wheelchair, pushing your baby in a stroller, riding your horse, or even on your treadmill if you wish! The goal is to get some healthy activity however you want to do it,” they said in a news release.
If you register for the virtual event by Friday, April 29, Grace Cottage will mail you an official Spring Into Health 5K runner's bib. Wear your bib while doing your 5K, then send us a photo of yourself wearing it by Monday, May 9, and they'll post your photo on Grace Cottage's Facebook page.
Registration for the 5K, whether virtual or in-person, is at gracecottage.org. The cost is $15 per adult participant; children under the age of 18 are free.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 16 of the winter/spring 2022 season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on April 21 saw first place Trash-O-Matic (57-23) clinch the season championship, as they have a 10-game lead over second place Stayin' Alive (47-33) with one week left.
The 844s (both 42-38) moved into third place, followed by Bowling Stones (41-39), Slow Movers (39-41), A Rose/Tulips (37-43), The Anythings (33-47), and Good Times (23-57).
Mary Parliman had the women's high handicap game (261) and series (729). Stan Kolpa had the men's high handicap game (264), while Robert Rigby had the high handicap series (643). Trash-O-Matic had the high team handicap game (898), while The Anythings had the high handicap series (2,495).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby led the men for the fourth straight week with a 643 series that featured games of 246, 215, and 182. Gary Montgomery had a 559 series with a 224 game. Chuck Adams had a 552 series with games of 204 and 184, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 503 series with a 180 game. Marty Adams had a 191 game, and Charlie Marchant rolled a 180 game.
Carole Gloskie had the women's high scratch series (499, with games of 176 and 172), while Nancy Dalzell again had the high scratch game (179). Parliman rolled a 178 game, while Pamela Greenblot had a 171 game.