The Brattleboro Unified basketball team celebrated Senior Day and its regular season finale on May 1 in the BUHS gym with a 53-50 win over Hartford.
With the win, Brattleboro enters the playoffs as the top seed in the Southern Division with a 7-0 record. As a result, the Colonels will have home court advantage for all of their playoff games.
It made for a happy Senior Day for Joanie Tuttle, Janessa Jones, Timothy Galdamez, Marcy Galdamez, Silvia Galdamez, and Alana Bell, who were honored at halftime. Colonels coach Tyler Boone said this group has participated in every Unified sport offered at BUHS since they were ninth-graders.
All of Brattleboro 11 starting athletes scored in the game as the Colonels led 31-20 at the half. Ben Stauffer led Brattleboro with 17 points, nine in the first half and eight in the second half. Austin Pinette added eight points, and Jeff White chipped in six.
“Any of our 11 athletes can make any of their shots,” Boone said. “I think we have the fastest kid in the state in Ben Stauffer. Nobody's beating him down the court. Austin just moves around so well that he can make his own opportunities and that's huge.”
But the biggest cheers from the fans were for Brattleboro's Jaymeson Crochetiere, who scored his first basket of his high school career. “That was pretty cool,” said Boone. “He's a very popular kid in the school. Everybody knows him. For him to be successful in front of hundreds of kids is really cool.”
Boone acknowledges that the playoffs will be difficult for the Colonels. “To make a deep run you do have to play all aspects of the game because no one is going to give you anything,” he said. “Our goal, what we are preparing for in practice, is to go all the way. It's going to be hard and everyone is going to come for us because when you're the No. 1 seed, youhave a target on your backs.”
Softball
• Leland & Gray ended Bellows Falls' bid for an undefeated season with a dramatic 4-1 win in Townshend on May 4.
The Rebels broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Makaila Morse doubled and stole third, and scored on a two-out, two-strike squeeze bunt by her sister, Samantha Morse.
A two-run double by Savannah Cadrin keyed a three-run fifth inning for the Rebels, but the Terriers came close to pulling off a big rally in the seventh when they loaded the bases. Shortstop Ava LeCours made a pair of big defensive plays and pitcher Kristen Lowe hung on to give the Rebels the win.
Lowe held the Terriers to three hits with eight strikeouts. She walked six and hit two batters. BF got its only run in the seventh, on a RBI single by Jenna Dolloph.
Leland & Gray kept up the winning momentum with a 12-11 victory over White River Valley on May 6 in Townshend. Lowe was the winning pitcher, striking out seven and allowing five hits. Abriella Hallock earned the save. On offense, the Rebels were led by Kat Shine with two hits, two runs and an RBI. Cadrin had two hits and two RBIs, while Hannah Greenwood had two hits and a run. The Rebels ended the week with a 4-1 record.
• Mount Anthony rolled over Brattleboro, 17-0, in five innings on May 4 at Sawyer Field to drop their record to 0-6.
• Twin Valley is also winless so far this season. The Wildcats were beaten by Burr & Burton, 25-6, on May 4, and forfeited their scheduled May 6 game to Mill River.
Baseball
• A pair of passed balls in the eighth inning gave Fair Haven the deciding runs in a 6-5 victory over Bellows Falls on May 5 at Hadley Field. The Terriers' record is now 5-4.
• Leland & Gray took care of winless Mill River, 13-2, on May 4 to improve the Rebels' record to 5-3.
Boys' lacrosse
• On May 5 at Natowich Field, the Colonels lost to Rutland, 10-3, but the real winners of this game were the region's military veterans and first responders who are struggling with various mental health issues.
The Colonels hosted their first Salute to Service game and each player chose a veteran or first responder to honor prior to the game. The team has been involved in a fundraising campaign in support of the Front Line Foundations of North America, a Bellows Falls-based nonprofit that provides individual and group therapy to veterans and first responders.
The team set a goal of $2,200, and they surpassed it by more than $1,000 as of the start of this week. Anyone interested in supporting and donating to this cause can go the team's fundraising page at givebutter.com/Nv8cRk.
Girls' lacrosse
• Burr & Burton jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first eight minutes and rolled to a 20-2 win over Brattleboro at Natowich Field on May 4.
Ultimate disc
• Leland & Gray's Jackson Fillion had nine assists, five blocks, and a goal to help lead the Rebels to a 15-10 win over Long Trail School on May 2 in Dorset. Finch Holmes scored seven goals and had an assist and five blocks, while Trevor Stillwagon had four goals, two assists, and four blocks and Trevor Hazelton had three assists and seven blocks.
On May 5, the Rebels lost 15-2 to Burr & Burton in Townshend to finish the week at 3-2.
• Brattleboro competed in a tournament at Mount Mansfield in Jericho on May 6, and split its two matches. A combined Long Trail/Mill River squad took on the Colonels and won a 9-6 match, but Brattleboro came back to beat Long Trail/Mill River, 8-7, in the second match.
BOC watercraft consignment sale is May 13
• The annual Brattleboro Outing Club Consignment Sale & Swap of small human and wind-powered watercraft will be held on Saturday, May 13, from noon to 2 p.m., at the “On The Waterfront” building, 464 Putney Rd., Brattleboro (just above The Marina restaurant).
Boats will be accepted on Friday, May 12, from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. On Saturday, May 13, boats will be accepted beginning at 8 a.m., until 11:30 a.m. The swap portion of the event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to noon, with the sale starting at noon.
This is a consignment sale to fund the BOC Summer Paddling Program. Boat owners set the price, and BOC Paddling receives 10% of the eventual selling price. When two or more prospective buyers want the same boat, an “auction'' will decide the eventual buyer.
For more details on the sale, visit www.BrattleboroOutingClub.org or contact Larry McIntosh at 802-254-3666 or [email protected].
Learn more about rowing with RunBOC
• RowBOC, the rowing program of the Brattleboro Outing Club, announces the opening of enrollment to its 2023 Learn-to-Row Clinic. If you have never rowed before, or want to learn sculling on the West and Connecticut rivers, RowBOC wants to introduce you to the joy of rowing.
Organizers say rowing “builds skills people need in daily life: teamwork, persistence, working toward a goal, and a sense of humor and humility. It's also an excellent opportunity for fitness, recreation, fun, and making new friends.”
There will be a free try-out session on Saturday, June 3, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the RowBOC boathouse and docks at the docks near the beginning of the West River Trail in Brattleboro. You will get a taste of rowing: learn to get in and out of a boat, take a few strokes while tethered to the dock, and maybe launch on the West River. RowBOC master rowers will teach, assist, and cheer you on.
If your interest is piqued by the June 3 session, you are invited to join RowBOC's Learn-to-Row Clinic, a 10-session course that will take you from knowing nothing about a rowing shell to being able to launch, row from the dock to beyond the bridge, turn around, and return to the dock safely;as well as essential skills such as backing up, getting back into the boat from a capsize, and proper boat handling.
Sessions run from June 10 to July 1. For more information on both events, send an email to [email protected]; include your phone number if you would like to talk to a clinic instructor.
Vote for Grace Cottage
• For the second year in a row, Grace Cottage has been chosen as an IMPACT Award Finalist for Vermont by the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Red Sox Foundation. The contest seeks to recognize organizations for their efforts to improve mental health in their communities.
In an email congratulating Grace Cottage for being chosen as a finalist, the sponsoring organizations wrote, “Your nomination demonstrated a deep impact in both raising awareness and improving the outcomes in your community. We would like to thank you for the incredible work that you are doing!”
The IMPACT Awards provide Red Sox fans in the six New England states with the chance to nominate and vote for their favorite local non-profit organization. Five finalists have been chosen from each state for their opportunity to win a grant from the Red Sox Foundation.
Supporters can vote once daily until May 31 at www.redsox.com/impact. The top three non-profits each receive a grant: $10,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place. Grace Cottage won a second-place grant in 2022 and a third-place grant in 2015.
CRVBL opens its 22nd season
• The 22nd season of the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League (CRVBL) got underway on May 7 with games at Maxfield Athletic Complex in Hartford and Gouin Field in Dummerston. Each game saw the home team emerge with a win.
In Hartford, the Connecticut River Iron Men downed the Charlestown Cavalry, who were making their CRVBL debut, by a score of 19-1. In Dummerston, the defending champion Putney Fossils topped the Walpole Granite, 11-0.
Jed St. Pierre (4-for-6, triple, two runs scored), Kris Bornholdt (3-for-4, three RBIs, two runs scored), and Tyler Kerr (2-for-4, two RBIs, two runs scored) led the Iron Men's offensive explosion. Side-arming rookie Garrett Gagnon pitched five scoreless innings to earn the win, allowing five hits, two walks, and striking out seven.
Four batters recorded multiple hits for the Fossils, with Ryan Smith (3-for-4, two doubles, two stolen bases, 2 RBIs, two runs scored) doing the most damage. Pitchers Danny Lichtenfeld (five innings, two hits, two walks, six strikeouts) and Peter Wagner (two innings, one hit, two strikeouts) combined to shut out the Granite, whose lineup included five newcomers to the league.
CRVBL action resumes on Sunday, May 14, when the Fossils travel to Fall Mountain Regional High School to take on the Cavalry, and the Iron Men head south to Dummerston to face the Granite. Both games are at 10 a.m. For more information, including box scores, stats, and standings, visit crvbl.com.
Senior bowling roundup
• The spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl began on May 2 with Turkeys (5-0) and Five Pins (5-0) starting Week 1 with a perfect score, followed by No Splits and The Bowlers (both 4-1), High Rollers (3-2), Wrecking Crew (2-4), Stayin' Alive and Skippers (both 1-4), and Slo Movers (0-5).
Sally Perry had the women's high handicap game (237), while Diane Cooke had the high handicap series (624). Pete Cross had the men's high handicap game (265), while Milt Sherman had the high handicap series (716). High Rollers had the high team handicap game (899) and Turkeys had the high handicap series (2,547).
Chuck Adams led the men's scratch scoring with a 626 series with games of 224, 213, and 189. Sherman had a 620 series with games of 230 and 212, while John Walker had a 584 series with games of 221 and 184, and Robert Rigby had a 554 series with 225. Gary Montgomery had a 524 series with a 191 game, Pete Cross had a 523 series with a 291 game., Marty Adams had a 518 series with a 189 game, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 500 series with a 204 game.
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high scratch series (453) and game (168). Sally Perry had a 164 game.