-The Brattleboro Unified basketball team is off to a 4-0 start this season, with a 48-44 win over the Burr & Burton Bulldogs on April 9 at the BUHS gym and a 46-27 win over the Twin Valley Wildcats in Whitingham on April 11.
While the first game between Twin Valley and Brattleboro at the BUHS gym on April 5 was a 38-36 nail-biter won by the Bears, Brattleboro kept the drama to a minimum in the April 11 rematch.
The teams were tied 10-10 after the first period, but the Bears took a 22-18 lead into halftime. The Wildcats hung around in the third quarter and trailed the Bears, 32-27, heading into the final period. The Bears then proceeded to shut out the Wildcats with a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Austin Pinette led the Bears with 12 points. Jeffrey White added 14, Ashley Cleveland chipped in six points, and Darious Cansler-Cooper, Caden Russell, Jamieson Crochetiere, Tyler Bolduc, Alex LaBounty, and Bobby Petrie each scored a basket.
John-Michael Richard led the Wildcats with 12 points. Thomas Richard and Chloe Lashway scored six each and Brady Lackey scored two points.
The Bears are off until April 30, when they travel to Brandon to face Otter Valley. Twin Valley is back in action on April 29, when they host Hartford.
Baseball
• The weather last week, aside from two nice days for the April 8 solar eclipse and its aftermath, was mostly rainy. The sogginess led to several cancellations. Twin Valley saw its road games at Poultney on April 12 and at Mill River on April 13 both washed out. Brattleboro's opener against Leland & Gray in Townshend on April 13 also met with the same fate.
• Bellows Falls was in Fair Haven on April 9 and got their season off to a strong start with a 17-7 win in a five-inning game cut short by the 10-run mercy rule.
The Slaters took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but BF responded with five runs in the second inning to take control of the game. Fair Haven scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut into the Terriers' lead, but BF scored five runs in the third and seven runs in the fifth inning to slam the door shut.
Steven Joslyn led the Terriers at the plate, hitting three singles and scoring two runs. BF's starting pitcher Trenton Fletcher struggled and was replaced by Joslyn in the second inning. Joslyn finished up the game for the Terriers' first win of the season.
Softball
• Bellows Falls pitcher Izzy Stoodley picked up where she left off last season as she struck out 14 batters and walked only two in a 16-6 road win over Fair Haven on April 9.
Aliya Farmer had a double and a single for the Terriers in their season opener, while Riley Haskell had two singles. Losing pitcher Tori Raymond went the distance with eight strikeouts and five walks. At the plate, she had a double and a single.
• Brattleboro's season opener at Northampton, Massachusetts on April 12 got rained out. Twin Valley's opening game against Poultney on April 10 was also postponed. Leland & Gray is set to play its first game at Woodstock on April 20.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro girls lost their season opener, 16-3, to Northampton on April 9. A scheduled game on April 13 at Keene, New Hampshire was canceled.
Track & Field
• Brattleboro and Bellows Falls also had to wait to get their seasons started, as a scheduled meet on April 9 in Springfield got canceled. At press time, they were both in action on April 16, as Brattleboro was the host for a multi-team meet at the Freeman Track.
Rec. Dept. news
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says that the following parks & facilities are now open: the Living Memorial Park tennis and pickleball courts, Perseverance Skatepark at Living Memorial Park, and the Brattleboro Dog Park at Living Memorial Park.
• The annual Super Fun Bike Day will beheld at Living Memorial Park on Saturday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This program is a collaboration between Recreations & Parks, the Brattleboro Kiwanis Club, the Brattleboro Fire Department, and the Brattleboro Police Department.
This free event will include a helmet fitting, bike tune-ups, safety information, a bike rodeo, and more. The Kiwanis Club will be giving away helmets for kids age 16 and under. They will also be raffling off a BMX bike. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Nelson E. Withington Skating Facility. Bring your bikes and enjoy the fun.
For more information on this and other Rec. Dept. activities, call their Gibson-Aiken Center office at 802-254-5808.
Green Mountain Conservancy hosts Earth Day hikes
• On Sunday, April 21, the Green Mountain Conservancy will host a pair of hikes in celebration of Earth Day at the Deer Run Nature Preserve in West Dummerston.
The tougher of the two hikes will be led by Roger Haydock on Deer Run Nature Preserve's recently opened North Trail. The hike will go up the ridge and then down to the West River and back. The total distance is about 7 1/2 miles and will include a 1,700 foot vertical ascent. This is a strenuous hike and only experienced hikers in good condition should attend.
The route will feature several viewing spots along the way, including a dramatic vista up the West River and Grassy Brook Valley with Stratton Mountain in the distance. The hike goes through several different forest types, including a mature hardwood forest, a hop hornbeam savannah, and old growth trees.
In this first year of the North Trail's existence, the Conservancy says that "the passage of hiker's boots on the trail will act to pack down the treadway and prevent plants from growing in. The more that people hike the trail this year, the better for breaking in the footpath."
Hikers are invited to assemble at 10 a.m. at the parking area of Deer Run Nature Preserve on Camp Arden Road, which is two miles north of the Route 30 Covered Bridge. The hike will last about 4 1/2 hours. Hikers should bring a lunch and water. There will be a short lunch break at the West River.
A less strenuous hike on the Preserve will be led by several Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center board members, focusing on the early spring woodland plants and birds, signs of mammal activity, various natural forest communities, the forest topography, and forest management for addressing climate change.
"This is an idyllic time to spend in the forest as it wakes up from our strange winter," the Conservancy says. "Beginning at the trailhead, we will go through a young white pine forest, view an abandoned porcupine den and have an opportunity to examine a bear-clawed utility pole. As we move into an older forest, we can take some time to think about the history of several very, very old maples, ponder the pillow and cradle topography, wonder at the intermittent piles of stone, and consider the littered forest floor.
"Crossing the bridge over the rushing mountain stream, we will discuss signs that this stream has changed course over time and the geological features that have made it possible. The lichens and mosses along the way will be of special interest. Tall red pine trees, planted in the 1930s by the farmer who worked this land, will stand out among the white pines, hemlocks, birches, oaks, and cherry trees."
For more information, call 802-257-0012, email [email protected], or visit greenmountainconservancy.org.
Green Street School's Tulip Trot set for May 4
• On Saturday, May 4, Green Street School in Brattleboro presents the 12th annual Tulip Trot 5K Run & Walk. Organized by the Green Street School PTO, it's the school's biggest yearly fundraiser and proceeds are used for school-wide and grade-level enrichment programs, field trips, winter sports, and staff appreciation activities.
This year, the Tulip Trot will also be celebrating Green Street School's 100th birthday. More details on the race, including registration information, can be found at sites.google.com/wsesdvt.org/tulip-trot/home.
Still time to sign up for Grace Cottage's family-friendly 5K
• Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital hosts its 15th annual Spring into Health 5K on Saturday, May 11, on the Townshend Common. The event begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. You can run, walk, roll, stroll, or push your baby carriage for this fun, family-friendly event.
Registration is $20 for adults; children under the age of 18 are free with signed parent/guardian permission. To register, go to gracecottage.org/events. A virtual option is also available. Register at the same link. You can also register just before the event.
For more information, contact Grace Cottage Foundation at [email protected] or call 802-365-9109. All proceeds from this event will benefit healthcare services at Grace Cottage.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 14 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on April 11 saw first place High Rollers (47-23) had a 4-1 week to hold onto their lead, while Stepping Stones II (44-20) remained in second place, followed by Stayin' Alive (41-29), Four Seasons (37-33), Good Times and Four Pins (both 28-42), Hairiers (23-47), and Slow Movers (20-50).
Carol Gloski had the women's high handicap game (246) and series (682), while Eric Brown had the men's high handicap game (257), and Al Dascomb had the high handicap series (657). Stayin' Alive had the high team handicap game (867) and series (2,562).
John Walker had the men's high scratch series (608) with games of 219 and 204. Peter Deyo had a 568 series with a 201 game and Robert Rigby had a 551 series with games of 197 and 195. Rich Westcott had a 524 series with a 190 game, and Brown had a 203 game.
Gloski had the women's high scratch series (529) and game (195). She also had a 177 game. Nancy Dalzell had a 513 series with a 188 game.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.