-The Brattleboro Bears baseball and softball teams each opened their seasons last week with three losses.
• For the softball team, they endured a 21-2 loss to the Mount Anthony Patriots at Sawyer Field on April 15, followed by a 14-0 loss to the Keene Blackbirds on April 17 and a 24-1 loss to Rutland on April 20. All three games were ended in the fifth inning by the 12-run mercy rule.
Mount Anthony pitcher Abby Foster struck out five batters and helped herself with a 4-for-5 day at the plate. Taeya Guetti went 3-for-5 with a home run and Kyra Stratton also went 3-for-5. Both players scored three runs each as the Patriots scored six runs in the first inning and seven runs in the second inning to take control early and cruise from there.
Brattleboro's only runs came in the first inning, when Cynthia Velazquez singled and later scored on a passed ball, and in the sixth when Briana Brooks singled and scored an infield hit by Kayli Severence.
Keene's win over the Bears was their first of the season. They pounded out 16 hits against the Bears, scoring eight runs in the second inning and five more in the fifth inning. Winning pitcher Kiley Durrell held the Bears to just two hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
Rutland picked up its first win of the season against Brattleboro, thanks to 13 walks and numerous passed balls by the Bears. Freshman pitcher Chloe Ellison held the Bears to just two hits. The 0-3 Bears are off until April 30, when they host Springfield.
• The 0-3 Bears fared no better on the baseball diamond. They lost their home opener on Tenney Field on April 15 against Mount Anthony, 10-1.
Bears starting pitcher Jackson Emery held the Patriots to just one run on a bases-loaded walk through the first four innings, but Mount Anthony would score nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings off Bears reliever Evan Wright.
Patriots starting pitcher Jacoby Dicranian was equally sharp in the early going, but the game was close until Mount Anthony's Ethan Sherman hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Teammates Vance Kobelia, Riley Thurber, Carter Thompson and Sean Moriarty all drove in runs in the seven-run seventh inning. Brattleboro got its only run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Against the Keene Blackbirds on April 17, the Bears were beaten 11-1 in a six-inning game at Alumni Field. Keene starting pitcher Sean Callahan allowed one walk and four hits while striking out five and surrendering just one unearned run over three innings. Nolan Gillis finished up with three perfect innings of relief, striking out five without a walk or a hit allowed. Keene got 11 hits off the Bears.
The game against Rutland on April 20 at Tenney Field was far more competitive, but the result was a 6-2 loss for the Bears. Wright was the Bears' starting pitcher and held Rutland to one run over the first two innings, but they broke open the game in the third inning with a bunt RBI single by Grady Gallagher and a two-run single by Cam Rider.
Brattleboro got two runs back in the bottom of the third on a passed ball that allowed Wright and Jayke Glidden to score. Rutland then finished off the Bears with a run scored on an error in the fourth inning and another run in the seventh.
Softball
• Arlington played its first varsity softball game since 2019 on April 17, when the Eagles played host to the Twin Valley Wildcats. What ensued was a nearly four-hour slugfest that ended with Twin Valley winning, 24-21.
This was a wild one, for sure. Arlington scored 17 runs in the second inning, sending 22 batters to the plate. With a 21-5 lead, it looked like the Eagles would end this game early via the mercy rule. Instead, the Wildcats scored 19 unanswered runs to rally for the victory.
Twin Valley pitcher Sarah Dix was forced to leave the game in the second inning due to an ankle injury, but managed to return later in the inning after treatment. Despite her gimpy ankle, Dix held the Eagles scoreless over the final five innings and finished with 11 strikeouts for the win.
The Wildcats picked up Dix with two runs in the third inning and five more in the fourth to trim Arlington's lead to 21-12. Twin Valley added another five runs in the fifth inning, and got two more runs in the sixth after a brief delay to turn on the field lights to continue the game.
With Arlington now on the ropes and clinging to a 21-19 lead in the top of the seventh, Twin Valley's Elizabeth Barber drew a bases-loaded walk and Tori Dix smashed a two-run base hit to put the Wildcats in front by a run. Twin Valley got two more insurance runs in the inning, and Sarah Dix completed an improbable comeback by striking out the side in the Arlington seventh.
The Wildcats get plenty of time to savor this win, as they won't be in action again until April 29 when they go the road to face Mill River.
• Bellows Falls defeated visiting Fair Haven, 13-1, in six innings on April 16. BF pitcher Izzy Stoodkey struck out eight batters and walked one in the complete game victory.
Baseball
• Eli Allbee drove in a pair of runs with a base hit as Bellows Falls shut out Rutland, 4-0, on April 15 at Hadley Field. BF's Jaxson Clark and Cole Moore combined on the shutout. Clark allowed two hits and struck out two over four innings of work, while Moore allowed one hit and struck out four in relief.
• Otter Valley scored four runs in the sixth inning and held on to beat the Leland & Gray Rebels, 8-4, in Brandon on April 15. Pitcher Cody Hescock started the game for the Rebels, with Ryan Peloso finishing up the pitching duties. Spencer Clausen scored a pair of runs for the Rebels.
Against Green Mountain on April 18 in Townshend, the Rebels lost, 6-5. GM trailed 3-1 going into the fifth inning before they scored a pair of runs to tie the game. Leland & Gray regained the lead with a run in the top of the sixth, but GM rallied back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and hung on for the victory.
Evan Farrar got the win in relief of starting pitcher Tate Pellerin, and Tanner Swisher got the final two outs in the Rebels seventh to earn the save. Payton Butynski had a pair of hits and an RBI and Ryan Peloso drove in a pair of runs with a triple for the Rebels. Peloso also pitched five innings one-hit ball for the 0-2 Rebels.
Track & Field
• The Brattleboro boys started the season with a flourish as they won a seven-team meet on the Freeman Track on April 16.
The relay teams set the pace with the quartet of David Berkson-Harvey, Jack Cady, Dylan Holmes and Sean von Ranson winning the 4x100-meter event in 44.19 seconds, while Holmes, Trevor Gray, von Ranson and Cady won the 4x400 in 3 minutes, 43.06 seconds, and Jonas Ackerman-Hovis, Willow Sharma, Orion Donnelly, and Nico Conathan-Leach won the 4x800 in 9:09.54.
The speedy Bears dominated the sprinting events as they took four of the top five spots in the 100 with von Ranson winning in 11.70, followed by Berkson-Harvey (second, 12.08), Holmes (fourth, 12.17), and Cady (fifth, 12.30). Von Ranson (23.89) and Holmes (24.77) took first and second place, respectively, in the 200, while Cady won the 400 in 51.53. In the distance events, Donnelly won the 3,000 in 9:45.28, with Conathan-Leach finishing second.
• Bellows Falls finished second at this meet on the strength of their performance in the field events. The Terriers took the top four spots in the high jump. Brandon Keller won it with a mark of 5 feet, 11 inches. Tristan Boylan was second at 5 feet, 7 inches, and Colby Dearborn and Camron Mozaffari finished third and fourth respectively. Dearborn won the long jump and triple jump, while Ben Perry won the discus.
• Leland & Gray finished seventh in the meet, as Jacob Flood won the 300 meter hurdles in 45.48 and Trevor Hazelton finished third in javelin.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro boys lost to Rutland, 16-6, on April 16 as Noah Bruttomeso had eight goals and two assists in the victory over the visiting Bears. Brattleboro then lost to Burr & Burton, 16-5, on April 18 in Manchester to open their season at 0-2.
• The Brattleboro girls lost 12-7 at Woodstock on April 17, but rallied to beat Rutland, 12-11, at Natowich Field on April 19. Sophia Albright scored six goals to lead the Bears in a game that saw Rutland's Loretta Cooley score six goals in the first half to give her teams a 9-4 lead at the half. The Bears then scored three goals to start the second half and begin their rally.
Boys' tennis
• The Brattleboro boys won their season opener, 7-0, at Hartford on April 15. The Bears won the No. 1, 4, and 5 singles matches by a 6-0, 6-0 score as 2023 state champ Nathan Kim and Eben Wagner and Mark Richards swept their opponents. No. 2 Malo Renault (6-1, 6-1) and No. 3 Ben Berg (6-0, 6-1) easily won their matches. In doubles play, the Bears won one match by forfeit, and the doubles team of Dorian Paquette and Jackson Pals won their match, 6-1, 6-1.
Locals do well in Boston Marathon
• Putney's Alicia Dana won her second Boston Marathon women's handcycle title on April 15, covering the course in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 20 seconds, which was more than 18 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Edie Perkins. Dana, a two-time handcycle medal winner in the Paralympic Games, previously won at Boston in 2018.
Other Windham County competitors included Samuel Vincent of Wilmington, who ran the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds. It was the 1,185th fastest time in the field of 30,000. Townshend's Al Claussen also completed the marathon in 3:36:11.
Two Brattleboro women also finished the race. Halie Lange crossed the finish line in 3:34:58, while Maxine Stent got there in 4:49:08.
Senior bowling roundup
• With two weeks left in the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl, first place High Rollers (47-23) had a 5-0 week on April 18 to take a six-game lead on second place Stayin' Alive (46-29), which also had a 5-0 week. Stepping Stones II (44-31) fell to third place, followed by Four Seasons (42-33), Four Pins (33-42), Good Times (28-47), Hairiers (23-52), and Slow Movers (20-55).
Vikki Butynski had the women's high handicap game (246) and series (667), while Skip Shine had the men's high handicap game (269) and series (692). Four Seasons had the high team handicap game (889), while High Rollers had the high handicap series (2,553).
Robert Rigby had the men's high scratch series (655) with games of 225, 218, and 212. John Walker had a 643 series with games of 243 and 215. Milt Sherman had a 597 series with games of 233 and 192, while Gary Montgomery had a 579 series with games of 203 and 196 and Shine had a 538 series with a 221 game. Peter Deyo had a 521 series, Rick Westcott had a 532 series with a 200 game, Duane Schillemat had a 504 series with a 204 game, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 502 series.
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high scratch series (466) and Carol Gloski had the high scratch game (184). Butynski had a 176 game, while Dalzell rolled a 170.
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.