-Brattleboro Post 5 is off to a fast start. Near the midpoint of Vermont's 2024 American Legion Baseball season, Post 5 ended last week with a 6-1 league record and was tied for first place with Lakes Region in the Southern Division.
After beating Bellows Falls Post 37, 8-3, in the season opener on June 20, Post 5 won three of the four games they played in the annual Gubby Underwood Tournament in Keene, New Hampshire. The June 22-23 tournament brought together some of the best teams in the Northeast, and Post 5 showed they can hold their own against that level of talent.
Getting back to league action, Brattleboro used a four-run rally in the sixth inning to beat White River Junction Post 84, 7-6, on June 25 at Tenney Field. Winning pitcher Evan Wright went the distance and Aidan Davis had three hits and drove in three runs.
The following night at Tenney Field, Post 5 defeated Rutland Post 31, 9-1. Derek Sage threw four strong innings to get the victory, and Karson Elliott pitched the final three innings for a save. The Brattleboro bats were quiet in the first five innings of the game as they held a 1-0 lead, but Post 5 exploded for eight runs in the sixth inning to put Post 31 away.
Lakes Region then dealt Post 5 their first league defeat of the season with a 9-4 loss in Fair Haven on June 27. The Lakers took the lead to stay in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk by Jackson Howe and back-to-back singles by Cam Cannucci and Mason Gutel that drove in three more runs. Sam Bogart, Peyton Butynski, Alex McClelland and Jayke Glidden got the only hits for Post 5 in the loss.
Brattleboro got back into the win column with a 14-3 win in six innings over Manchester on June 29. Post 5 finished with 13 hits and nine walks as Jackson Emery had two hits and four RBIs, and McClelland had three hits and an RBI. Brattleboro baserunners also stole 10 bases. Glidden was the winning pitcher, going five innings and giving up four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
In the rematch with Bellows Falls on July 1 at Tenney Field, Post 5 rolled to a 14-4 victory in five innings. Brattleboro had 12 hits off Post 37's pitchers. Emery led the way with three hits, including a triple off the center field fence. John Satterfield drove in four runs with two hits, and Jolie Glidden had two hits and an RBI.
Post 5 kept it up with an 8-2 win on July 2 over Bennington Post 13 in the final game of the season at Tenney Field. Davis and Bogart drove in two runs apiece for Post 5 in the win, while McClelland and Satterfield had two hits apiece. Wright, McClelland, and Jolie Glidden shared the pitching chores.
Brattleboro will play the remainder of its home schedule at Gouin Field in Dummerston while the long-awaited restoration of the historic Tenney Field grandstand begins.
Post 37 still looking for a win
• Bellows Falls finished last week with a 0-7 record. The closest that Post 37 got to victory was against Rutland, which entered its July 2 game with Post 37 also searching for its first win of the season. Rutland ended up being the team to end its losing streak with a 4-3 victory over visiting Bellows Falls.
Post 37 took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning, when Jaden Bazin scored on a passed ball and pinch-hitter Pat Connors hit an RBI single. Rutland came back in the bottom half of the inning when a single by Aaron Lefrancois scored a pair of runs to retake the lead to stay.
Bruins draft Elliott Groenewald
• It's extremely rare that a Vermont player is drafted by a team in the National Hockey League, but the Boston Bruins saw something in Elliott Groenewald, an 18-year-old who grew up in Bellows Falls and spent many an afternoon at the rink at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River. In the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas on July 29, the Bruins used their fourth-round draft pick on Groenewald.
Groenewald, a defenseman who stands 6-feet-2 and weighs 202 pounds, won't be wearing the black-and-gold just yet. He will be attending Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, this fall, and will pick up more seasoning playing for one of the top collegiate hockey programs in the country.
Before committing to Quinnipiac, Groenewald played three seasons of high school hockey at Bishops College in Québec and played briefly this past season for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL, the top American junior-level hockey league.
Groenewald participated with other prospects last week in the Bruins' development camp. "It's been a wild week, being out in Vegas with the draft, and then right after hitting Boston, it's been a lot of emotions, but they've all been really positive," he told The Boston Globe on July 2.
He told the Globe what areas of the game he hopes to improve upon at Quinnipiac. "I would say my puck touches, and just my hands all over the ice. I think I can [become] pretty good in that area. And I'm working on the off-ice stuff. I think I can take my game to the next level and add a little bit of an offensive touch to my game."
Only one other Vermont native, John LeClair of St. Albans, has played in the NHL. LeClair won a Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens and later played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins before retiring in 2007. He finished his NHL career with 406 goals and 413 assists in 967 games.
Little League tournaments begin
• The Vermont District 2 Little League Baseball playoffs began on June 28 when the visiting Brattleboro 12-U All-Stars lost to Bennington, 10-4. Bennington scored five runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.
Brattleboro then defeated Rutland, 7-5, on June 30 at South Main Street Field as they scored five runs in the third inning to take a 7-1 lead, then held off a Rutland rally in the sixth inning to get the victory.
Rutland, Bennington, and Brattleboro entered the final weekend of round-robin play with 1-1 records. Brattleboro was eliminated from the tournament on July 7 after losses to Rutland and Bennington. We'll have the details in next week's roundup.
• The Brattleboro 10-U All-Stars eked out a 4-3 win over Rutland on June 30 at South Main Street Field. Rutland had the tying and winning runs on base in the sixth inning, but couldn't score. Brattleboro had a 2-0 lead heading into the final weekend of round-robin play.
Pelz-Walsh, Pomazi win Firecracker 4-Miler
• Soren Pelz-Walsh, 30, of Dummerston and Eve Pomazi, 25, of Brattleboro were the overall winners of the Red Clover Rovers' 49th annual Firecracker 4-Miler in Memory of Bill Powers on July 4.
Pelz-Walsh finished in 23 minutes, 14 seconds. Nico Conathan-Leach, 16, of Guilford was second in 23:31, just one second ahead of John Ralston, 29, of Putney.
Pomazi's time of 27:00 was enough for a 41-second win over Melissa Nestel, 48, of Putney. Jennifer Smith, 48, of Brattleboro placed third in 28:48.
There were 96 runners in the event, quite a few more than the 73 who participated last year. Full results can be found at redcloverrovers.com/firecracker.shtml.
Twin State games showcase local talent
• Bellows Falls graduate Ava LaRoss concluded her high school field hockey career by playing on the Vermont squad in the Twin State Field Hockey Classic on June 27 at Vermont State University Castleton's Dave Wolk Stadium.
New Hampshire won the game, 4-1. The Granite Staters were loaded with players headed for college teams, many of them at Division I schools.
LaRoss, who played at forward against the New Hampshire all-stars, will get to see a lot more of the Castleton campus over the next four years. She will be playing for the Spartans' field hockey team this fall.
• The Twin State boys' and girls' lacrosse games on June 25 also featured local graduates on the Vermont squads. Brattleboro midfielder Ava Ferencz was the Bears' lone selection to the girls' team, while Brattleboro midfield James Fagley was the lone Bear on the boys' team.
New Hampshire swept both games, with the boys winning 19-4 and the girls winning 21-14.
SVL announces all-star teams
• The Southern Vermont League (SVL) recently announced its all-opponent teams for baseball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, Utimate, and track and field. The local schools were well-represented on the various squads.
• Brattleboro's Sam Bogart and Jayke Glidden were named to the SVL A Division baseball first team, with John Satterfield earning honorable mention.
Cole Moore and Eli Allbee of Bellows Falls were B Division first team selections, with Trenton Fletcher and Steve Joslyn receiving honorable mention.
Leland & Gray's Cody Hescock and Ryan Peloso were selected for the C Division first team, with Spencer Clausen and Ryder Butynski as honorable mentions.
Twin Valley's Seth Wrathall was named to the D Division first team, while Garrett Ryan received honorable mention.
• In softball, Brattleboro's Aliza Speno and Kayli Speno were selected to the SVL A Division first team, with Cynthia Velazquez earning honorable mention. Emma Thompson and Izzy Stoodley of Bellows Falls were B Division first team selections, with Grace Hayes receiving honorable mention.
Leland & Gray's Ava LeCours was selected to the C Division first team, with Jacy Stillwagon, Amanda Fontaine, and Abriella Hallock earning honorable mention. Twin Valley's Sara Dix was selected to the D Division first team, with Tori Dix and Jaidy Denny receiving honorable mention.
• In track and field, Teagan Thurber of Brattleboro was selected to the SVL Division I girls' first team. Laura Kamel, Hadley Gleim, and Desi Broadley of Bellows Falls were all chosen for the Division III first team, with Nola Sciacca, Ava LaRoss, and Tela Harty all earning honorable mention.
Brattleboro's Jack Cady, Trevor Gray, Nico Conathan-Leach, Sean von Randon, and Oliver Herrick all made the Division I boys' first team, with Stockton Woodruff receiving honorable mention. Bellows Falls' Malik Hordon, Brandon Keller, Ben Perry, and Tristan Boylan were selected to the Division III first team, with Colby Dearborn receiving honorable mention. Leland & Gray's Jacob Flood made the Division IV first team.
• In lacrosse, Brattleboro's Sophia Albright and Abby Henry were SVL girls' A Division first team selections, with Ava Ferencz and Emerson Freshee named to the second team.
Brattleboro's James Fagley made the boys' A Division first team. Justin Packard and Sam Madow were Brattleboro's representatives on the second team, and Django Grace earned honorable mention.
• In tennis, Bellows Falls' Grace Pluff and Avery Dole made the SVL girls' B Division first team, with Myleigh Illingsworth and Gwen Guild receiving honorable mention.
Brattleboro's Nate Kim, Ben Berg, Mark Richards, Thomas Hyde, and Malo Renault all were selected to the boys' A Division first team, with Leo Bodett, Eben Wagner, Dorian Paquette, and Jackson Pals all earning honorable mention. Brattleboro's Ben Brewer received Coach of the Year honors as the Bears went undefeated in the regular season and made it to the Division I semifinals.
• In Ultimate disc, Leland & Gray senior handler Jackson Fillion and senior handler/receiver Trevor Hazelton were both named to the SVL A Division first team.
Senior bowling roundup
• At the mid-point of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl, Half Normal (38-7) remains in first place, while Slo Movers and Misguided (both 29.5-19.5) are now tied for second place, followed by Fab 4 (28-17), Three Musketeers (24-21), Spare Change (21-24), Split Happens (17-28), Stayin' Alive (14-31), Hi Rollers (12-33), and Incredibowls (6-14).
On June 27, Doris Lake had the women's high handicap game (238), while Deb Kolpa had the high handicap series (650). Jerry Dunham had the men's high handicap game (246), while John Laamanen had the high handicap series (690). Misguided had the high team handicap game (907) and series (2,560).
John Walker had the men's high scratch series (579) with games of 205 and 198, while Robert Rigby had a 565 series with games of 203 and 201 and Chuck Adams had a 549 series with a 190 game. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 535 series, Jerry Dunham also had a 535 series with a 201 game, and Duane Schillemat had a 522 series with a 194 game.
Carole Gloski had the women's high scratch series (474) and game (174). Kolpa had a 170 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.