Everything seems to be falling into place for the Brattleboro Colonels softball team as they get ready for another run at a state title.
Brattleboro pitcher Kayla Wood finished the season with four one-hit games in five starts, the last being a 5-0 shutout against Rutland on Senior Day last Friday at Sawyer Field.
And the bats are starting to come around too, as Rissa Smith was three for four with a double, Daisy Giroux went two for four with a double and two RBIs, and Maddy Derosia was two for three with an RBI. Bailey Paige also drove in a run with a base hit.
Seniors Haley Struthers, Lou Lou Terwilliger, Wood, Smith, and Paige were all honored before their last regular season home game for the Colonels. Over the last four seasons, the Colonels have won state titles in 2010 and 2011 and lost in the semifinals last year.
Wood struck out 14 batters to get the win against Rutland. On Memorial Day, Wood just missed tossing a perfect game in a 1-0 win over Springfield in eight innings at Sawyer Field.
Wood struck out 15 and walked no one. The only Springfield hit was a soft single in the seventh. The Colonels had just as hard a time getting hits until the bottom of the eighth, when Smith drew a walk and Maddy Derosia and Alyssa Bezanson followed with bunt singles to load up the bases for Paige, who slammed a single to left field to drive in Smith for the winning run.
Against Hartford last Wednesday, the Colonels battled to a 5-3 win. Wood struck out 15 in a complete-game three-hitter. Terwilliger had three hits to lead the Colonels to an early 5-1 lead. Wood and Struthers followed with two hits each. Smith and Struthers both drove in two runs.
Brattleboro finished the regular season at 13-2-1, and the No. 3 seed in Division I.
Softball
• When Leland & Gray starts hitting, the results look like football scores. On the road against Mill River on Memorial Day, the Rebels rolled to a 22-5 win in five innings. Jordan Gouger had three hits, drove in three runs, and scored three times to lead the Rebels.
Elizabeth Symanski, Kelsey Bruder, and Emily Thibault all had a pair of hits as Bruder had a team-high four RBIs. On the mound, Symanski scattered six hits and walked six to get the win.
The next day, Gouger rapped a grand slam to help the Rebels beat Bellows Falls, 10-2. Ashley Goddard and Bruder each had two hits and a pair of RBIs. Symanski struck out nine and walked two to earn the win. The Rebels then showed they can win close ones too, as they clinched the Marble Valley League B Division title with a 5-2 win over Windsor in Townshend last Friday.
Leland & Gray and Richford both finished atop the Division III standings with 13-3 records, but the Rebels earned the top seed based on the strength of their schedule, and will have the home field advantage right through the semifinal round.
• Twin Valley finished up the regular season at 9-6 and earned the No. 8 seed in Division III. Last Thursday, they beat Mount St. Joseph, 22-8, as Lexi Reinertson hit a home run and drove in three runs, Veronika Vernon had three hits and 4 RBIs, Hannah Swanson went four for five, and Sammy Cunningham-Darrah went three for four.
• Bellows Falls finished the regular season at 4-12 after a loss to Green Mountain last Friday. On Wednesday, the Terriers suffered their third loss of the season against Burr & Burton, this time a 12-6 defeat. Chelsea Wilder led BF with a solo home run, a triple, and a single that rang in at three RBIs and two runs scored.
Baseball
• At 3-13, Brattleboro is not going to the Division I playoffs. But they ended their home season on a high note last Friday with a 8-7 win over Rutland. Ross Meyer, one of seven seniors playing in their final varsity game at Tenney Field, was the hero with a RBI single in his final at-bat.
The other seniors besides Meyer that were honored before Friday's game were Joey Barrows, Ansel Borofsky, Tyler Higley, Jeff Kahler, Evan Parro, and Elliot Gragen.
• Mike LaBeau struck out 15, walked one, and scattered three hits as Bellows Falls shut out Green Mountain, 6-0, in the regular season finale on Thursday at Hadley Field.
But arguably the best game of the season happened two days earlier on May 27, when Leland & Gray edged BF, 1-0, in battle of the Marble Valley League's best pitching staffs. Leland & Gray's Drew Barnum and BF's Kyle O'Rourke put up zeros on the scoreboard through the first six innings. While Barnum went the distance, striking out eight, LaBeau had to bail out O'Rourke with a pair of strikeouts in the sixth to preserve the shutout.
In the end, the winning run would score on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth, as LaBeau could not sustain his intensity in relief and the BF bats could not land the timely hit. The Terriers finished the regular season at 9-7, and will be the No. 8 seed in the Division II playoffs.
• Leland & Gray picked up a win in the last game of their regular season in Townshend during Senior Day last Friday, beating Windsor, 8-2. Seniors Drew Barnum, Zach Wilkins, Robbie Litchfield, Riley Kenney, and Andrew Parsons were honored at a ceremony before the game.
Barnum went three for four, Wilkins had two RBIs and two stolen bases, and Parsons had an RBI single. Wilkins was also the winning pitcher. He went the distance with seven strikeouts, while giving up four hits. The Rebels finished with a 13-3 record, and the No. 4 seed in the Division III tournament.
• Twin Valley stumbled to a 6-10 finish after starting the season with a 3-1 record. The Wildcats were hammered, 18-2, by Mount St. Joseph at Baker Field last Thursday. They picked up the No. 7 seed in Division IV.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro boys clinched their third straight Marble Valley League championship last Friday with a 9-4 win over Woodstock at Natowich Field.
The Colonels built up an 8-1 lead as Brennen Zolnoski and Sam Siegel each scored three goals. Adam Griffin and Conner Elliott-Knaggs also scored during that stretch. Woodstock scored three late goals to tighten things up, but Tanner Freeman scored to stop the rally.
The boys had their Senior Night last Wednesday, as 16 seniors were honored before the game against Hartford: Brian Keopraseuth, Lane Drummey, David Mahoney, Galen Finnerty, Andy Harris, Jesse Brown, Philip Perkins, Griffin, Devon Avery, Jordan Wong, Nik Rancourt, Sam O'Brien, Dylan Bettini, Romello Lindsey, Troy Sargent, Jake Castine, and Rowan Payne-Meyer.
The Colonels took a 6-1 lead when the game was stopped midway through the second quarter due to lightning. Both teams later agreed to let that result stand. Brattleboro finished the season at 12-4, and earned the No. 4 seed in the Division I boys' tournament.
• The Brattleboro girls finished up the regular season with a 14-6 win at Hartford last Friday. Maddie Rollins had six goals and two assists to lead the Colonels. Rachel Hill and Lizzie Clarke each added two goals, and Brattleboro goalies Melissa Semenovich and Gaia Uman combined for seven saves. Brattleboro finished the season at 9-7. They are the No. 4 seed in the Division I girls' tournament.
Track and Field
• Both Brattleboro and Bellows Falls will send athletes to the New England Championships on June 8, based on results from a May 28 qualifier in Essex.
Qualifying for the Brattleboro boys were Sam Sherlock (javelin) and Paxton Reed (triple jump). Greta Pellerin and Aimee Johnston (javelin) and Ursula Casey (triple) qualified for the Brattleboro girls.
The BF girls will be well represented, as Brit Moyna (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, and pole vault), Mariah Barnett (pole vault), Enny Mustapha (shot put, discus, and javelin) and the 4x100 relay team of Chapin Reis, Cassidy Santorelli, Sarah Wells, and Mustapha all qualified.
As for the BF boys, Jamie Moore (1,500 and 3,000), TJ Bernier (110 hurdles and 300 hurdles) are the only qualifiers. Moore set the Division III record in the 1,500 (4:06.66) and the 3,000 (8:59.89), while Bernier set the Division II record in the 300 hurdles (41.48).
Tennis
• It was one-and-done for both Brattleboro tennis teams in the opening round of the Division I playoffs on May 28.
The 11th-seeded Colonel girls lost at No. 6 Colchester, 6-1. Brattleboro's Halie Lange defeated Cassidy Wells 3-6, 7-6, 10-3 at No. 2 singles for the Colonels' only win. They finished the season at 5-9.
The fifth-seeded Colonel boys had everything in their favor - home court and an 11-game win streak to end their regular season - but No. 12 Stowe had other plans, and knocked off Brattleboro, 4-3.
The Colonels swept the top three singles spots. Isaiah Ungerleider won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1, Asa Lane hung on 6-1, 7-6 at No. 2, and Benson May won 6-0, 6-4 at No. 3. But the Raiders would take fourth and fifth singles, and swept both doubles matches to pull off the upset. Brattleboro finished with a 11-5 record.
Little League
• At the end of week five, the song remains the same in the Brattleboro Little League. The Pirates (9-0) are undefeated and running away with first place. The 5-3 Cardinals and 5-4 Red Sox are battling it out for second, and it's a three-way fight for third as the 3-5 A's, 3-6 Giants, and 2-8 Royals are all in the mix.
Emma swims again
• Emma Davis of Brattleboro is again swimming in the Summer Vermont Special Olympic games, June 7-9, at the University of Vermont in Burlington. She will be swimming in three events: the 100-yard individual medley (25-yard butterfly, 25-yard backstroke, 25-yard breaststroke, 25-yard freestyle), the 100-yard breaststroke, and the 50-yard backstroke. Davis won three gold medals in 2012.
Davis and her coach, Beverly Current, are seeking donations to cover the costs of competition. To support Davis, contact Michelle Gates, director of programs of Special Olympics Vermont, at 802-863-5222, ext. 108, mgates@vtso.org, or www.specialolympicsvermont.org.