With four games left in the regular season, the Brattleboro boys' lacrosse team is in complete control of its destiny. At 10-2, it's the top team in the Marble Valley League and the No. 2 ranked team in Division I. A strong finish will keep the team on top.
The Colonels completed a stretch of six games in 13 days last Saturday afternoon with a 10-6 win over the East Longmeadow (Mass.) Spartans at Natowich Field.
Brattleboro scored in the first 10 seconds of the game, and hung on to 2-1 lead after one quarter. The Spartans then scored three times to go up 4-2 with three minutes left in the first half. The Colonels scored once more to cut the lead to 4-3 Spartans at the half.
The Colonels played much better in the second half. They tied the game up in the first 15 seconds, and got the go-ahead goal four minutes later. They enjoyed a 9-5 lead by the end of the third quarter and held on the rest of the way, although it took some good goaltending from Ian Cebek and steady defense to do it.
Sam Siegel finished with three goals. Tanner Freeman and Brennen Zolnoski scored two apiece, and Connor Elliott-Knaggs and Robyn Avery added a goal each.
The win over East Longmeadow closed out a 2-1 week for the Colonels. They defeated Woodstock, 10-8, in a MVL matchup on May 13 in Woodstock, and lost a 12-4 match to Westfield, Mass., at Natowich Field on Thursday,
The Colonels are undefeated against Vermont teams, and playing the larger Western Massachusetts schools has kept Brattleboro sharp in a season where coach Chris Sawyer has had to rebuild his team on the fly.
“We knew we had scorers when we started the season,” Sawyer said. “What we didn't have was experience in the midfield. And with so many games crammed into a couple of weeks we didn't have a lot of time to practice. So we've had to rely on our attack while we developed our midfield. Now everything is starting to come together.”
Girls' lacrosse
• The Colonel laxwomen can also hold their own against Massachusetts teams. Hannah Lynde scored five goals in an 18-8 win over Springfield (Mass.) Cathedral, on May 12.
The following day, they won at Woodstock, 10-5, to improve to 6-2 on the season.
On the road against Cathedral, the Colonels played a so-so game in the first half, then got a spark in the second half when Megan Siggins showed up. Siggins missed the first half because she had to take a test, but made up for her tardiness with three goals and an assist. Her sister, Hunter Siggins, added two goals and an assist.
Goalie Marissa Semenovich had six saves and was helped by great defensive play from Haley George.
Baseball
• Brattleboro's Dan Richardson needed only 80 pitches to throw a complete-game shutout in a 9-0 win over Fair Haven on May 13. He scattered five hits, struck out nine, and helped himself by driving in a pair of runs. Chris and Ryan McAuliffe each knocked in a pair of runs for the Colonels.
• Bellows Falls pitcher Colby Howe held Otter Valley to a pair of runs, and Zach Streeter pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh as the Terriers got by the Otters, 3-2, on May 12.
Two days later in Chester, BF got the bats going against Green Mountain in a 12-5 win. The top three BF hitters - Austin Stack, Ethan Illingworth, and Carson Fullam - went a combined 8 for 11. The bottom of the order chipped in as well, as No. 7 hitter Reid Coursen and Streeter at No. 9 each had two hits.
After a rough start, BF has won six of its past seven games to improve to 7-4.
• Twin Valley is back in the Division IV race with three straight wins to improve to 6-4 on the season.
• Colin Lozito, Sam Molner, and Cade Nesbitt each had two hits as the Wildcats beat West Rutland, 11-6, last Thursday. Despite giving up 12 hits, starting pitcher Dal Nesbitt picked up the win with four strikeouts and five walks.
On May 10, the Wildcats rolled to a 15-2 win over Black River. Lozito, Molner, Brett Swanson, and Chris Robinson each had a pair of hits for the Wildcats. Lozito, Molner, and Dal Nesbitt each scored a couple of runs, and Molner picked up the victory on the mound.
Dylan Johnson had three doubles and drove in four runs to lead the Wildcats in an 8-1 win over Proctor on May 12. Dal Nesbitt and Sam Molner each went 2 for 4. Molner again was the winning pitcher.
• Leland & Gray ran into a tough pitcher as Brett Kelley struck out and gave up just five hits in a complete game 12-3 victory on May 12. Adam Beattie took the loss for the Rebels.
Two days later, Leland & Gray pummeled Black River, 17-3. Jeremy Bovat, Josh Donna, and Bryce Karg each had three hits for the Rebels on Wednesday. Donna, who had struck out 14 in a 1-0 victory over Mount St. Joseph on May 10, struck out eight and allowed just four hits versus the Presidents.
The Rebels closed out the week with an 8-6 loss to Woodstock on Saturday, falling to 5-5.
Softball
• Bellows Falls won two of its past three games and now has a 5-3 record. On May 10, the Terriers steamrolled Mount St. Joseph, 23-1. Steph Parsons, Aly Bashaw, and Allana Shaw all had three hits for the winners. Parsons and Shaw each drove in four runs. Starting pitcher Murphy Hicks struck out five and allowed just two hits to pick up the win.
On May 13, Chelsea Wilder had three hits, Shaw had three RBIs, and Steph Greene scored three runs to lead the Terriers to a 9-2 win over Proctor. Hicks held Proctor to a pair of hits to get the win.
Green Mountain ended the Terriers' roll the next day with a 6-1 win. Brook James had a pair of hits to lead BF, and Emily Stoddard, Parsons, and Tasha Long all hit safely.
• Elizabeth Symanski struck out 11 as Leland & Gray cruised to a 14-3 win over Mill River on May 13. She helped her cause with a pair of doubles. Jordan Gouger had a pair of home runs and a pair of doubles.
The next day, Symanski threw a two-hitter and shut out Springfield, 2-0. She struck out two and walked four. The Rebels scored both of its runs in the first frame on freshman Jessi Stockwell's two-run single, and Leland & Gray improved to 4-6 on the season.
• Twin Valley pitcher Colton Butler threw a four-hitter as the Wildcats shut down Proctor, 9-1, on May 12. Abby Putnam had a single and a double, while Robyn Cunningham, Natalie Herrick, and Savanah Nesbitt each had a hit.
The next day, the Wildcats lost to Burr & Burton, 16-11, to fall to 4-6 on the season.
Track and field
• Brattleboro sent several representatives to the Connecticut Valley Conference Championships at Fall Mountain in Langdon, N.H., last Saturday.
Josh Parro, Miles Goldenbird, Dan Burdo, Nevada Powers, Danielle Wood, Gwen Harris, Catey Yost, Declan King, Ryan Gilligan, Jonathon Burdo, and John Lonardo all qualified for the meet - a traditional tune-up for the Division I state meet, which is Saturday, June 7.
The Monadnock girls and the Lebanon boys were the team winners in the 16-school meet.