The Brattleboro 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old Little League All-Star teams have been selected, and the district tournaments have begun.
Brattleboro's 12-year-olds got started over the weekend with a three-team round robin with Bennington and Rutland for the District 2 title.
On July 1, the 12s lost, 3-2, to Bennington under a broiling late-afternoon sun at South Main Street Field.
The game time temperature was 93 degrees with very high humidity, conditions that left players, coaches, umpires, and fans alike thoroughly spent by games end.
Brattleboro took an early 1-0 lead when Nick Gerard reached base on an error, stole second, moved to third on a Degan Gundry single, and scored on a groundout by Jett Emery.
Starting pitcher Brandon Weeks threw three scoreless innings, but Bennington took advantage of a Brattleboro error to score two runs.
With two out and a man on base, a pop-up was dropped in foul territory that would have ended the inning had it been held on to. Instead, Bennington's Ben McRae took advantage of the second chance and doubled to keep the inning going, and Ayman Naser followed with a two-run double for a 2-1 Bennington lead.
Bennington got an insurance run on Brattleboro reliever Jackson Emery when Nat Greenslet drew a bases-loaded walk in the fiifth inning.
Brattleboro almost rallied back in the sixth inning. Weeks led off with a double and ultimately scored on a wild pitch to chase starter Connor Hannan, but Brattleboro could not score after that.
“We didn't string a lot of hits together,” said Brattleboro coach Eugene Frost. “The heat was a factor, but we played a good game in spite of it. We just didn't get the hits when we needed them, and gave them that extra out that turned into two runs.”
Brattleboro is scheduled to visit Bennington on July 6 at 5:30 p.m., and host Rutland on July 8 at 5 p.m. Bennington and Rutland were scheduled to play each other on July 2 and 7.
The rest of the 12-year-old roster is made up of Thomas Bell, Ben Berg, Charles Clark, Karson Elliott, Jett Emery, Will Hill, Will Miskovich, Tucker Sargent, and Willem Thurber.
• The Brattleboro 11-year-olds also started their tournament over the weekend, and came away with a pair of wins in the best-of-five district series.
On June 30 in Rutland, Brattleboro rolled to a 17-1 win in five innings. The next day at South Main Street Field, Brattleboro again won big, this time 13-1 in five innings.
Brattleboro will return to Rutland on July 7, at 2 p.m., with a chance to win the series. If a fourth game is necessary, Rutland will host it on July 8 at 2 p.m.
On the Brattleboro 11-year-old team are Gabe Alexander, Chase Austin, Samuel Bogart, Zachary Corbeil, Harper Cutler, Will Fontaine, Asher Jackson, Rowan Lonergan, Alex McClelland, Mason North, John Satterfield, Keagan Systo, and Evan Wright.
• The Brattleboro 10s have a best-of-five district series with Bennington. They host Bennington on July 8 at 11 a.m. and again on July 14 at 11 a.m. Road games are set for July 7 and July 11.
On the Brattleboro squad are Hayden Avard, Evan Batts, Sean Cozza, Noah Gagne, Silas Golding, Connor Griffus, Donnevhan Hall, Kymarion Hall, Gordon Kalill, Lucas Lamorder, Matthew Satterfield, Brady Sparks, and Lucas Speno.
Legion roundup
• Rutland Post 31 handed Brattleboro Post 5 its first loss of the season, a 4-2 decision in American Legion baseball action at Tenney Field on June 26.
Ethan Senecal was the winning pitcher, and the Post 31 defense played errorless ball behind Senecal and reliever Pat McKeighan. Together, they held Post 5 to just five hits.
• A bases-loaded squeeze bunt by Rex Hill in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Bellows Falls Post 37 a 4-3 win over Bennington Post 13 at Hadley Field on June 26.
Trailing 3-2, Post 37's Kendall Heath was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the tying run in the seventh. Hill followed with a bunt somehow sailed over the head of Post 13 pitcher Brian Grace and plopped into the middle of the diamond as Tucker Wright hustled home from third base to end the game.
Bellows Falls had a 2-0 lead on an RBI double by Clayton Groenewold in the first inning and an RBI single by Seth Balch in the second inning.
Balch, the starting pitcher for Post 37, cruised through the first four innings, but Bennington got to him in the fifth and scored three runs to take the lead. Josh Woods relieved Balch in the sixth and he finished with two shutout innings with five strikeouts and a walk to get the win.
Groenwold was 3-for-3 with a walk to lead Post 37, while Balch and Woods each had two hits.
Glove, Sweat and Cheers softball tourney benefits Women's Freedom Center
• One of the great summertime events in Brattleboro is the annual Glove, Sweat and Cheers Women's Softball Tournament, which will be held on Saturday, July 7, at Living Memorial Park.
Now in its 24th year, the slow-pitch softball tournament is a popular family-friendly event that supports awareness of women's sports and raises money for the Women's Freedom Center, the local domestic and sexual violence program and shelter serving Windham and southern Windsor counties.
Softball teams from around New England will vie for top honors in this double elimination tournament. Games will be played on both upper and lower fields beginning at 8:30 a.m. Updated schedules will be posted at each field.
The tournament is a free public event. Volunteers will be grilling and selling food at the upper field. Concessions stands offering tournament merchandise, 50/50 raffle tickets, snacks, and beverages will be open at both fields to raise funds for the organization.
Raffle tickets to win a 2018 DeMarini bat are also available online ahead of time for those wanting to support their favorite softball players and invest in the local domestic and sexual violence support work of the Women's Freedom Center.
The Women's Freedom Center offers shelter for abuse survivors; a 24-hour hotline; rape crisis services; safety planning; advocacy and support with legal, economic, medical, and human service systems; emergency transportation; individual and group support; and community outreach and education.
During the 2017 fiscal year, the Freedom Center responded to more 1,700 crisis telephone calls and provided hundreds of hours of individual and group support, advocacy, emergency financial and housing assistance, access to legal representation, transportation and childcare to over 638 women, 17 men, and 478 children who had been abused.
In addition, the Freedom Center provided over 200 community outreach activities including school presentations and workshops throughout Windham and southern Windsor Counties.
This is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Freedom Center, and they would appreciate you coming out to the Park on July 7 to show your support for the players, and for the cause that they are playing for. For more information, contact the Women's Freedom Center at development@womensfreedomcenter.net or call 802-257-7364.
Senior bowling roundup
• Despite another 1-4 week, Team 2 (30-15) remains in first place after Week 9 of the summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League. It helped that other teams slumped too, creating a three-way for second between Team 8, Team 3, and Team 7 (all 26-10). Team 1 was winless and dropped into a third place tie with Team 5 (both 24-21), followed by Team 9 (23-22), Team 4 (both 22-23), and Team 6 (20-25).
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high handicap game (257) and series (654). Ken Chamberlin had the men's high handicap game (246), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the high handicap series (649). Team 5 had the high team handicap game (868) and series (2,465).
In scratch scoring, Corriveau (607) rolled a 600-plus series with a 212 game.
Fred Ashworth (547) and Jack Carlson (541) were the only bowlers with a 500-plus series. Ashworth rolled a 206 for the only other 200-plus game last week.