After the Brattleboro Colonels softball team lost to archrival Mount Anthony, 12-5, on April 18, coach Kelly Markol made it clear that her team needed to tighten up defensively and play with more intensity if they wanted to have a successful season.
The Colonels seemed to get the message as they bounced back with a 15-0 win over Hartford on April 23 at Sawyer Field. Ninth-grader Leah Madore was the winning pitcher, striking out six and walking one batter in her one-hitter.
Madore and Lauren McKenney both went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Alexa Kinley and Mya McAuliffe had two hits each. Hailey Derosia hit a home run, and Rachael Rooney, Julie Hendricks, and Bella Powell each had a base hit.
Two days later, Derosia was back in the circle as the Colonels went up against one of the best pitchers in the state, Springfield's Hannah Crosby. Derosia and the Colonels got the better of Crosby and the Cosmos in a 9-2 win at Sawyer Field.
Derosia threw a two-hitter, with 17 strikeouts and eight walks, to get the win. Crosby struck out six, but walked five batters and was hurt by three errors by her defense.
Brattleboro took a 2-0 lead in the first as McKenney and McAuliffe both singled and Derosia hit a solo home run over the center field fence.
Rooney, Derosia and McKenney drew consecutive walks to start the Brattleboro third inning as Crosby lost her control. Two runs scored on wild pitches and Garrette Shanks drove in another run with a groundout to make it 5-0.
Springfield got a run in the fourth, but Brattleboro put the game out of reach with three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double by Rooney and a sacrifice fly by McKenney.
The Colonels finished the week at 5-1 after a scheduled rematch with Mount Anthony in Bennington on April 27 was rained out. That game will be made up on May 7.
Softball
• Leland & Gray got its first win on April 19, a 16-5 decision over Bellows Falls.
Rebels pitchers Sarah Andersen and Abby Lowe teamed up for nine strikeouts, while Erin Cutts, Alison Stockwell, Emma Brooks, and Andersen all hit doubles for the Rebels.
The Rebels followed up that win with a 41-2 demolition of Black River in Ludlow on April 22. Leland & Gray had 23 hits and drew 20 walks in a game that was stopped in the fifth inning.
Cutts went 6-for-6 for the Rebels, with three doubles and five RBIs. Sydney Hescock drove in five runs with four hits, and scored six runs. Nikki Sanderson went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, Brooks drove in four runs, and Lowe scored five runs.
Lowe was the winning pitcher, holding the Presidents to three hits. She struck out nine and walked seven.
The next day, the Rebels hosted West Rutland, and the Golden Horde came away with a 15-5 win. The Horde smacked 12 hits off Andersen, who took the loss for the Rebels despite hitting a grand slam off winning pitcher Elizabeth Bailey.
Andersen's homer was one of only two hits given up by Bailey, who struck out 12 batters and walked five. West Rutland scored six runs in the sixth inning to put the game away. Bailey had three hits and drove two runs, while Madison Guay had a pair of triples and Deanna Kenyon had two doubles.
• Bellows Falls got its first win on April 22 in a 23-22 slugfest against the visiting Twin Valley Wildcats.
While both teams were hitting the ball all over the diamond, the game was decided by baserunning, with BF's Abby Joslyn stealing home in the bottom of the seventh for the winning run.
Emma Graham finished with three singles to lead the BF offense, while Anna Guild singled and tripled, Grace Wilkinson hit two doubles, and Brooke Bennett had two base hits.
Celia Betit led Twin Valley with three hits, and Hannah Sullivan, Kara Bird, Jarrett Niles, and Maria Page all had two hits each.
Baseball
• Brattleboro rallied from a 3-0 deficit with seven runs in the third inning, and cruised from there to a 13-6 win over Hartford at Tenney Field on April 23.
The Colonels had only one hit during that big third inning - a single by Hunter Beebe. Kris Carroll and Jeremy Rounds led the Colonels' batters with two hits apiece.
• If Otter Valley was rusty after having gone more than two weeks without a game, they didn't show many signs of it in a 9-7 win over visiting Bellows Falls on April 22.
The Otters broke open a 5-5 tie with two runs in the fourth, and added two more insurance runs in the fifth.
Jack Brown was the losing pitcher for the Terriers. BF managed to score five runs over the second and third innings, but also left the bases loaded at the end of the second and stranded two more base-runners in the third.
BF scored two more runs in the sixth inning, but Otters reliever Josh Beayon slammed the door shut in the seventh, retiring the side in order on just eight pitches to earn a save.
Griff Waryas had two of BF's six hits against the Otters. Beayon had three hits, scored two runs and drove in two more runs to lead the Otters.
• Bellows Falls had even more trouble getting hits on April 22 on the road against Fair Haven. Pitcher Aubrey Ramey took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as the Slaters shut down BF, 5-1.
• Leland & Gray found themselves trailing 7-0 to Black River, and mounted a big comeback that ultimately fell short in a 9-8 loss to the Presidents in Townshend on April 21.
Lacrosse
• Tobin Lonergan scored six goals to lead the Brattleboro girls to a 15-4 win over Hartford on April 24 at Natowich Field.
Liz Day had three goals and an assist, while Bri Paul added three goals. Liv Romo had a goal and an assist and Sophi Mikijaniec scored two goals as the Colonel girls controlled the flow of the game, especially in the second half.
• Woodstock pummeled the visiting Brattleboro boys, 10-1, on April 23. The Wasps led 8-0 at halftime, and Brattleboro got its only goal in the third quarter from Malick Mane.
The Colonel boys recovered two nights later with a 7-6 win over Keene, N.H. Ryan Tyler scored four goals, two in each half, to lead Brattleboro.
Gavin Howard, Tanner Edson, and Gus Williams also scored goals and goalie Dylan Carrasquillo made 12 saves as the Brattleboro boys improved to 3-1-1.
Tennis
• The No. 2 doubles team of Owen Gallagher and Andrew Bird rallied to win a three-set match against Peter Strife and Yi Bao to lead the Brattleboro boys to a 4-3 win over Burr & Burton on April 24 at the BUHS courts.
Gallagher and Bird lost the first set, 1-6, and trailed 3-5 in the second set before they steadied themselves and won four straight games to force a third set super tiebreaker. In the super tiebreaker, Gallagher and Bird took control and won, 10-4.
At first doubles, Brattleboro's Rowan Kidder and Abe Moore Odell won their match, 6-1, 6-3, while Ari Essunfeld and Pablo Tunon notched singles victories for the 2-2 Colonel boys.
• The Brattleboro girls swept Bellows Falls, 7-0, at the Hadley Field courts on April 25. In singles play, No. 1 Alissa Walkowiak beat BF's Dora Jones 6-1, 6-2, while No. 2 Camden Haskins beat BF's Olivia Lauricella 6-4, 6-4, No. 3 Paige Starkweather beat BF's Stephanie Hammond 6-0, 6-1, and No. 4 Maia McNeill beat BF's Anika Larsen 6-5, 6-0.
In the closest singles match of the day, No. 5 Lydia Hazzard-Leal needed a tiebreaker to beat BF's Haley McAllister 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
The doubles matches saw the Brattleboro tandem of Amelia Harrison and Jillian Mahon beat Ariana Wunderle and Anya Taylor 6-0, 6-1, while Marley Hathaway and Cearra O'Hern beat BF's Emma Perkins and Kathleen Dole 6-1, 6-4.
'Trilogy' race series debuts
• Green Street School holds its annual Tulip Trot on the Retreat Trails in Brattleboro on May 4, but this year, the race has become part of a three-race “Trilogy.”
Longtime local runner Fred Ross said he came up with the idea of linking the Tulip Trot with two other events on the Retreat Trails - the Firefighters for Fitness 5K Trail Run on Oct. 5 and the Red Clover Rovers Retreat Trails 5K Fun Run on Oct. 26 - to drum up more interest to get people to use the trail network and offer some incentives to do all three events.
“We're so lucky to have the Retreat Trails here in Brattleboro,” Ross told The Commons. “They're easily accessible to all that wish to visit.”
For hikers, mountain bikers, and trail runners in the spring, summer, and fall, and snowshoers and cross-country skiers in the winter, the 9-mile network of trails that stretches from Upper Dummerston Road to Solar Hill is known all over New England as a place to enjoy some quality outdoor recreation along with all the other activities for visitors to Brattleboro.
So far, Ross said he has come up with some nice incentives for running and finishing all three events of the Trilogy: a pair of Darn Tough Vermont socks, 20 percent off regular price running shoes at Burrows Specialized Sports, 20 percent off a meal (plus 10 percent off for guests/family that accompany them) at The Marina Restaurant, a day pass to the Outer Limits Health Club, cheese from the Grafton Village Cheese Company, and a pair of day passes to the Retreat Farm.
Ross said he hopes to get a few more sponsors to offer prizes, for after the final race on Oct. 26, there will a raffle and refreshments, as well as a personalized certificate of completion for each person finishing the Trilogy.
If you have any questions about the Trilogy, or if you would like to donate something for anyone who completes all three legs, contact Ross at mtnrunr@comcast.net. If you want to check out the trails for yourself, you can find a map at www.retreatfarm.org/retreat-trails.
Fun runs start May 1
• Speaking of the Red Clover Rovers, they have released their Fun Run schedule for the season. The free races will be held on Upper Dummerston Road, with each one starting near the Brattleboro Country Club entrance at 6:30 p.m.
The races, ranging from one to three miles in distance, will begin on May 1. After that, the Fun Runs will be held on May 15, May 29, June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24, Aug. 7, Aug. 21, and Sept. 4.
The course is an out and back, which will be marked at the half-mile, one-mile, and 1.5-mile turnarounds. There is also an approximately 2.4-mile trail course (out and back) option for those who like to run off-road. Families are welcome. Water and cookies are provided.
For more information, including how you can join the Rovers, go to www.redcloverrovers.org, or find them on Facebook.
Senior bowling roundup
• The winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl concluded last week with Team 3 (61-24) winning the season championship. Team 7 (52-33) went 5-0 to move up from fourth to second place, overtaking Team 4 (51-34), which had a 0-5 week to slide into third place.
Team 9 (50-35) finished in fourth place, followed by Team 10 (43-42), Team 12 (42-43), Team 5 (41-44), Team 8 (39-46), Team 2 (38-47), Team 11 (35-50), Team 1 (30-55), and Team 6 (28-57).
Pamela Greenblott had the women's high handicap game (264) and series (534). Jerry Dunham had the men's high handicap game (240), while Gary Montgomery had the high handicap series (673). Team 6 had the high team handicap game (890), while Team 1 had the high team handicap series (2,464).
In scratch scoring, Montgomery rolled a 205 on the way to a 616 series, while Robert Rigby had games of 205 and 202 as part of his 577 series. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 236 as part of his 581 series, and Fred Ashworth had a 202 as part of his 547 series.
Greenblott's 219 game was part of her 534 series that led the women on the final week. Nancy Dalzell had the high scratch game score (191), followed by Lorraine Taylor (172) and Carole Frizzell (169).