We've had way too many gray and soggy days since mid-April, and that has raised havoc with the high school spring sports schedule, with a compressed schedule for all the local teams struggling to make up the events that got rained out.
The Brattleboro track & field team saw its signature home meet, the Fenn Relays, get washed out last month. The make-up event took place on May 17, and instead of the normal dozen or so schools that would have shown up in April, only five schools attended. Also, instead of the strictly relay race format of the Fenn, there were some other races and field events mixed in.
With the truncated format and attendance list, Brattleboro easily swept the boys' and girls' meets by a wide margin.
In the girls' meet, Sylvie Normandeau won the pole vault (7 feet, 6 inches) and the 400 meter dash (1 minute, 5.86 seconds), while Maggie Lonardo won the long jump (16-3) and the 100 (12.86) and 200 (26.79) meter dashes. Olivia Ortlieb took the high jump (4-8) and Sarah Gallagher won the 800 (2:31.82) and 3,000 (11:51.71).
Second place finishes were turned in by Lily Quintero in the triple jump (27-10), Isabella Lonardo in the 100 hurdles (17.85), and Dory Abdallah in the 300 hurdles (52.25).
The 4x100 relay team of Abdallah, Isabella Lonardo, Alina Secrest and Maggie Lonardo won in 52.66, while the 4x400 team of Gallagher, Fiona Kidder, Ortlieb, and Liz Morse was second in 5:18.26.
In the boys' meet, Evan Koch won the 110 (15.81) and 300 (42.48) hurdles, 800 (2:10.62), and the high jump (5-10), while Max King won the 100 (11.97) and tied for first in the 200 (24.0). Jackson Buettner took the long jump (16-11)
Bram Tabachnick was second in the 3,000 (10:38.94) and third in the 1,500 (4:41.88), and the 4x400 relay team of Mike Anderson, Logan McKay, Ben Brady, and Alexander Shriver was second in 3:54.58. Orion Stone and Decyln Tourville were second in the 110 hurdles and high jump, respectively.
• As for Bellows Falls, the girls recently finished a close second behind host school Hanover, N.H., in the 12-team Connecticut Valley Conference Championships.
In the winner's circle for the BF girls were Abby Broadley (3200), Jaden Luebbert (pole vault), and Breanna Stockman (javelin). Michelle Marchica (triple jump), Macie Streeter (javelin), and Emma Lawrence (discus) each finished second in their respective events.
BF was eighth in the CVC boys' meet. Defending state champ Reno Tuttle won the discus and shot put.
• The track season is racing toward the finish with the Essex Invitational on May 25 and the Division I state championships on June 1 in Burlington.
Baseball
• Brandon Gilbeau held Otter Valley to just three hits as Brattleboro rolled to a 13-3 win at Tenney Field on May 17. The Colonels spread out their hitting, with Adam Newton the only guy with a pair of base hits.
It was the third straight win for the 9-4 Colonels, who picked up road wins against Windsor (17-5 on May 14) and Mount Anthony (14-2 on May 16) earlier in the week.
• Fair Haven outlasted Bellows Falls, 12-7, on May 13 at Hadley Field in a rain-shortened six-inning game.
As one might expect on a cold, soggy afternoon more like March than May, the pitchers on both sides had a hard time throwing strikes, as the Slaters and Terriers' moundsmen combined for 21 walks - 13 for BF, eight for Fair Haven.
The loss cooled off BF's hot streak. After losing five straight games, the Terriers had won four of its last five. But the Slaters are among the top teams in Division II right now, thanks to their hitters. Fair Haven had 10 hits in all, including a pair of two-run doubles by Parker Morse.
Winning pitcher Aubrey Ramey held BF to three hits, striking out six batters over five innings. Morse pitched the sixth.
BF used four pitchers. Brady Lockerby was the starter, and was followed by Elliot Graham, McGregor Vancor, and Griffin Waryas, who led the BF offense with two hits.
It was a close game until the Slaters broke it open in the sixth inning. Taking advantage of eight walks, Fair Haven scored seven runs with just two hits.
• After nine straight road games, Black River finally got to play at home in Ludlow on May 13, and came away with a 4-2 victory over Leland & Gray in a Marble Valley League game.
Two days later, the Rebels hosted Poultney, and the Blue Devils rapped 21 hits on the way to a 21-4 win.
Winning pitcher Ryan Alt scattered five hits in six innings with 10 strikeouts and helped his cause with three hits and three RBIs. Caden Capman went 5-for-7 and Spencer Gibbs, Jacob DeBonis, and Jacob McMahon had three hits each. Mason Hutchins and Cam Wescott each drove in three runs.
Softball
• Brattleboro is closing in on getting a home playoff game in the first round as the Colonels continue to feast upon Division II opposition. They picked up their sixth shutout of the season with a 23-0 demolition of Mill River at Sawyer Field on May 17.
Hailey Derosia and Leah Madore combined for a one-hit shutout as Derosia struck out five, walked no one and gave up no hits in four innings of work. Madore struck out three, walked no one and allowed just one hit in her inning of mop-up duty.
This was a day to fatten up the batting statistics as Rachael Rooney (four hits), Derosia (three hits and five RBIs), Lauren McKenney (three hits and four RBIs) and Garrette Shanks (three hits and two RBIs) all filled the scorecard. Derosia and McKenney also each hit a home run as the Colonels improved to 10-3.
• Leland & Gray beat Burr & Burton, 21-6, in a five-inning game in Townshend that took two days to finish. The teams started playing on May 13, but rain forced the game to be suspended until the following day.
Winning pitcher Sarah Andersen struck out seven, walked two, and scattered five hits over five innings. Izzy Ameden had a single and a double with four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Rebels. Abby Lowe had three hits with a triple, two RBIs, and four runs scored.
Then came a game straight out of the “it's never over until it's over” files, as Leland & Gray had a 17-3 lead over the Poultney Blue Devils, only to lose the game, 22-17, in a wild finish in Townshend on May 15.
The lead slipped away in the final couple of innings as the Rebels stopped hitting and the Blue Devils took advantage of several defensive miscues.
Lowe had a two-run homer for the Rebels and Erin Cutts doubled, tripled, and hit a home run in the loss.
Fortunately for the Rebels, they hosted Arlington the next day and Lowe struck out 11 and threw a no-hitter as Leland & Gray won, 14-0. Sydney Hescock and Hannah Landers has two hits each, and Andersen added a triple.
The Rebels then were on the road for their fourth game in five days, and outlasted Woodstock, 15-12. Andersen hit a triple, two doubles, and a single and drove in two runs to lead the Rebels. She also picked up a save in preserving a victory for Lowe.
Leland & Gray finished with 17 hits as Hescock hit two triples and drove in four runs and Tela Dykes hit a double and a triple and drove in two runs as the Rebels improved to 7-6.
• Cass Lanfear struck out eight and held Bellows Falls to just three hits as Fair Haven cruised to an 18-0 win in MVL softball action on May 13. Emily Bazin had two of BF's three hits.
Springfield's star pitcher Hannah Crosby had the afternoon off against Bellows Falls, but her understudies, Julianna Albero-Levings and Izzy Belisle, combined for a shutout as the visiting Cosmos blanked BF, 20-0, in five innings.
Pitcher Emily Harris took the loss for 1-11 BF. Harris, Abby Joslyn, and Grace Wilkinson got the only hits of the day for the Terriers.
• It wasn't a win, but Twin Valley put up a good fight in a 7-2 loss to Green Mountain on May 14. While GM pitcher Erika Knockenhauer struck out 16 batters to get the win, the Wildcats played one of their better games of the season to keep things from getting out of control.
Unfortunately, when the two teams played again in Chester on May 17, Knockenhauer allowed only one hit and struck out 11 as the Chieftains beat Twin Valley, 15-0, in a mercy-rule win.
Lacrosse
• Gavin Howard, Ryan Tyler, and Cameron Studley all scored in the final minutes of regulation time to lead the Brattleboro boys to a 9-7 victory over the Stratton Mountain School Bears on May 16 at Natowich Field.
Gus Williams scored four goals in the first half as the Colonels took a 4-2 lead. Stratton picked up the pace in the second half and tied the game in the fourth quarter.
The teams traded goals before Bears coach Ricky Burr was ejected from the game with about six minutes to play for arguing a call with the officials. The Bears never regained momentum. Dylan Carrasquillo made 15 saves as the Colonels improved to 4-6-1.
• The Brattleboro girls defeated Wahconah, 17-7, on May 18 at Natowich Field, and improved to 9-4 on the season.
Tobin Lonergan (seven goals) and Liz Day (five goals, three assists) did most of the damage for the Colonels. Liv Romo added three goals, and Bri Paul got two goals.
Girls' tennis
• Bellows Falls defeated Mount St. Joseph, 5-2, on May 13 in Rutland. Playing in a pro-set format to get the match in ahead of the rain, BF's Dora Jones defeated Melissa Moise 8-4, at No. 1 singles. In No. 2 singles, BF's Olivia Laurichella beat Sarai Charles, 8-1, and in No. 3 singles, BF's Stephanie Holland stopped Kristen Elliott, 8-1.
In No. 4 singles, BF's Anika Larsen edged Fridjha Esper 8-5. while MSJ's Sophia Hussak toppled Haley McAllister 8-2, at No. 5 singles .
The Bellows Falls duo of Anya Taylor and Arianna Wunderle defeated Lucy Gallo and Miracle Wood, 8-3, at No. 1 doubles, while MSJ's Pearl Bellomo and Werline Simpolin outlasted Kathleen Dole and Emma Perkins at No. 2 doubles. 8-6.
Senior bowling roundup
• Team DDL (13-2) took over first place after Week 3 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl. Staying Alive and The Great Lakes (both 10-5) are tied for second.
There's now a three-way tie for third between The Dentists, Team BDR, and Team 5 (all 9-6), followed by Stars & Strikes and Team MNR (both 7-8), Tres Amigos (6-9) and Team JKL (5-10), Tornadoes (4-11), and 3 Stooges (2-13).
Beverly Middelstadt had the women's high handicap game (241) and series (647). Al Dascomb had the men's high handicap game (245), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the high handicap series (684). BDR had the high team handicap game (653), and Team 5 had the high handicap series (1,871).
In scratch scoring, Corriveau rolled games of 232, 215, and 201 to complete his 648 series. Jerry Dunham had games of 194 and 189 on the way to a 565 series, while Peter Cross had a 201 game as part of his 538 series and Les Wigdor had games of 188 and 187 to finish with a 518 series.
Once again, no female bowlers had a 200-plus game or a 500-plus series. Top scorers were Pamela Greenblott (177), Nancy Dalzell (172) and Sonya Shippee (164). Greenblott (467) had the highest series.