Huxley Holcombe was the winning pitcher and Zinabu McNeice had three hits as Brattleboro Babe Ruth All-Stars beat Suburban, 11-4, to win the Vermont Babe Ruth Baseball 15-year-old state tournament in St. Johnsbury on July 14.
Alex Bingham drew a pair of walks and drove in three runs for Brattleboro, while Jeremy Graves drew three walks and drove in two runs. Brattleboro scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised from there to win the title.
After Brattleboro lost the first game of the double-elimination tournament to Three Corners, 7-0, on July 6, Holcombe threw a no-hitter the next day as Brattleboro trounced Three Corners, 16-1. Then it was Graves's turn to be the hero as he drove in the winning run in an 8-7 win that eliminated Three Corners.
Holcomb and McNeice split the pitching chores as Brattleboro beat Lyndon, 19-5, on July 12. Caden Wood drew three walks and drove in five runs while Turner Clews had two of Brattleboro's six hits. Lyndon committed five errors in the field.
Brattleboro faced Suburban on July 13 and rolled to a 19-5 win in six innings to force a second game the next day. Bingham was the winning pitcher and Holcombe had three hits and drove in three runs. Bingham and Dan Tetreault had two hits each. Wood (three walks) and Tetreault also drove in three runs each.
The newly-crowned state champs will now play in the New England Regional Tournament in Westfield, Mass. Brattleboro will face the host team, Westfield, on July 19 at 7 p.m.
Also part of Brattleboro's championship team were Andrew Lindsell, Elias Gradinger, Reed Sargent, Aaron Slade, and Riley McCormack.
Little League roundup
• Even though there were three teams this year in the District 2 12-year-old tournament, it was almost an foregone conclusion that Brattleboro and Bennington would be in the finals. It just took more work for Brattleboro to get there.
Rutland and Brattleboro had a one-game playoff on July 9 at South Main Street field to determine who would face Bennington for the District 2 title. Brattleboro won, 8-2.. Pitchers Riley Morse, Evan Wright, and Harper Cutler combined for a two-hitter.
Unfortunately, that was the last game at South Main Street Field for Brattleboro. The best-of-three series for the title would be played at Bennington's Hogan Field, and the hosts took full advantage.
In Game 1 on July 11, Bennington won, 6-2. Bennington got all of its runs in the sixth inning. Alex McClelland and Cutler each scored a run for Brattleboro; Cutler went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Bennington took the series and the district championship on July 13 with a wild 13-12 victory. Trailing 10-8 in the fifth inning, Bennington's Riley Britch hit a two-run homer to tie the game, then got three more runs via base-loaded walks.
Brattleboro got two runs back, and loaded the bases in the sixth inning. They failed to get the tying run across as Bennington advanced to the state tournament.
Wright had a pair of hits and drove in four runs to lead Brattleboro. Sam Bogart had two hits and two walks, and Cutler, Chase Austin, and Jayke Glidden each had two hits.
• Bennington completed a three-game sweep of Brattleboro with a 12-5 victory on July 10 at Hogan Field to win the District 2 10-year-old tournament.
Brattleboro led 4-0 after four innings before Bennington rallied for nine runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take control of the game. Bennington sent 15 batters to the plate during their big inning.
Briar Cutting and Kason Gundry combined to score four runs for Brattleboro and had four hits between them. Carlos Torres, Silas Golding, and Cutting shared the pitching duties.
Legion roundup
• The two top teams in the Southern Division - Brattleboro Post 5 and Lakes Region - remained locked in a battle for first place. They faced each other for the last time during the regular season at Castleton University on July 13, and split a doubleheader.
Lakes Region won the first game, 8-5, while Post 5 took advantage of their opponent's depleted pitching staff in the second game and rolled to a 12-2 win stopped after five innings due to the mercy rule.
Although the game was played in Castleton, Brattleboro was the home team due to a scheduling switch.
The split left Lakes Region in first place with a 12-4 divisional record, while Post 5 was 13-5 heading into the final week of the regular season. The top four teams in the Southern Division advance into the state tournament.
In Game 1, Lakes Region roughed up Alex Kendall, Brattleboro's starting pitcher, for three runs in the second inning. Post 5 got the runs back in the bottom half of the inning as Jack Pattison, Hunter Beebe, and Kendall all had base hits.
Lakes Region again took control with two runs in the fourth to make it a 5-4 game, and extended that lead with three more runs in the fifth.
Post 5 did have the tying run at the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Lakes Region got out of that jam with a game-ending double play.
Forrest Avard and Adam Newton finished up on the mound for Brattleboro. Lakes Region starter Nate Bathalon went four innings to get the win.
The story of Game 2 was about pitching. Lakes Region did not have enough and had to use its position players to eat up the innings. Brattleboro used its top pitcher, Jeremy Rounds, and he held Lakes Region to just three hits over five innings.
Lakes Region starter Mitch Brayman gave up seven runs on four walks and three hits in the first inning. Rounds hit a two-run single as part of the big inning.
Brattleboro built up a 12-0 lead before Lakes Region scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Pattison, Newton, and Christian Thomsen each had two hits for Post 5.
• Earlier in the week, Brattleboro blanked Bellows Falls Post 37, 10-0, in five innings on July 8. Rounds was the winning pitcher in that game; he allowed just two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Tyler Millerick went 3-for-3 and drove in a run. Dan Petrie and Newton each drove in two runs.
Two nights later, Brattleboro traveled to Bennington to face Post 13 and rapped out 15 hits to roll to a 9-2 win.
Petrie and Rounds each had three hits and drove in two runs. Frost and Pattison also drove in two runs each. Millerick tripled, and Petrie, Rounds, and Jack Price all had doubles.
Thomsen was the winning pitcher. He threw 5 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits but giving up only one run. He walked four and struck out two. Kendall finished up the game.
• Bellows Falls started its week with an 11-10 loss to White River Junction Post 84 on July 8, and bounced back from its loss to Brattleboro with a 7-5 win over Randolph Post 9 on July 10.
Post 37 ended its week with a doubleheader split with White River Junction on July 13 at Hadley Field. Post 84 won the first game, 8-4, but Bellows Falls prevailed in the second game, 3-2. Post 37 enters the final week of play with a 3-14 record in the division.
Youth Services hosts annual golf tourney
• Youth Services invites area golfers to participate in its 34th annual golf tournament at Brattleboro Country Club on Wednesday, July 24. It is the longest-running charity golf tournament in the area.
Registration opens at 11 a.m. and there will be free bag lunches. The shotgun start for the Scrambles format tournament will take place at noon. Following the tournament there will be a banquet by Bella Notte, sponsored by G.S. Precision.
The tournament's Hole-In-One Contest prizes are sponsored by Brattleboro Subaru and include a 2019 Subaru Forester; a 60-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV; a $500 Visa Gift Card; and Callaway Irons.
Prizes will also be awarded for low gross and low net game scores, as well as for the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin and Closest to the Line for both men and women. Mulligans also will be on sale, and the traditional putting contest will take place during the tournament.
A hallmark of the tournament is a Helicopter Golf Ball Drop at the close of the tournament, in which the owner of the winning golf ball collects $3,000 cash. A ride in the Renaud Bros. Inc. helicopter will be auctioned weather-permitting, donated by pilot Mike Renaud.
Individuals do not need to be part of the tournament to buy golf balls, priced at $100 each, nor be present at the drop to win the cash prize. Buckets of golf balls will be dropped from 20 feet on the fairway at the Brattleboro Country Club. A maximum of 100 balls, now available for purchase, will be sold, with the odds of winning high.
All proceeds from the tournament, which annually nets close to $20,000, will help support Youth Services' programs. Now celebrating its 46th year helping local families thrive, Youth Services promotes the healthy development of nearly 1,500 local youth and families each year.
The all-inclusive registration fee for the tournament is $130 per individual or $520 per foursome. The fee covers greens fees and cart, a buffet lunch, and banquet by Bella Nolte following the tournament.
Dinner-only tickets may also be purchased for $35 each, giving non-golfers an opportunity to enjoy dinner and participate in the raffles and auctions and relax on the Brattleboro Country Club deck or dining room.
Registration is encouraged on-line at www.youthservicesinc.org/golf, or call Youth Services at 802-257-0361. Tournament participants must provide their handicap or average game score. To buy a golf ball for the drop, visit www.youthservicesinc.org/ball-drop.
Tennis, anyone?
• The senior tennis group sponsored by the Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department extends an invitation to other tennis players to join their group, which meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 to 11 a.m.
All abilities are welcome. During July and August, when school is not in session, the group meets at the Brattleboro Union High School courts in Sunny Acres. When school is in session, they play on the courts at Living Memorial Park. For more information, call Ruth Lane at 802-254-6772.
Senior bowling roundup
• There's a new team in first place after Week 11 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro. BDR (38-17) had a 5-0 week to take over the top spot, while The Great Lakes (36-19) had a 0-5 week and fell to second place.
DDL (35-20) remains in third, followed by JKL (32-23), Team 5 (31-24), 3 Stooges and MNR (both 29-26), Tres Amigos (24-31), Stayin' Alive (23-32), Stars & Strikes (21-34), The Dentists (19-36), and Tornadoes (13-42).
Sonya Shippee had the women's high handicap game (249), while Lorraine Taylor had the high handicap series (693). Doug Switzer (237) had the men's high handicap game, while Fred Bump (642) had the high handicap series. MNR (666) had the high team handicap game, while JKL (1,898) had the high handicap series.
In scratch scoring, Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 199 game as part of his 541 series, while Wayne Randall had a 513 series. Bump rolled a 187 game, while Switzer had a 193.
Taylor rolled a 181 as part of her 504 series that led the women. Shippee had a 198 game and Pam Greenblott rolled a 176.