BELLOWS FALLS — Brattleboro Post 5 is getting off to a rocky start in the early going of the American Legion Baseball season.
After a late rally saw players take a brief 2-1 lead, Post 5 could not hang on late, as they dropped a 3-2, walk-off loss to Bennington Post 13 at Spinelli Field in Bennington.
The loss put Post 5 at 4-3 on the season, while Post 13 improved to 6-1.
Things looked good early for Brattleboro, taking a 2-0 lead into the seventh on the strength of a Kyle Whitworth home run, but Bennington rallied in their final at bat to steal the win.
Tim Murphy opened the frame with a double, Seth Foster was intentionally walked before replaced by Perry Snyder as a pinch runner. That proved to be a good move.
After Tanner Williams struck out, Kyle Parmenter hit what looked to be a double-play ball, but the speedy Snyder helped break up the double play, allowing Murphy to come around with the winning run.
Corey Armstrong got the start and complete-game win for Bennington, scattering five hits and two walks while striking out seven, while Post 5's Isaac Earl also pitched a complete game for Brattleboro, giving up six hits and four walks while striking out three. Earl pitched well and certainly deserved a better fate.
Post 37 outlasts Fair Haven
The Bellows Falls Post 37 team won a nail-biter over Fair Haven, 3-2, at Hadley Field in Westminster.
After Billy Wheeler had led off the seventh with a single, consecutive walks to Chris Marcucci, Zac Peterson and Nick Gendron forced in the winning run.
The victory put Bellows Falls at an impressive 9-1 on the season.
Bellows Falls took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out single from Jeremy Kilburn, before Wheeler made it 2-0 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly.
However, Fair Haven fought back late to tie it at 2-2 in the top of the sixth on an Alan White home run to right and a run-scoring triple from Rich Coltey. Then Post 37 came right back with a game-winning rally of their own.
Coach Bob Lockerby's group showed a lot of discipline at the plate in generating the win, drawing a whopping nine walks on the day - that's a lot of extra base runners.
Springfield's Derek Osbourne got the start and complete-game win for Bellows Falls, giving up just five hits and two walks while striking out nine. Osborne had total command of his pitches throughout and kept the Fair Haven lineup off balance.
Conner Johnson got the start for Fair Haven and gave up only four hits while striking out eight. But giving up nine walks on most days will eventually do a pitcher in. Despite the wildness, Johnson battled hard and kept his team in the game.
Just two days before the dramatic win over Fair Haven, Post 37 suffered its first loss of the season, falling on the road to Woodstock, 10-7. Woodstock was trailing by two runs late, but rallied to pick up the win on the strength of an Andrew Weitzel home run.
Firecracker 4-miler winners
The Bill Powers Memorial Firecracker 4-Miler, sponsored by the Red Clover Rovers running club, is a traditional part of Brattleboro's Fourth of July festivities. The 4-mile point-to-point race begins at Living Memorial Park, travels through downtown Brattleboro and ends at the town common.
This year's edition - with 52 runners - was won by Robert Lind, 24, of Brattleboro, who covered the course in 22 minutes, 12 seconds. He was followed closely by Jesse Dunklee, 25, of Dummerston (22:22). Defending champion Jason Dunklee, 36, of Watertown, Mass., was third in 23:16.
The women's winner was Julianne Eagan, 37, of Guilford. Her time of 30:39 was 51 seconds faster than runner-up Janice Bohonowicz, 50, of Greenfield, Mass.
If you missed out, there's still a chance to run with the Red Clover Rovers. They hold fun runs on Upper Dummerston Road in Brattleboro every other Wednesday from April 28 through Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m. The runs start and end near the Brattleboro Country Club and there are three distances - 1 mile, 2 miles and 3 miles.
The next scheduled fun run is July 21. Visit the group's Facebook page for more information, or visit www.redcloverrovers.com.
Two softballers named To South All-Star team
Brattleboro Union High School's Bri Moore and Bellows Falls Union High School's Tia Billado were recently named to play in the North-South softball game, an annual game that features the top seniors throughout the state.
Moore played shortstop and led the Colonels to the Division I state championship, while also being named Marble Valley League Player of the Year. Moore also captured the school's Principal's Award, given to the BUHS student most dedicated to sports and academics.
Billado also had a great individual season for the Terriers, batting .465 overall while hitting three home runs along the way.
In a doubleheader on July 2, the South swept both games. The North team won on Saturday, 7-3.
Vt., N.H. all-stars face off
The Vermont all-star field hockey team recently knocked off the New Hampshire squad, shutting out the Granite Staters 2-0 in Colchester.
Vermont goalie and Brattleboro Union High School star Kori Huffman had an outstanding game while notching the shut out. Blake Wardwell of Woodstock and Lindsay Howard of St. Thomas Aquinas scored the goals for Vermont.
Vermont seniors did not fare as well against New Hampshire in track and field and lacrosse.
The Granite State took the Green Mountain State in boys' lacrosse, 18-7, girls' lacrosse, 21-5, boys' track, 118-51 and girls track, 97-69.
The only win for Vermont came in girls' ice hockey, 4-2. In the girls' hockey win, Stowe's Melissa Bizzari scored two goals and assisted on another in the 13th annual Make-A-Wish Senior All-Star Classic held at UVM's Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington.
Caralyn Barrett of Northfield notched an assist, while Bizzari was named MVP for the Vermont squad.