-The formula for winning softball is simple. Good pitching, good defense, and timely hitting usually means success. Bellows Falls had all those things last season and made it all the way to the Division III state finals.
Those ingredients are there with this season's team, but Terriers head coach Don Laurendeau said they don't always show up at the same time.
"We haven't had good at-bats or been able to make routine plays consistently, but when they get locked in, everything is fine," he said after his team defeated the Leland & Gray Rebels, 12-4, on April 22 in Westminster.
Against Rebels pitcher Kristen Lowe, the Terriers were held to just one run in the first two innings. BF took a 1-0 lead when Brielle Mulverhill singled, stole second, and scored on a base hit by Jaelyn Fletcher.
BF pitcher Izzy Stoodley had a bit of trouble in the third inning. The Rebels scored two runs as Lowe reached on an infield hit, stole second, and scored on a double to left by Sophia Hall, who later scored on another infield single by Addi Eldridge to take a 2-1 lead.
But the Terriers got on track in the bottom half of the inning by scoring four runs to take the lead to stay. Maya Renta started the big inning by being hit by a pitch. Stoodley followed with a single, and Fletcher smacked a two-run double to center field. Candace James kept the line moving with an RBI single to right, and Emma McCollough's RBI single put BF back in front, 5-2.
BF got three more runs in the fourth inning as Grace Hayes and Stoodley both had infield singles and both scored on another two-run double by Fletcher, who later stole home to make it 8-2, Terriers.
Leland & Gray got a run back in the fifth inning when Sam Morse was hit by a pitch and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Lucy Bertram. The Rebels then scored another run in the sixth when Molly Bingham singled and later scored on a ground out by Annabelle Brooks.
The Terriers finished the scoring with four runs in the sixth inning with RBI singles by Stoodley and Fletcher and a two-run single by Lola McGinnis.
Stoodley, who went the distance for the Terriers, struck out 12 batters, walked one batter, and held the Rebels to six hits. It was the first loss for Leland & Gray. The Rebels beat White River Valley, 16-3, to finish the week at 4-1.
BF defeated winless Fair Haven, 3-2, on April 25 in Westminster, to improve to 3-1. Stoodley got the complete game victory and Mulverhill had two hits.
Softball
• After having nearly two weeks off due to spring break and weather, Brattleboro saw its fortunes last week go from one extreme to the other. At Rutland on April 22, the Bears prevailed in a 20-12 slugfest. Three days later at Sawyer Field, the Bears were hammered by the Monadnock Regional Huskies, 22-2, in a five-inning game shortened by the 12-run mercy rule.
Against Rutland, the Bears got rolling with six runs in the first inning on just one hit, an RBI single by Rose Stone. Three walks, three hit batters, and some errors accounted for the rest of the scoring.
Rutland scored four runs in the second inning to tighten the score, but Brattleboro's Kayli Speno hit a three-run homer. Cynthia Velazquez also had a good day at the plate as she scored five runs and drove in three more. Her double in the top of the fifth inning helped the Bears take a 19-5 lead. However, instead of being mercy-ruled, Rutland kept the game going with three more runs in their half of the fifth.
Brattleboro had a 20-8 lead heading into the Rutland seventh, but Rutland scored four runs and had the bases loaded with two outs before Brattleboro right fielder Destiny Thibault made the play of the game, running down a long and hard-hit fly ball off the bat of Emma Grimes to end the game.
On April 25, Monadnock came to town undefeated and ready to swing the bats. The Huskies scored three runs in the first inning, then blew the game open with seven runs in the second inning and eight runs in the fifth inning.
Winning pitcher Autumn Desimone-Jay held the Bears scoreless until the fifth inning, when Sal North doubled and scored on a base hit by Stone, who later scored on a ground out by Speno. The Bears finished the week at 1-2.
• After a two-week break, Twin Valley was back in action on April 25 with a home game against the undefeated West Rutland Golden Horde. The result was a 27-1 loss to West Rutland to drop the Wildcats' record to 0-2. West Rutland pitcher Aubrey Beaulieu threw five no-hit innings, striking out six and walking two.
Baseball
• Bellows Falls keeps rolling along. The Terriers beat Springfield, 14-1, in five innings at Hadley Field on April 22. Starting pitcher Jake Tostrup went four innings, with Steven Joslyn finishing out the game in the fifth. At the plate, Eli Allbee and Jaden Bazin had two hits apiece for the Terriers.
The Terriers then took two games from Fair Haven on April 25 at Hadley Field. The teams completed a suspended game from April 15, with BF winning, 44-13. Tostrup then picked up his second win of the week, striking out five batters over three innings as BF cruised to a 13-3 win in six innings in the nightcap. Joslyn had three hits and two RBIs for the 4-1 Terriers.
• Brattleboro pitcher Jayke Glidden was sharp, shutting down Rutland in a 10-0 road win on April 22 that was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule. Glidden struck out eight, walked one, and hit one batter over five hitless innings.
At the plate, the Bears did most of the damage in the second inning as Senji Kimura, Derek Sage, and Harper Cutler all drew walks with the bases loaded to force in three runs. Sam Bogart and Glidden then followed with a pair of two-run singles to chase losing pitcher Hudson Branchaud. The win evened the Bears' record at 1-1.
• Leland & Gray got their first win of the season on April 23 with a 13-5 victory over Twin Valley in Townshend. Rebels coach John Lonardo tried a group approach to the pitching chores against the Wildcats. Cody Hescock threw two shutout innings to start the game, Logan Holden threw the next 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Connor Richardson, who finished up.
Twin Valley also had to use several pitchers as Colton Corey was knocked out of the box with two outs in the Rebels' third inning - an inning where the Rebels scored 10 runs. Halen Ranslow came in to the last out and lasted until the sixth inning, when Max Nido got the call to finish the game.
The Rebels also lost to White River Valley, 12-2, on April 25 to fall to 1-3 on the season. Twin Valley finished the week at 0-2.
Unified basketball
• Brattleboro stayed undefeated with a 49-42 win over Hartford on April 25 at the BUHS gym. Tyson LaFarr, playing in his first game of the season, scored seven points, including a last second three-pointer, and came up with several key rebounds. Austin Pinette led the Bears with 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers, while Ashley Cleveland added eight points and Devon Rabideau got her first basket of the season.
Hartford didn't make it easy for the Bears. They had a 10-8 lead after the first quarter and briefly led in the second quarter before the Bears finished the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 23-16 lead at the break.
A late 8-0 surge by Hartford in the fourth quarter cut the Bears' lead to 46-42 with 30 seconds to play, but LaFarr's three-pointer with 10 seconds left ended the comeback and the game.
"I don't think we were ready for them, but they were definitely ready for us," said Bears coach Tyler Boone. "Hartford has a good team and they gave us their best today."
• Twin Valley fell to 1-2 on the season with a 49-34 loss to Springfield on April 24.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro girls lost their home opener to Woodstock, 16-4, in an April 24 game stopped late in the fourth quarter due to thunderstorms in the area. Senior Gretchen Stromberg led the Bears with two goals and an assist, while juniors Abigail Henry and Emerson Frehsee each added a goal.
The Bears then defeated winless Rutland, 9-3, on April 26 to even their record at 2-2. Henry scored four goals and Frehsee added three more to lead Brattleboro. Maisie Arnold and Louise Frehsee also scored for the Bears, while goalies Amelia Marsh and Maren Sawyer did a good job thwarting the Rutland attack,
• The winless Brattleboro boys lost to undefeated Rutland, 18-3, on April 25 at Natowich Field. Rutland led 11-1 at the half as Noah Bruttomesso scored nine goals. The Bears fell to 0-3.
Taking care of the Long Trail
• The Brattleboro Section of the Green Mountain Club includes more than 100 outdoor enthusiasts with a broad range of interests and experience levels. They maintain 9 miles of the Long and Appalachian trails between the Winhall River and Routes 11 and 30 just west of Bondville, and 3 miles of the Branch Pond Trail from the Long Trail to Bourn Pond. They also maintain two shelters, Spruce Peak, which overlooks Manchester, and William B. Douglas Shelter in the Lye Brook Wilderness Area.
Their next work session is Sunday, May 4. Volunteers are asked to bring pack frames, shovels, hoes, and clippers if they have them, and meet up at the West Dummerston Covered Bridge at 7 a.m., or at the Long Trail parking lot on Routes 11 and 30 at 8 a.m. Call Rich Windish for more information at 802-952-9502.
Brattleboro Section secretary Joe Cook of Dummerston said they maintain an active schedule of hikes, along with bicycle, canoe and kayak, and snowshoe and ski trips throughout the year, plus overnight outings in shelters such as Grout Pond Hut. In addition to hiking, most of the trails they maintain are also suitable for snowshoeing and backcountry skiing, with an elevation between 1,700 feet and 2,600 feet.
"We hold an annual meeting in April every year at the Dummerston Congregational Church," Cook wrote in an email to The Commons. "After a pot luck dinner, we usually have a slide show featuring outdoor trips around the world. This year, we enjoyed the company of local artist and section member John Dimick, who has hiked the entire Long Trail. John recently painted Spruce Peak Shelter, and he brought his painting to our meeting."
However, the Section's primary focus is on maintaining the Long Trail, and much of that work is done during their work outings in May and November. The Brattleboro Section's schedule and membership information may be found on their website at brattleborogmc.org.
Senior bowling roundup
• The winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl concluded on April 24 with Renegades (51-24) finishing in first place, followed by Double Trouble (49-26), Full Monty (48-27), Charlie's Angels (47-28), Slo Movers (39-36), Sandbaggers (37-38), Let 'Em Roll (35-40), Wayne's World (33-42), and Niners (31-44).
Pamela Greenblott had the women's high handicap game (232), while Doris Lake had the high handicap series (646). Robert Rigby had the men's high handicap game (244), while Norm Corliss had the high handicap series (658). Double Trouble had the high team handicap game (258) and series (2,545).
Rigby had the men's high scratch series (637) with games of 258 and 191, while Kevin Napaver had a 628 series with games of 233 and 207. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 589 series with games of 233 and 190, Peter Deyo had a 587 series with a 245 game, Gary Montgomery had a 560 series with two games of 193, Rich Pietro had a 548 series with a 196 game, and Milt Sherman had a 543 series.
Diane Cooke had the women's high scratch series (456), with a 158 game. Greenblott had games of 166 and 163, Nancy Dalzell had a 165 game, and Debbie Kolpa rolled a 157.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.