-Brattleboro faced two of the best baseball teams in the state - Essex Town and Colchester - in the opening weekend of the Vermont Little League 12U state tournament at South Main Street Field and came away with two heart-stopping victories to advance to the championship game.
On July 19, Cole Systo hit a two-run homer and made a game-saving unassisted double play at first base to end the game and give Brattleboro a 2-0 victory over Essex.
Cooper Deyo was the hero on July 20 with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-2 win over Colchester that punched Brattleboro's ticket to the championship game.
Gavin Carpenter got the final two outs in the Essex game to get the save in relief of Systo, who threw 5 1/3 shutout innings before having to leave the mound after hitting his pitch limit. Carpenter was the starting pitcher against Colchester and went the distance for the win.
"I can't say enough good things about Gavin Carpenter," coach Seth Deyo said after the Colchester win. "We knew Colchester is a good fastball hitting team, and Gavin is at his absolute best when he's throwing his off-speed stuff. He did a great job mixing up his pitches."
As for Systo, he was the key player in helping Brattleboro win both games with his arm, his glove, and his bat. Essex Town tested Systo early, but once he settled in, he was tough to hit. Systo finished with 13 strikeouts and gave up two hits and two walks.
Systo didn't have a home run in the Essex Town game, but Colchester was well aware what he could do and pitched to him carefully. He was intentionally walked in his first at-bat, but in Systo's second at-bat, Colchester pitcher Carson Hier hung a pitch over the plate that Systo crushed for a towering two-run homer to center field that tied the game 2-2 in the fourth inning.
"He got one good pitch to hit all day, and he knew what to with it," said coach Deyo. "He's as good as you can get at this age level."
With the game still tied on in the sixth, Colchester walked Systo again to put two players on base with no outs. Colchester looked like it would get out of the jam when they retired the next two Brattleboro batters, but Cooper Deyo -Seth's son - delivered the game-winning hit with a single to right field.
"We beat two really good teams," Seth said. "They made us earn both of these wins. Now we can have a couple of days off and get ready for Saturday."
On July 26, Brattleboro will face the winner of the July 23 elimination bracket game between Colchester and Essex Town. Connecticut Valley North was eliminated from the tourney with a 12-1 loss to Colchester in six innings on July 19 and a 9-2 loss to Essex Town on July 20. The winner advances to the New England Region Tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, that begins on Aug. 2.
11U All-Stars fall in state finals
• The Brattleboro 11U Little League All-Stars made it all the way to the championship game of the Vermont state tournament at Schifilliti Park in Burlington before being beaten by Addison County, 8-1, on July 19.
On the roster for Brattleboro were Drew Alexander, Grayson Boudreau, Patrick Carroll, Dylan Crowley, Jacob Gallagher, Logan Gray, Bryson Letourneau, Teddy McKay, Simon Potter, Mason Rea, Hayden Scott, Jordan Torres, and Benson Urban. Chad Gundry was the manager.
Legion roundup
• Brattleboro started the final week of the regular season with a 5-2 loss to Manchester Union Underground on July 14 at Tenney Field, then got back into the win column with a 10-0 victory in five innings over visiting Rutland Post 31 on July 15, and then picked up a 6-2 road win against Manchester on July 17.
Jayke Glidden was superb in the complete game victory over Rutland. He struck out five and walked no one in holding Rutland to just four hits. Glidden got plenty of run support as Alex McClelland went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Sam Bogart and John Satterfield each went 2-for-2; Bogart drove in two runs while Satterfield had three RBIs. Ryan Peloso and Harper Cutler each scored two runs as Post 5 completed a season sweep of Rutland.
Post 5 closed out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Lakes Region at Tenney Field on July 20. Post 5 won the first game, 7-0, and took the second game, 17-0, to finish the league schedule at 12-6 and the second seed in the Southern Division.
• After sweeping a doubleheader from Post 5 on July 12, Bellows Falls had a 3-0 shutout loss at Ludlow Post 36 on July 14. Post 37 then clinched a playoff spot with a 12-2 win in six innings over Lakes Region.
Milo Tucker threw a complete-game shutout against Bellows Falls, with nine strikeouts. Tanner Swisher led Post 36 with a 2-for-2 night with two doubles and two runs scored. He reached base in all four of his at-bats. Jaden Bazin took the loss for Post 37, lasting 5 2/3 innings before he reached his pitch limit. He struck out seven batters.
Bellows Falls needed a win over Lakes Region to nail down their playoff spot, and got it thanks to a solid pitching performance by Bazin, Jake Tostrup, Jacob Kissell, and Eli Allbee. They combined to strike out 12 batters and held Lakes Region to two hits.
Post 37 finished up the regular season on June 20 with a 7-6 loss to White River Junction at Hadley Field. They will be the fourth seed from the Southern Division.
• Ludlow's quest for a playoff spot also went down to the wire, as they split a doubleheader with Manchester Union Underground on July 19. Ludlow needed to win at least one of the games, while Manchester needed a sweep to cling the final spot.
Manchester stayed alive with a 17-5 win in the first game, but Ludlow won the nightcap, 5-3, for a trip to the state tournament as the Southern Division's third seed.
• The state Legion tournament will be played July 23 to 27 at Maxfield Sports Complex in White River Junction and the Dresden Athletic Fields in nearby Norwich. The tournament will also have a slightly different format this year with the addition of pool play.
There will be two pools of four teams with each team playing the other teams in their pool once over three days of action on July 23, 24, and 25. This will guarantee teams a minimum of three games in the tournament instead of the two that they were guaranteed in the former double-elimination format.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals on July 26, with the winners of those two games moving on to the state championship game on July 27.
Groenewold to play in World Junior Summer Showcase
• Elliott Groenewold, the 19-year-old Bellows Falls native who was a fourth-round pick by the Boston Bruins in the 2024 NHL Draft, is one of four Bruins prospects among the 42 players invited by USA Hockey to the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase.
As reported by Lauren Campbell of MassLive.com, Groenewold is expected to attend the week-long showcase which runs from July 25 to Aug. 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The showcase serves as an evaluation for players who hope to make their respective national teams in 2026.
Groenewold, a 6-2, 201 pound defenseman, finished his sophomore year at Quinnipiac University and played in every game for the Bobcats during the 2024–25 season. Groenewold had four goals and eight assists, and had at least one blocked shot in 35 of 38 games. The combination of size and defensive tenacity, together with some skill on offense, may make him a solid option for the U.S. national team to fill out its corps of defensemen for upcoming international competitions.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 12 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on July 17 saw Team 7 (42-18) had a 5-0 week to take over first place. Slo Movers (40.5-19.5) fell back into second place, followed by Dims (34-26), Cyclones (32.5-27.5), Leftovers (29-31), Wayne's World (26-34), I.D. Care (25-35), 4 Queens (24.5-35.5), Strikers (23.5-36.5), and Having Fun (23-37).
Candida Wall had the women's high handicap game (234) and series (659), while Stan Kolpa had the men's high handicap game (262) and series (755). Wayne's World had the high team handicap game (916) and Dims had the high handicap series (2,532).
Kevin Napaver had the men's high scratch series (615), with games of 211, 206, and 198, while Kolpa had a 596 series with games of 209 and 208. Milt Sherman had a 592 series with games of 211 and 201, Rich Pietro had a 583 series with games of 225 and 190, and Mike Pavlovich had a 578 series with a 216 game. Robert Rigby had a 575 series with games of 204 and 193, Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 574 series with a 236 game, Gary Montgomery had a 548 series with a 198 game, and Rick Westcott had a 533 series with a 201 game.
Shirley Aiken had the women's high scratch series (441) with a 151 game. Carol Gloski had the high scratch game (160) and Wall rolled a 156.
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.