-Opening day for high school baseball in Brattleboro is less than a month away — Tuesday, April 14, to be precise — and fans will have something to really cheer about.
For the first time since 2017, the grandstand at Tenney Field at Brattleboro Union High School will be open to spectators when the Bears take on Mount Anthony in the season opener. It will mark the completion of a years-long effort to save the historic structure.
A wooden grandstand was built on the site of the Valley Fairgrounds in 1939 as part of the Stolte Memorial Field athletic complex constructed in 1938-39 using labor provided by the Works Progress Administration. It was rebuilt with concrete and steel in 1947 following a 1946 fire that destroyed the original structure. It is one of only four baseball grandstands in the state, and the only one in southern Vermont. In 2018, the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation added the Tenney Field grandstand to the State Register of Historic Places.
After the structure was closed to spectators in 2017, it languished in disrepair for several years, its future uncertain. Finally, in 2024, the Windham Southeast District School Board and district taxpayers approved going forward with its restoration. Facilities Director Ricky Aither then got right to work on the project so that the historic grandstand could be open again as a fresh air outdoor learning space for students and staff and for spectator seating for baseball season and other events.
With the assistance of many local contractors and donations from some local lumber companies, Aither said the project kicked off in the spring of 2025 with the enclosure of the rafters, concrete repairs, lead paint abatement, two fresh coats of paint, installing ADA-compliant seating and a wheelchair ramp, installing code required railings, and new protective netting on the front of the structure.
Currently, Aither said, “the grandstand needs the decking on the ADA seating area completed, the railings on the west side stairs completed, the decking and railing on the east side stairs, the main seating brackets installed with bench seating and some finishing touches on the surface paint. If the weather cooperates, these tasks shouldn’t take more than two weeks to complete.”
Aither said the school is working on getting a recognition plaque made and organizing some sort of ceremony for the opening of the grandstand on April 14. It should be a great day for Brattleboro baseball.
Wildcats fall in Division IV semifinals
• The Twin Valley boys’ basketball team’s fantastic 2025-26 season came to an end March 9 with a 77-57 loss to No.1-seed Twinfield in the Division IV semifinals at the Barre Auditorium.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Twin Valley head coach Chris Brown outside the locker room after the game. “That team was hard, strong, and fast for 32 minutes. (There are) a lot of athletes out there. They have some big strong kids who can put the ball in the hoop. We do that to some teams too, they just one-upped it on us. So, there’s no shame in losing to a team like that. I’m happy with the guys and their effort. They had a great season.”
This game was the Wildcats’ first trip to The Aud since 2020, when they beat Danville, 59-48, to advance to the Division IV finals where they lost to Proctor, 65-50.
The Trojans (22-1) were able to use their speed and athleticism to run on Twin Valley (18-5), scoring several points in transition beginning near the end of the first quarter, something Brown said was one of the biggest differences in the game.
“Their transition offense was just 100 miles an hour the whole game,” Brown said. “We would turn and they were gone. That was the difference in the first quarter especially. They dropped 20 on us and probably half of them were of that variety.”
The first quarter was close with Twin Valley and Twinfield trading buckets, and the lead, three times, and tying the game twice. The Wildcats began the quarter strong with Brayden Brown and Niko Gerding both finding Brian Sullivan for baseline jumpers that put Twin Valley up 4-0.
A follow on a miss and a three-pointer by senior Eli Russell, who gave the Wildcats headaches throughout the game, gave the Trojans their first lead, but Twin Valley retook the lead on a pair of layups by Brayden Brown.
Brown (22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists) tied the game 11-11, completing a one-and-one with 1:42 left to play, but Twinfield retook the lead on a corner three by Zepherin Hebert and then outscored the Wildcats 6-3 to close out the quarter up 20-14.
Niko Gerding (10 points, four rebounds, and three assists) cut the lead to 20-17 with a three-pointer to start the second. Three straight buckets by Twinfield pushed the lead to 26-17, but Landon Brown (15 points, four rebounds, five assists, five steals) pulled the Wildcats to within six points on a corner three with 5:57 left.
After that, Twinfield went on a 12-2 run to close out the half, which started on a three-pointer by Russell. “We hung with them early and even early we just missed a couple golden opportunities that maybe would have changed the game a little bit,” said Coach Brown. “(There were) a couple missed layups, a couple missed rebounds, and they made the play and we had the chance.”
The Wildcats began to fight back to start the third, cutting the lead to 11 on a three-pointer by Gerding, a foul line jumper by Sullivan, and a layup by Brayden Brown, but the Trojans went on an 11-4 run to go up 51-33 with 2:28 left and closed out the quarter up, 60-40. Twin Valley continued to battle until the end, but were not able to make a dent as the Trojans’ lead never fell below 17 points in the final frame.
This was the second game between these teams this season. They met in the first round of the Bob Abrahamson Tournament Dec. 12, the first game of the regular season for both teams. The Trojans won that game, 76-59.
Twin Valley has steadily improved over the past four seasons — from four wins in 2022-23, to 12 wins in 2023-24, to 15 wins in 2024-25, to 18 wins this season. The Wildcats will graduate nine players in June — Sullivan, Tucker Magnant, Steve Oyer, Max Nido, Konner Janovsky, David Bernard, Kaelyn Lackey, and Carson McHale. But the key members of this season’s team — the Brown brothers, plus Niko and Benny Gerding — will be back. They look primed for another trip to Barre next season.
Alexander selected for Rotary All-Star game
• Brattleboro defenseman Gabe Alexander was selected to play in the the 40th Rotary All-Star Hockey Classic this Saturday, March 21, at the Essex Skating Facility.The top men’s and women’s hockey players in their senior years are chosen from high schools across Vermont to participate in this event. Alexander was the only Brattleboro hockey player (men’s or women’s) chosen for this year’s event.
The women’s game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and the men’s game will commence at 6 p.m. Tickets for this event are $10 per person and the price includes admission to both games. All net proceeds raised from this event are used by the Rotary Club of Essex to support local food pantries, provide winter coats for children in need, fund scholarships for local students, and to support a number of health and environmental initiatives locally and internationally.
Friends of Grafton Trails plan informational meeting
• Do you enjoy being outdoors? Are you a member of a youth group or Scout troop, or a student looking to give back to your community? Educators, are you seeking hands-on learning opportunities?
If you answered yes to any of the above, The Windham Foundation invites you to join them Wednesday, March 25, at 5 p.m. at the Windham Foundation Conference Room at the Homestead Cottage, 91 Main St., Grafton, to learn about and share ideas for their new Friends of Grafton Trails volunteer program.
This new initiative will support the maintenance, enhancement, and health of Grafton Trails and Outdoor Center. For more information, contact Grants & Volunteer Coordinator Meg Gonzalez at 802-843-2215 or meg.gonzalez@windham-foundation.org.
Twin Valley Youth Sports to host Cornhole fundraiser
• On Saturday, April 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Twin Valley Youth Sports will host a Cornhole Tournament fundraiser at Twin Valley Middle High School in Whitingham. There will be cash prizes for the top three teams.
Organizers say this will be a fun community event with music, food and drinks throughout the afternoon. Register your team with Susie Hanna at secretary@twinvalleysports.com. Also, if you have a Cornhole set they can use for the tournament, let her know. All proceeds will help fund Twin Valley Youth Sports programs.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 10 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on March 12 saw Bad Boys (33-17) and Wayne’s World (32-18) remain in the top two spots, followed by Lucky 7 (26-24), Three Strikes and Serious (both 24.5-25.5), Strikers (24-26), Slo Movers and Bowling Stones (both 23-27), Candy Men (21-29), and Spare Time (19-31).
Mary Piluski had the women’s high handicap game (232) and Diane Cooke had the high handicap series (639). Charlie Marchant had the men’s high handicap game (273) and series (727). Lucky 7 had the high team handicap game (897) and Bad Boys had the high handicap series (2,581).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (794) with games of 289, 257, and 248, while Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 662 series with games of 267 and 213, and Robert Rigby had a 644 series with games of 257, 194, and 193. Peter Deyo had a 588 series with a 223 game, Marchant had a 553 series, and Stan Kolpa had a 541 series with a 201 game. Rick Westcott had a 511 series, Wayne Randall had a 510 series, Gary Montgomery had a 196 game, and Pete Cross and John Laamanen each rolled a 190.
Cooke had the women’s high scratch series (459) and game (159). She also had a 152 game. Carol Gloski had a 155 game and Nancy Dalzell rolled a 154.
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. With additional reporting by Brandon Canevari of the Deerfield Valley News.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.