-The Brattleboro Bears softball team have a 1-5 record, but they are a better team than their record indicates. Their biggest problem seems to be getting to off a good start in their games.
In their last three games, the Bears fell behind early and rallied in the late innings. The result was a close 4-3 loss at Burr & Burton on April 29, a 10-5 loss to Bellows Falls on May 1 after trailing 10-0, and a 7-2 loss to the Hartford Hurricanes at Sawyer Field on May 7 after trailing 7-0.
“If we can get at it from the get-go, right at the first inning, first pitch, first hit, then we’re alive and we’re in it,” said Brattleboro coach Erin Cooke after the Hartford game.
But it took until the fourth inning for the Bears to score their first run, thanks to an overpowering start by Hurricanes pitcher Serenitee Martel. She faced one batter more than the minimum in the first three innings with eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Hartford hitters had no problems with Bears pitcher Kennedy Unaitis in the first three innings. Emerson Whitney hit a two-run homer into center field and Charlotte Polidor and Faith Brown both scored on passed balls to give the Hurricanes a 4-0 lead. Whitney had an RBI single in the second inning, and Annabelle Salvatore hit an RBI single and Maria Chaput scored on a passed ball in the third for a 7-0 lead.
The Bears didn’t give up. They held Hartford scoreless in the fourth inning and broke up Martel’s no-hitter in the bottom half of the inning with a leadoff single by Alyssa Jones. She later scored on a ground out by Destiny Thibeault.Unaitis got sharper as the game went on and got some great defense from center fielder Ericka Fletcher, who had a pair of running catches in the fourth and sixth innings, and third baseman Sienna Crowell, who snared a pair of line drives in the seventh. Hannah Squires would score the Bears’ second run in the sixth inning as she hit a triple to deep center field and came home on a wild pitch. Unfortunately, Martel retired the Bears in order in the seventh to end the game.
“We took it one inning at a time trying to win each inning, and we held them in the end,” said Cooke. “We figured out what we needed to do defensively, and then what we needed to do offensively to throw a couple digits up on the board.” Cooke said that if the Bears learn how to start games the way they have been finishing them, they’ll start winning more often. “If we can stay up and stay positive, anything can happen,” she said.
Baseball
• Brattleboro won its first game of the season on May 8 with a 10-9 victory at Rutland. In their first meeting on April 17 at Tenney Field, Rutland clobbered the Bears, 17-4, but Brattleboro got its revenge in this slugfest.
After picking up a run on a passed ball in the first inning, the Bears erupted for four runs in the third inning as Wylie Nelson hit a two-run double and designated hitter Cooper LaFlam smacked a two-run homer. Brattleboro added two runs in the fourth inning before Rutland scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears seemed to have things well in hand after picking up three runs in the sixth on a two-run double by Sean Cozza and a base-hit by Charlie O’Connell to push the lead to 10-5.
Rutland then rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, falling just short. Cozza was the winning pitcher, with Lucas Lamorder getting the final two outs for the save. Cozza scattered 11 hits and struck out eight batters.
• Bellows Falls opened the week with a 10-0 win in six innings over Green Mountain at Hadley Field on May 5. Jakob Tostrup and Jackson Fletcher each had two hits and Jaden Bazin and Tim Fletcher each drove in two runs. Bazin was the winning pitcher as he struck out 11 batters, walked one, and gave up four hits.
The Terriers then handed Otter Valley its first loss of the season with a 5-2 win at Hadley Field on May 7. BF’s Steven Joslyn was the winning pitcher, he went the distance with eight strikeouts, two walks, and two earned runs in a four-hitter.
• Now 6-1, Leland & Gray keeps rolling on. On May 5 in South Royalton, the Rebels beat White River Valley, 9-4, and followed that up with a 9-1 win over Mount St. Joseph on May 7 in Townshend and a 4-3 victory over Woodstock on May 9.
• Proctor shut out visiting Twin Valley, 10-0, in six innings on May 7. The Wildcats are now 3-3 on the season.
Softball
• In a pitchers’ duel between Otter Valley’s Sophie Parker and Bellows Falls hurler Brielle Mulverhill, Parker struck out 15 batters and allowed just four hits in a 3-1 win over the Terriers in Westminster on May 7.
Mulverhill pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight and allowing four hits. Otter Valley got all of its runs in the fifth inning as M.T. Pearsons drove in two runs on a double and Parker hit an RBI single to score Pearsons. Together with a 9-5 road win over Thetford on May 5, the Terriers finished the week at 6-2.
• Leland & Gray outlasted White River Valley, 16-14, on May 6 in South Royalton. The Rebels kept on hitting against Long Trail School on May 9 in Townshend with 15 hits in a 20-5 win in five innings. McKinley Bertram went 4-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs, Sophia Hallock was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, and Julia Devine had two hits and drove in four runs as the Rebels improved to 5-1.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro boys suffered their first loss of the season on May 4 when the Burr & Burton Bulldogs came to Natowich Field and left with a 15-6 victory. The Bulldogs had an 11-4 lead at the half of this very chippy game that saw a combined 20 penalties assessed on both teams. Griffin Packard had two goals for the Bears, and Carter Mialkowski, Gabe Alexander, Oscar Dawson, and Max Madow also scored. Goalie Luke DiZoglio had six saves.
• The Brattleboro girls fell behind early to Woodstock and never fully recovered in a 16-4 loss to the Wasps on May 5 at Natowich Field. Emerson Frehsee led the 0-5 Bears with two goals; Juliette Pals and Parker Thibault also scored. Evalina Forchion finished with four saves in goal.
Track & Field
• Brattleboro’s track teams both finished second in a Southern Vermont League meet on May 5 in Bennington. Mount Anthony won the boys’ meet with 210.5 points, with the Bears in second with 143 points. Burr & Burton were the girls’ winners with 178 points to Brattleboro’s 127.5 points.
• In the boys’ meet, Brattleboro’s Stockton Woodruff was first in the 400 meters in 51.81 seconds and was third in the 200 (24.10). Nico Conathan-Leach won the 3,000 (9:17.19), and Jackson Ferreira was second in the 1,500 (4:42.86) and fifth in the 800 (2:16.29). Colby Weaver was fourth in the 100 (11.90), Willow Sharma was fourth in the 800 (2:12.66) and 3,000 (10:08.42), and Liam Conathan-Leach was fifth in the 1,500 (4:51.47).
In the relay events, the 4x100 team of Sebastian Alvarez, Dasan Severance, Jakobe Slayton, and Matthew Thayer were fourth in 51.70 seconds. Weaver, Woodruff, Gabriel vonRanson, and Noah Duell were third in the 4x400 in 3:45.20, and the 4x800 quartet of Jonas Ackerman-Hovis, Sharma, Nico Conathan-Leach, and Ferreira were second in 9:02.41. The 4x100 mixed relay A team of Hailey Richards, vonRanson, Teagan Thurber, and Weaver finished second (51.02), while the B team of Amara Tuma, Ryan Lin, Margaux DesJardins, and Duell were third (51.17).
In the field events, Teagan LaValley won the triple jump (11.02 meters); Lin was third (8.78) and Slayton was fifth (8.27). Duell was third in high jump (1.73 meters) Clayton Rondeau was third in shotput (9.79) and fourth in discus (22.57), and John Duncan was fourth in javelin (29.30).
• In the girls’ meet, DesJardins was second in the 200 (29.28) and Richards was third in the 100 (13.57) and 200 (29.28). Xela Nestel was first in the 3,000 (12:18.46) and second in the 1,500 (5:40.97). Amanda Montalva was second in the 3,000 (13:36.79), fifth in the 800 (2:50.53), and fourth in the 1,500 (5:58.20). Rae Thibault was third in the 400 (1:10.21). Thurber (17.69), Tuma (17,73), and Thibault, finished fourth, fifth, and sixth in the 100 hurdles, while Bethany Traudt (1:15.81) was third in the 300 hurdles.
In the relay and field events, the 4x100 team of Tuma, DesJardins, Keelin Rosinki and Thibault finished first (55.69). In high jump, Evelyn Paine was third (1.32 meters) while Thibault and Stella Thies tied for fourth (1.27). DesJardins was third in long jump (4.19), while Traudt was sixth (2.71).
Tennis
• The Brattleboro girls are still looking for their first win of the season. The Bears lost to Rutland, 6-1, at the BUHS courts on May 8. Vivian Elliott picked up Brattleboro’s lone win at No. 1 singles, beating Brooke Flewelling, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7. The rest of the singles matches were competitive. Rutland’s Chelsea Pond needed a tiebreaker to defeat Charlie Forthofer at No. 2 singles. Pond lost the first set 5-7, but battled back to win the second set 6-4 and set up a 10-point tiebreaker, which she won 10-8.
No. 3 singles Ella Beach also needed a tiebreaker against Brattleboro’s Malika Anthes, 6-4, 6-6 (7-3), while Rutland’s Peyton Rider beat Evie Moody 6-0, 7-5 at No. 4 singles, and No. 5 Phoenix Woodard topped Brattleboro’s Paige Renault 6-4, 6-4.
Rutland swept the doubles matches as No. 1 Sierra McMorrow and Kinsley Rodrigue beat Brattleboro’s Sylvia Plitt and Lila Paine 6-2, 6-4, while No. 2 Lily Belden and Sydney Kravetz beat Max Arnini and Eliza Gembarowski, 6-4, 6-0.
• The Brattleboro boys defeated Rutland, 6-1, on May 9, to improve their season record to 2-3. The visiting Bears won all but one of the singles matches. No. 1 Mark Richards won against Rutland’s Owen Hackett, 6-2, 6-2, while No. 2 Elias Frazer Olsen lost to Rutland’s Whit Sullivan 3-6, 6-3 (10-8). The rest of the singles matches were won in straight sets as No. 3 Eli Welch, No. 4 Dashielle Moyse, and No. 5 Seamus Bald were victorious.
In doubles, Brattleboro’s Hudson Smith and Logan Waite rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Jonny Gydus and Hunter Pew at No. 1, while Rutland forfeited the second match.
Gymnastics
• BUHS junior Lauren Chute, who helped the Bears finish third in the Vermont state championship gymnastics meet earlier this year, is also having a good season as a club gymnast.
Chute competes for USAG (USA Gymnastics) club team Brattleboro Gymnastics. She finished in third in the All-Around at the USAG Region 6 Regionals Championships. This qualified her to be part of the USAG Region 6 team at the 2026 Women’s Development Program Level 9 Eastern Championships in Savannah, Georgia, which is the penultimate championship meet for all Level 9 gymnasts in the Eastern U.S.
She was one of three Vermont gymnasts to qualify for this meet, which was held May 1–3. Chute medalled in floor exercises (fifth place) and was 12th in All-Around. It is a pretty significant accomplishment, not just for Chute, but for the still-growing BUHS gymnastics program. In only the second year of being a varsity sport, the Bears finished as one of the top three teams in the state, and with athletes such as Chute, just keeps getting better and better.
RowBOC hosts ‘Try it Out Day’
• On Saturday, May 16, RowBOC, the Brattleboro Outing Club’s rowing group, is holding Try it Out Day, a free introduction to rowing from 1 to 3 p.m. Registration for this event is not required, participants can show up and experienced rowers will get them in a boat and provide instructions on how to use the oars and take some strokes within reach of RowBOC’s dock on the West River.
For those who are committed to learning how to row, RowBOC is taking applications for their Learn-to-Row Clinic which begins on May 30. RowBOC has been offering this 10-session rowing clinic under the supportive instruction of RowBOC Master Rowers every year since 2008. Participants will learn the basics of rowing and will finish the clinic knowing how to get in and out of a boat safely, launch and land at the dock, stop, turn the boat around and row forward and backward from the dock upstream past the town soccer fields.
Season membership in RowBOC is included in the clinic fee. For more information, visit brattleborooutingclub.org-rowing-clinics-lessons or email rowboc@gmail.com. Space is limited.
Senior bowling roundup
• The spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl began May 7 with The House, Number 1, and Strike Force (all 5-0) in a three-way tie for first place, followed by Near Miss and Queen ‘n’ Joker (both 4-1), Skippers and Ducks (both 1-4), and Slo Movers, Team Two, and Pin Heads (all 0-5).
Carol Gloski had the women’s high handicap game (259), while Darlene Ladabouche had the high handicap series (634). Fred Ashworth had the men’s high handicap game (258) and series (678), and Near Miss had the high team handicap game (886) and series (2,525).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (697) with games of 247, 212, and 225, while Robert Rigby had a 637 series with games of 222, 211, and 203, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 613 series with games of 213, 210, and 190. Rich Pietro had a 549 series, Duane Schillemat had a 515 series and Gary Montgomery had a 512 series with a 199 game. Wayne Randall had a 199 game and Billy Haynon rolled a 194.
Gloski had the women’s high scratch series (485) and game (213). Shirley Aiken had a 160 game, Debbie Rittenhour had a 155 game, Nancy Dalzell had games of 155 and 152, and Debbie Kolpa rolled a 151.
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.