-Last week was the final week of the regular season for Vermont’s high school athletes, as teams jockeyed for position in their respective playoffs in baseball, softball, and lacrosse.
Baseball
• Perhaps the most competitive division in Vermont baseball is Division IV, where two of the contenders are from Windham County.
Leland & Gray got the No. 2 seed with a 10-4 record and will host the winner of the June 2 first-round game between No. 7 Hazen and No. 10 Arlington in a quarterfinal on June 6. Twin Valley finished 6-7 to earn the No. 6 seed. They will also skip the first round and will host No. 3 Mount St. Joseph on June 6 in a quarterfinal game.
If the Rebels and Wildcats win their respective quarterfinals, it will set up a semifinal game in Townshend on June 9. Fans got a preview on May 26 at Baker Field in Wilmington of what that game might look like as the two teams battled in a tight extra-inning game that was won by the Rebels in the eighth inning, 6-4.
The Rebels broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth when Connor Richardson scored the go-ahead run off a Wildcats error, and Ryder Butynski tacked on two runs with an inside the park home run. At first, it looked like a ground rule double after the ball appeared to be lost in the tall grass at the edge of center field, but the umpires ultimately ruled that it was a home run after it was picked up by a Twin Valley outfielder. Gage Ryan hit an RBI double for the Wildcats in the bottom half of the inning, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.
This was a back-and-forth game that felt like a playoff contest, with the added heat of the rivalry between these two schools. Frank Flood was the winning pitcher in relief of Butynski, who started the game and was lifted in the third inning. Colton Corey went the distance for Twin Valley, with 11 strikeouts and no walks while giving up six hits.
The game was tied 1-1 after two innings. Flood singled and scored on a passed ball for the Rebels’ first run in the second, but the Wildcats tied the game when Ryan hit a leadoff single and later stole home in the bottom of the second.
Leland & Gray again took the lead in the third inning when Nolan Domanski singled and scored on a groundout by Shane LeCours. Twin Valley responded by loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the third, prompting Rebels coach Tyler Francoeur to replace Butynski with Flood. While Max Nido got a two-run single to right field off Flood, he was splendid the rest of the way as he held the Wildcats to four hits with one walk and three strikes in six innings of relief.
The Wildcats tied the game in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Richardson that scored Orren Styles to set up the eighth inning drama.
“They did a great job keeping their heads up,” said Francoeur after the game, adding that Flood “did a great job throwing strikes,” and Butynski’s homer in the eighth “was huge. He’s had a few opportunities in this year, and he really steps up in those opportunities. He kind of thrives under the pressure.”
Twin Valley coach Greg Nido said that even though the Wildcats lost, playing in front of a big crowd in a playoff-like atmosphere can only help his young team. “I knew it would be a battle, but I thought we played pretty well. They’ve got to kind of believe in themselves,” he said, “and I think hopefully moving forward they do.”
• Brattleboro finished their season with three wins in a row to earn the No. 13 seed in the Division I playoffs with a 4-9 record. They head north to Colchester to face the fourth-seeded Lakers in a first-round game June 3. The Bears beat Green Mountain, 11-1, in Chester on May 27, and routed Windsor, 12-1, on May 29.
• With an 11-3 regular season record, Bellows Falls earned the No. 2 seed in Division III and a first-round bye, The Terriers will host the winner of the June 3 first-round game between seventh-seeded Randolph and No, 10 Fair Haven in a quarterfinal game on June 5 at Hadley Field.
Softball
• Bellows Falls earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Division III playoffs. The 10-4 Terriers will host the winner of the first-round game between No. 7 White River Valley and No. 10 Woodstock in a June 5 quarterfinal in Westminster.
BF finished the regular season with a pair of five-inning games — a 13-1 home win over Brattleboro on May 27 and a 13-0 road loss to Hartford on May 29.
• Brattleboro finished with a 3-10 record and the 11th seed in Division I. The Bears travel to Manchester on June 3 for a first-round game against sixth-seeded Burr & Burton.
• With an 11-3 record, Leland & Gray was seeded third in Division IV and got a first-round bye. They will host the winner of the first-round game between No. 6 Windsor and No. 11 Craftsbury on June 6.
Track & Field
• The state track & field championships will all be held at Burlington High School, with Bellows Falls, Twin Valley, and Leland & Gray in the Division III meet June 4 and Brattleboro in the Division I meet on June 6.
The prelude for those events was a “second-chance” meet at BUHS’s Freeman Track on May 28 to give Brattleboro and Bellows Falls athletes a final opportunity to qualify for the state meets.
Brattleboro fielded the only girls’ team. Amanda Montalva punched her ticket for the state and New England meets with a top time of 2 minutes, 39.07 seconds in the 800 meters. Keelin Rosinski was first in the 100 (14.92), 200 (32.42), and 400 meters (1:14.85), while the 4x100 meter relay team of Amara Tuma, Teagan Thurber, Margaux DesJardins and Hailey Richards won their event in 52.98 seconds.
In the field events, Maeve Bald won the shot put (5.90 meters) and discus (18.35), while Rosalie Schneski won the javelin (19.46). Richards was tops in pole vault (3.20), Evelyn Paine was first in high jump (1.27), and Bethany Traudt won the long jump (2.70).
The Brattleboro boys hosted Bellows Falls and Gathering Waters Charter School, and easily won the meet with 105 points.
Brattleboro swept all the running events. Noah Duell won the 100 (12.19 seconds), Sebastian Alvarez was first in the 200 (27.32), and Lakota Sheldon took the 400 (58.59). In the distance events, Jonas Ackerman-Hovis won the 800 (2:15.99), and Walker Korb was first in the 1,500 (4:43.51). The 4x100 relay team of Stockton Woodruff, Gabriel vonRanson, Basil Leoniak, and Colby Weaver finished first (46.11), as did the 4x400 team of Ackerman-Hovis, Nico Conathan-Leach, Peter Burke, and Jackson Ferreira (5:23.86).
In the field events, Clayton Rondeau qualified for the state meet in discus with a winning throw of 26.40 meters. He also won in shot put (11.30). Duell took the high jump (1.57), Ryan Lin was first in triple jump (9.82), and Isaiah Traudt was tops in pole vault (1.52).
BF had a pair of winners as Stefan James won the javelin with a throw of 37.16 meters, and Matheo Vargas was first in the long jump (5.17),
• Several Brattleboro boys took part in the Essex Invitational meet on May 30. Conathan-Leach was fifth in the 3,000 meters (9:04.96), Stockton Woodruff, Gabriel vonRanson, Basil Leoniak, and Colby Weaver finished fifth in the 4x100 relay (46.39), and Willow Sharma, Ferreira, Conathan-Leach, and Woodruff were fourth in 4x800 (8:30.56).
Veronica Moore of Bellows Falls won the girls’ javelin with a throw of 30.39 meters, while Brattleboro’s Hailey Richards won the girls’ pole vault, clearing 3.26 meters.
Lacrosse
• With a 9-5 record, the Brattleboro boys earned the fifth seed in the Division II playoffs. At press time, they were scheduled to host 12th-seeded Burlington in a first-round game at Natowich Field on June 2. After a 9-5 loss to Keene on May 26 to start the final week of the regular season, the Bears bounced back with a 16-5 win over Stratton Mountain School on May 28 and a 16-4 victory over Randolph on May 30.
• The Brattleboro girls finished with a 3-10 record and the 11th seed in the Division II playoffs. They travel to White River Junction to face the sixth-seeded Hartford Hurricanes in a first-round game at a date still to be determined. The Bears finished the last week of the regular season with a 15-6 win over Hartford on May 27, a 14-12 win over Stratton Mountain School on May 29, and a 16-3 loss to Burr & Burton on May 30.
Ultimate disc
• Brattleboro finished the regular season at 7-4. At press time, they were scheduled to host Milton for a first-round playoff match on June 2 at Natowich Field. The Bears finished strong with four wins in their final five games, including a pair of victories over Grace Christian School on May 21 and 27, and a 15-8 win over Leland & Gray in the regular season finale on May 29.
Tennis
• The Brattleboro boys finished with a 7-4 regular season record. At press time, they were scheduled to host Rutland in a first-round playoff match on June 2 at the BUHS courts.
• Despite finishing the season with a 0-11 record, the Brattleboro girls will go to the Division I playoffs, where they will face Mount Anthony in Bennington in a first-round match, also set for June 2.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 4 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on May 28 saw Skippers, Slo Movers and Queen ‘n’ Jokers (all 14-6) move into a three-way tie for first place, followed by Number 1 (13-7), Strike Force (12-8), The House (11-9), Near Miss (10-10), Pin Heads (9-11), Ducks (3-17), and Team Two (0-20).
Diane Miller had the women’s high handicap game (258) and series (680), while John Laamanen had the men’s high handicap game (284) and series (730). The House had the high team handicap game (949) and series (2,684).
Kevin Napaver had the men’s high scratch series (735) with games of 268, 254, and 213, while Robert Rigby had a 549 series with a 191 game. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 534 series, Rich Pietro had a 534 series with a 203 game, and Stan Kolpa had a 533 series with a 192 game. Skip Shine had a 526 series with games of 198 and 193, Gary Montgomery had a 512 series with a 211 game, and Duane Schillemat had a 507 series with a 194 game.
Carol Gloski had the women’s high scratch series (558), with games of 190, 172, and 163. Andrea Papanek had the high scratch game (200) as part of a 519 series, and Darlene Ladabouche had games of 169 and 168.
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.