-The Brattleboro Little League 12U All-Stars fell just short of winning the program’s 17th state championship as Camel’s Hump — which represents Richmond, Huntington, and Bolton — won its first state title with a taut and tense 2-1 victory on Aug. 1 at Memorial Park in Stowe.
The District 1 champs got a splendid pitching performance from Mickey Brown, who held Brattleboro to just two hits over 4 1/3 innings to earn the victory.
Teddy McKay started the game for Brattleboro and got into immediate trouble as Camels Hump loaded the bases, but they managed to score only one run on a base-loaded walk. Brattleboro second baseman Grayson Boudreau limited the damage with an inning-ending double play.
Simon Potter took over for Mckay in the second inning and finished up the game. He kept his team in a position to win, but a throwing error on a stolen base attempt in the second allowed Camel’s Hump to score what proved to be the winning run. Together, McKay and Potter held Camels Hump to just four hits in the game.
Brattleboro did have its chances to score. Mason Rea drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, but got no further. In the fourth inning, Jacob Gallagher reached base on a bloop double with two outs, and took third on a wild pitch, but he too was left on base without scoring.
Brown left the game with one out in the fifth inning after walking Rea and Hayden Scott. Benji Solsov then took over on the mound for Camels Hump. Bryson Letourneau advanced the baserunners with a groundout, and Boudreau followed with an RBI single to score Rea and cut the lead to 2-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Majer Rodriguez kept Brattleboro alive with a two-out double, but Gallagher flied out to Brown, who had moved to shortstop after his pitching day was over. He made a nifty backpedaling catch in shallow left field to end the game.
Brattleboro, state runners-up for the second straight year, were managed by Chad Gundry. He was assisted by Brian Potter and Rob Rea. Also playing for Brattleboro were Drew Alexander, Patrick Carroll, Jordan Torres, and Benson Urban.
Camels Hump now plays in the New England Regional Championship in Bristol, Connecticut. They will take on the New Hampshire champion on Saturday, Aug. 8. The winner of this tournament secures a spot in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Brattleboro wins 10U Little League state title
• The Brattleboro Little League 10U All-Stars completed their sweep through the state championship series in Burlington with a 13-3 win in five innings over Colchester on Aug. 1.
Brattleboro advanced to the title game of the double-elimination tournament with a 15-0 win in three innings over Essex Town, and a 14-0 win Colchester in the opening rounds. They will play next in the Little League Baseball East Region 10U Invitational Tournament in Cranston, Rhode Island, starting this weekend.
Champlain All-Stars sweep 11U state tourney
• Brattleboro was the host for the 11U Little League state tournament, but the St. Albans-based Champlain All-Stars came away with the championship.
Champlain, the District 3 champions, swept through the tournament with an undefeated record, including two wins over Brattleboro. In their first meeting, Champlain rolled to an 13-3 win, and then beat Brattleboro, 11-1, to earn the state title.
On the roster for the Brattleboro 11U All-Stars were Damien Atherton, Alexander Brown, Emerson Deyo, Brayden Earp, Jimmy Martin, Jasper Miller, Jordan Petlock, Justin Rivera, Griffen Salway, Ben Steves, Jaxyn Vargas, and Bradley Zolnoski. Dave Zolnoski was the manager; with Jon Earp and Lance Cutler serving as assistant coaches.
Post 5 knocked out in Legion semifinals
• In a five-day double-elimination tournament, a team’s success or failure is often determined by the depth of its pitching staff, and how they are used.
Brattleboro Post 5 head coach Eric Libardoni knows that well, As a veteran of postseason baseball going all the way back to when he was the starting shortstop for the Brattleboro’s 12U Little League squad that won the state championship in 1994, he knows what it takes to give a team a chance to survive and advance.
The road got steeper for Post 5 when it lost to Lyndon Post 30, 15-4, on July 26. Brattleboro had a 3-1 lead after two innings, but Lyndon took the lead in the fourth inning and pulled away with seven runs in the fifth inning. Libardoni used Jackson Dermatis for four innings for Brattleboro, and Ryder Butynski, Ryan Peloso, Wylie Nelson, and Halen Ranslow also pitched.
Brattleboro stayed alive with a 19-3 win over Franklin County on July 27. Kason Gundry and Cole Systo, two pitchers who didn’t get used in the Lyndon game, did their jobs in shutting down the Franklin County hitters. On offense, Post 5 pounded out 21 hits as Sean Cozza went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, Dermatis had a triple and a single. Charlie O’Connell had a double and a single, and Spencer Claussen had two base hits and scored three runs.
Post 5 was in the best position it could hope for when they had to face the Northern Division’s top team, Essex Post 91, on July 28. Unfortunately, they ran into a great pitcher in Essex’s Nico Caiano, who threw a no-hitter in a 10-0 six-inning victory over Brattleboro. Caiano walked two and struck out five; another Post 5 baserunner reached on an error in the fifth inning.
Cozza was Post 5’s starting pitcher and looked okay in the early going before Essex scored three runs in the third inning, and scored three more in the fourth to pull away. McDaniels and Butynski finished up the pitching duties.
Brattleboro, the No. 3 seed in the Southern Division, finished 2-2 in the tournament and had no reason to hang their heads after their final game of the season. Essex was the best Legion team in Vermont this season and went on to beat Lyndon, 11-6, on July 31 to win the state Legion title for the 14th time.
Essex now advances to the Northeast Regional, which starts Aug. 5 at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts.
• Five local players were named to the Southern Division All-League team.
Despite just missing out on a playoff spot, Bellows Falls Post 37 placed three players on the team — pitcher/first baseman Steven Joslyn, pitcher Devyn Cheeney, and utility player Eli Allbee.
Post 5 had two selections – Dermatis as an outfielder and Cozza as a pitcher.
Vermont rolls to fourth straight Shrine win
• For the fourth straight year, Vermont got the better of New Hampshire in the annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl at Vermont State University Castleton’s Dave Wolk Stadium.
The Green Mountain Boys dominated the 73rd annual edition of the game with a 42-12 victory. It was the first time in the long history of this game, which features the top graduated seniors from the two states, that Vermont has won four consecutive contests.
Vermont put the game out of reach by halftime, taking a 28-0 lead in one of their most dominant performances in recent years. On defense, they held the Granite Staters to just 39 yards of total offense. On offense, Vermont racked up 233 yards of total offense.
While New Hampshire scored on its second possession of the third quarter, Vermont responded with a touchdown to open the fourth quarter. The Granite Staters’ highlight of the game came on their next possession, when Kingswood Regional’s Serafin Agramonte Jose scored on a 95-yard pass play with 2:21 left in the game. It was the longest touchdown in the history of the Shrine game.
Fittingly, Rutland’s Grady Gallagher finished the scoring for Vermont with a 31-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds to play. The 2025 Vermont Gatorade Football Player of the Year finished his high school career with 131 yards and 21 carries. He’ll be paying at Norwich University this fall.
Two Bellows Falls players were on the winning squad, but only one was able to play. Running back/linebacker Pat Connors got hurt in practice at the Vermont training camp and had to miss the game. Lineman Cam Perry was part of the offensive line that helped the Green Mountain Boys rack up 127 passing yards and 249 rushing yards as a team.
The Vermont victory makes the all-time series 50-20-2 in New Hampshire’s favor.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 13 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League on July 30 at Brattleboro Bowl saw first place Queen ‘n’ Jokers (41-24) maintain their one-game lead over Pin Heads (40-25), followed by The House (38-27), Skippers (37-28), Ducks (32-33), Near Miss (30-35), Slo Movers (28-37), Strike Force (27-38), Team Two (26-39), and Number 1 (26-39).
Doris Lake and Diane Cooke both had the women’s high handicap game (244), while Cooke had the high handicap series (674). Rick Garren had the men’s high handicap game (246), while Kevin Napaver had the high handicap series (732). Team Two again had the high handicap game (884) and The House had the high handicap series (2,517).
Napaver once again had the men’s high scratch series (696) with games of 256, 236, and 204, while Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 600 series with a 224 game. Skip Shine had a 556 series with a 202 game, John Walker had a 533 series with a 205 game, Milt Sherman had a 523 series with a 189 game, Gary Montgomery had a 515 series, and Rich Pietro had a 511 series. Notable games included Rick Wescott (189), Garren (187), and John Laamanen (186).
Cooke had the women’s high scratch series (476) and game (178). Darlene Ladabouche rolled a 170.
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.