BRATTLEBORO — Well, folks, state tournament action got under way last week with several of our local high school teams in action. So let's get to it!
In Brattleboro on June 1, the No. 4 Colonels hosted No. 13 Burlington in the opening round of the Division I baseball tournament on June 2, with the Colonels posting an impressive 7-0 win over the Seahorses at Tenney Field.
Despite leaving 13 runners on base, Brattleboro managed enough timely hits and rode the great starting pitching of senior Devin Rhodes, who went six innings while giving up no runs and just four hits while striking out seven. Colonel sophomore Tommy Heydinger pitched a hitless seventh to close out the win.
Kyle Whitworth led the BUHS offense, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI's and two runs scored, while Will Inman - who has battled injuries all season - had a big, two-run single in the third inning that helped blow the game open.
In the second round, also at Tenney Field, the Colonels went up against No. 5 Mount Mansfield, which knocked Brattleboro out of the tournament last year. Seeing Mount Mansfield again certainly added to the Colonels' determination this time around. That, and a homemade sign from the road team fans which referred to the Colonels as “BHS.”
Behind some stellar pitching and defense, Brattleboro Union High School took it to the Cougars, scoring a run in their first inning, another in the third and two more in the sixth for a 4-1 win and a trip to the semi-finals against surprising (No. 9-seeded) Bellows Free Academy, who recently stunned No. 1 Mount Anthony.
Soren Pelz-Walsh led had a big, RBI-single in the first inning and also scored a run, while Rob Meyer also knocked in an insurance run late in the game. At press time, the Colonels are set to face No. 9 Bellows Free Academy, who recently stunned No. 1 Mount Anthony.
Colonels reach softball semis
No. 4-seeded Brattleboro also took on Burlington in the first round of the Division I softball state tournament, with freshman sensation Kaya Hall throwing a no-hitter in a convincing, 14-1 win over the No. 13 Lady Seahorses at Sawyer Field in Brattleboro. Wood also displayed supreme toughness, tossing the no-no while dealing with an asthma flare-up.
Wood retired the first 10 batters she faced, while striking out nine and scattering five walks along the way. In fact, only one Burlington hitter managed to get a ball out of the infield.
Offensively, Taylor Kerylow led the way for the Lady Colonels with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, while Kelsie Carpenter, Bri Moore and Ariel Kane each had clutch, RBI-hits in the win. BUHS also played great defense behind Wood and also took advantage of several Burlington miscues.
In the second round, the Colonels got by No. 5 BFA-St. Albans in a dramatic 2-1 victory in eight innings on June 5. Kelsie Carpenter drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and raced home on a passed ball to end it. Kerylow went 2-for-3 as the only Colonel to get a hit off BFA's Chelsea Abbott.
The Bobwhites scored on an error in the first, but Wood then pitched seven innings of shutout ball to get the win. She fanned four, walked three and gave up three hits.
Colonel laxwomen bow in quarterfinals
The seventh seeded Brattleboro girls lacrosse team lost at No. 2 Middlebury in the Division I quarterfinals, 16-10, on June 4. Kelsey Guarino had two goals and two assists to lead the Colonels. Sarah Clark, Mariah Lesure and Erin LeBlanc all added a pair of goals, and Carli Gossard and Ella Young also scored. Goalie Kali Roberts finished with 10 saves.
Guarino scored twice late in the fourth quarter to give Brattleboro a come-from-behind 8-7 win over No. 10 Champlain Valley Union in the first round of Division I playoffs on June 2 at Natowich Field. Guarino ended up with five goals in the victory. Lesure, LeBlanc and Young scored one goal each and goalie Roberts made 10 saves. Brattleboro finished its season at 11-6-1.
Colonel laxmen out in first round
The 10th-seeded Colonels were knocked out of the first round of the Division I playoffs at seventh-seeded South Burlington, 10-5, on June 3. South Burlington, the defending state champs, put plenty of pressure on Colonels goalie Romello Lindsey, who made 29 saves.
Taylor Elliott-Knaggs led Brattleboro with three goals and an assist. Sam Finnerty and Aaron Providence also scored for the Colonels, who ended their season with a 7-10 record.
Colonel boys reach tennis semis
On June 2, No. 2 Brattleboro swept No. 15 Hartford, 7-0, in the first round of the Division I tournament. Chris Brewer, Jake Mann, Matt Dunn, Isaiah Ungerleider and Russell DiNicola-Fawley all won their singles matches in straight sets. In doubles play, No. 1 Jordan Davie-Stefanik and Jacob Ungerleider were victorious while No. 2 Cesar Moore and Kai-Ming Pu won by forfeit.
The quarterfinal game on June 4 against No. 7 Harwood was tougher, as the Colonels eked out a 4-3 victory.
The Colonels won just two singles matches, as Brewer prevailed at No. 1 and Isaiah Ungerleider needed three sets at No. 2. DiNicola-Fawley was leading his No. 4 singles match, but had to retire due to a shoulder injury. Brattleboro swept the doubles, Moore and Pu were handed a forfeit victory in the top spot, while Davie-Stefanik and Shad Payne-Meyer won in straight sets at second doubles.
Colonel girls fall in second round
Top-seeded and undefeated Champlain Valley Union was too much for the eighth-seeded Colonels, who fell 7-0 in straight sets in the second round of the Division I playoffs in Hinesburg on June 3.
In No. 1 singles, Lauren Mabie lost to Kylie deGroot 6-1, 6-0. No. 2 Caroline DiNicola-Fawley was defeated by AnnaClare Smith 6-1, 6-2. No. 3 Emily Brown lost to Abby Stoner 6-1, 6-0 and No. 4 Kirtley Righi lost to Colleen McCarthy. No. 5 Hannah Svec lost her match 6-0, 6-2.
In doubles play, the No. 1 team of Mary McLoughlin and Colleen Goldberg lost 6-0, 6-1 to Emily Polhemus and Claire Stoner. No. 2 Maddy Conley and Sitti Macabaning lost to Kristen Donaldson, 6-2, 6-1.
In the opening round on June 2, the Colonels swept No. 9 North Country, 7-0, in Brattleboro. In singles play, No. 1 Mabie beat Martha Petzoldt 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 while No. 2 DiNicola-Fawley defeated Ashley McMichael 6-2, 6-0. Brown beat Deanna Brandstetter 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3 and Righi defeated Edie Sargent 6-1, 6-3, at No. 4. No. 5 Svec beat Rhiannon Rosamilia 6-3, 6-4.
In doubles, the No. 1 team of McLoughlin and Conley needed a tiebreaker to beat Teresa Petzoldt and Kaitlyn Dagesse 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), while Macabaning and Goldberg beat Kelsey O'Donnell and Kaitlyn Maxwell 7-5, 6-2 in second doubles. Brattleboro ended its season with a 9-9 record.
Ellis is tops at D-I state meet
Jacob Ellis owned the day for Brattleboro.
The Colonel boys were ninth and the Colonel girls 12th at the Division I State Track & Field Championship in Burlington on Saturday, but Jacob Ellis was the star of the day as he anchored the 4x800-meter relay team to a victory, captured the 800 meter state title, took second in the 1,500 and was fifth in the triple jump.
The boys' 4x800 team of Ellis, Kalle Jahn, Abahdi Kerlin Smtih and Chris Conforti, posted a time of 8:14.67, breaking the school record that was set last year by Jahn, Ellis, Sam Lazzaro and Landen Elliott-Knaggs. Ellis, Jahn, Conforti, Kerlin-Smith and Lazzaro will travel to Connecticut to compete in the New England Championships on June 12.
On the girls' side, Halie Lange ran a personal best (2:26.81) in the 800 to place sixth and Helen Manning equaled her personal best of 4 feet, 10 inches to claim sixth in the high jump as well. The girls 4x100 relay team of Hannah Borochoff-Porte, Analiz Jasemine Cancel, Naomi Kramer and Eliza Reynolds came in seventh with a season-best time of 53.26. The 4x800 relay team of Lange, Rachel Alberico, Hannah Reichel and Bridget Shea-Gander also had a season's best time of 10:34.12.
Borochoff-Porter also had a personal-best time of 28.00 in the 200. Leah Silverman and Reynolds both had personal bests in the 400; Silverman finished in 1:04.54 and Reynolds posted a time of 1:05.18.
Terriers fall in second round
The No. 9-seeded Bellows Falls Union High School baseball team recently traveled north to Orleans, knocking off No. 8 Lake Region, 5-4, in the opening round of the Division III state tournament on June 2.
Senior Ben Hewitt got the start and win for the Terriers, scattering seven hits over five innings, while striking out five and walking three. Cooper Long pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning and sophomore Jeremy Kilburn a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the win. Hewitt also helped his own cause with a big, two-RBI single in the third inning.
In the second round against top-seeded Northfield, Bellows Falls could not produce enough offense to run with the Marauders, falling 15-3 to the northern powerhouse. BF finished its season at 8-10.
Terriers do well at state meet
There were not any state team titles at the Division II track and field meet in Fair Haven on June 5, as the Bellows Falls boys finished fourth and the girls seventh, but there were some great individual performances.
Jason Garciadealba took home a state title in the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, six inches. He was the Terriers' only state champ. Colton Bratton took second in the state in the javelin with a throw of 170 feet, 4 inches. He was third in the discus with a toss of 124 feet, 6 inches and fourth in the shotput (38 feet, 1 inch).
John Punger placed second in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:19 and fourth in the 800 (2:08). Ryan Hayward claimed fifth in the 100 (11.57). The 4x100 relay team of Hayward, Bratton, Eric Laliberte and Joe Aslin with a time of 46.96.
For the Terrier girls, Hannah Hodsden placed second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.5. She was also fourth in the high jump (4 feet, 8 inches) and fifth in the pole vault (7 feet, 6 inches) while Emily Francis came in fourth in the discus (94 feet, 11 inches). The 4x100 relay team of Aly Hewitt, Marissa Smith and Lauren and Dini Rowell took fourth with a time of 11:14.
Rebel girls reach D-III semis
Nicole Sherman pitched a one-hitter, striking out 14 as the fourth-seeded Leland & Gray Rebels shut out the No. 13 Bellows Falls Terriers 15-0 in a five-inning game cut short by the 15-run mercy rule on June 2.
A single up the middle in the fifth by BF shortstop Tia Billado was the Terriers only hit of the game. BF pitcher Emma Shaw took the loss. She got herself in trouble immediately with nine walks and a throwing error in the first inning to give the Rebels an 8-0 lead. BF ended its season at 4-13.
Michaela Tietz led the charge for Leland & Gray with two hits, three walks and three runs scored, while Chauncey Jones pitched in with two hits and Colby Taylor added a clutch, pinch-hit double.
The Rebels played host to No. 5 Mill River in the second round on June 5. L&G pitching ace Sherman threw another gem and the offense cooked up three, two-out rallies to outlast Mill River, 5-2.
Leland & Gray scored two runs in the second and third innings after there were two out, then picked up another run in the fourth in the same fashion, while Mill River scored single runs in the fourth and seventh. They did have a two-out rally going in that final at bat, but a come-backer to the mound ended the their final threat.
Sherman pitched well in picking up the win, going the distance while scattering five hits, striking out eight and walking none. Chelsea Cox led the offense with two hits while Ally Marcucci played a stand out game behind the plate.
The win put the Rebels in their first state semifinal softball game in 19 years.
Rebel boys advance to semis
Staying in Townshend, the No. 4 seeded and two-time defending Division III state champion Leland & Gray baseball team got a scare in their opening-round match up against No. 13 Hazen, needing a three-run rally in their last at bat to pull out a 10-9 win over the visiting Wildcats.
After Hazen sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth and scored seven runs to take a 9-5 lead, the Rebels fought back and scored three in the bottom of the seventh on two walks, three singles and a dramatic suicide squeeze from Noah Chapin to win it.
Senior Zach Peterson led the Rebels offense by going 4-for-4 with two RBI's and three runs scored, while James Crowther, Colin Nystrom and Tyler Miller each pitched in with two hits. Senior Tyler Russell also played a key roll in the win by pitching shut out relief over the final three innings.
In the second round against No. 5 Green Mountain on June 5, the Rebels got one step closer a third straight championship appearance with a tight, 4-1 win over the Chieftains in Townshend.
Rebel starter Gabe Pozzi was key, pitching a complete-game, four hitter while striking out six and walking six.
The Rebels produced just enough offense in this one, scratching out a run in the third without the benefit of a base hit, then got a big, two-run bloop single from Tevor Howe in the fifth to hang on for the win.
Junior Jason Albert pitched well for Green Mountain but took the loss, going 5 2/3 innings, while giving up four hits and notching nine strike outs. Albert also led the Chieftain offense by collecting three hits on the day.
Dominic Strohmeyer picked up the only RBI for Green Mountain, who finishes their season with a 16-4 record, while Leland & Gray (16-2) moved on to face No. 1 seed Northfield (16-1) for the right to go to their third consecutive state championship game.
TV teams fall in openers
In a Division IV baseball stunner, the No. 6-seeded Twin Valley Wildcats recently fell to No. 11 Whitcomb, 19-7, in Wilmington. The loss ended Twin Valley's season at 8-9. Skyler Duncan got the start and took the tough-luck loss, going four innings while giving up two hits, four walks and striking out five.
He left the game with a two-run lead, however, the bullpen proceeded to implode, walking 11 batters and giving up a whopping 15 runs over the final three innings.
Duncan was also big at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBI's, while George Molner also pitched in with two hits and three runs scored. Ian Murdoch and Tony Bernard also pitched in with RBI-hits.
The Twin Valley softball team also had a rough go of it against No. 2 seeded Peoples Academy, dropping a 12-0 decision to the Wolves in Morrisville. Peoples jumped out to a quick, 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back as the Wildcats simply could not muster any offense against winning pitcher Jamie Strek.
Bryer-Lyn Crawford led the Twin Valley offense with two hits including a double and Ashley Lawless also doubled, while starting pitcher Kylie-Blu Crawford took the loss for the Lady Wildcats.
TV takes second at D-III track meet
There are only five boys on the Twin Valley boys track team, but they turned in an amazing performance as they finished second our of 19 teams in the state Division III meet in Chester on June 5.
Jared Cipriano was crowned state champion in the 300 meter dash with his time of 42.99 seconds. He also took second in the 110 meter hurdles in 16.36. Dylan Spiegel was fourth in the 100 meters with a time of 12 seconds, third in the 200 (24.65) and third in the shot put (40 feet, 11 inches). Scott Hayford was second in the 200 (24.48), the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches) and the long jump (18 feet, 11 inches). The 4x100 meter relay team of Spiegel, Hayford, Cipriano and Lewis Snow set a state meet record with their time of 45.99. Ahmed El-Nabty was the Wildcats' fifth competitor, placing 34th in the 1,500 meters.
The TV girls team finished 13th., Devon Spirka placed 13th in the 100 meters with a time of 14.16. She also came in ninth in the 200 meters (28.94) and fifth in the long jump (14 feet, 5 inches). Desi Mack was 33rd in the 200, eighth in the shot put and ninth in the javelin. Alex Kennedy claimed ninth in the 400 with a time of 1:10 and 10th in the 1,500 (5:53).
Brittany Roemmelt finished third in the 100m hurdles (17.94) and seventh in the long jump (13 feet). Svenja Schuirmann was 12th in the 100 hurdles (20.70) and ninth in the 300 hurdles (57.37).