The Brattleboro Little League 12-year-old All-Stars swept Bennington in the District 2 finals over the weekend to punch their ticket for the state championships in St. Albans this weekend.
“This isn't easy,” Brattleboro coach Chad Gundry told his team after they defeated Bennington, 11-0, in the deciding game on July 17 before a big crowd at South Main Street Field.
But Brattleboro, undefeated in tournament play, made it look easy with a pair of shutout victories on their home diamond.
In the first game on July 15, Senji Kimura came within one bobbled ball of throwing a perfect game. Instead, Kimura settled for a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and no walks over six innings in a 3-0 win.
Ryan Peloso, with Kimura behind the plate as his catcher, was nearly as good in the championship game two days later. Peloso gave up just two infield hits as Brattleboro shut out Bennington, 11-0, in a game stopped after four innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Bennington won the District 2 title last year, but this year, the team had to fight its way out of the elimination round to get to the championship games. On July 14, the night before Kimura's pitching masterpiece, third-seeded Bennington had to go on the road to face second-seeded Rutland, and needed a late rally to win it, 9-8.
However, even if Bennington was well-rested, they would still have had trouble with Kimura's stuff. It was the first time they saw Brattleboro's ace pitcher in the tournament, and they had no answers against the lanky, hard-throwing right-hander.
But Brattleboro was having just as tough a time against Bennington's starting pitcher, Talin Bartholdi. They were held to one hit over the first two innings before Brattleboro got all the runs they needed in the third inning. Briar Cutting reached on an error, Kimura singled to left, and Peloso cranked a three-run homer over the left field fence.
It was the only blemish on a strong pitching performance by Bartholdi, who finished with 12 strikeouts in a complete game four-hitter.
“That's the first time we've faced a quality pitcher, and we did a good job hanging in there and being patient,” said Gundry.
The only drama after that was whether Kimura would get his perfect game. With one out in the fifth, Bennington's Eli Miner hit a ground ball to second. The throw to first was hurried and first baseman Cole could not hang on.
It was Bennington's only baserunner of the night, as Kimura finished the fifth with two strikeouts, and struck out the side in the sixth to earn the no-hitter. Kimura needed just 72 pitches to get the win.
In the deciding game, the Brattleboro offense gave Peloso plenty of support. They got their first run in the opening inning, when Kimura doubled off the center field fence and scored on a hard-hit single by Peloso.
Kaden Cole and Logan Casey started off the second inning with walks, moved into scoring position on a sacrifice fly by Logan Waite, and both came home on a two-run single by Cutting. Kimura followed with an RBI triple to center to make it 4-0.
Bennington starting pitcher Hunter Mattison ran out of gas in the fourth inning as Brattleboro scored seven runs. Cutting hit a three-run double and Yignyen Wangchuk and Peloso had RBI singles, while another two runs scored on a misplayed ground ball hit by Wangchuk.
“We were too ready and too prepared to have this season end the way last season ended,” Gundry said after the game. “And we're not done yet.”
Brattleboro has the confidence that has come through playing sound baseball and totally trusting each other. This is a really good team, one that is capable of capturing a state championship, something a Brattleboro team hasn't done since 2016.
Little League 10s in District finals
• The Brattleboro 10-year-old All Stars also made it into the the District 2 championship series.
In game one on July 16 at South Main Street Field, Brattleboro outlasted Rutland to win a 13-11 slugfest. Brattleboro scored six runs in the fifth inning to take the lead, and held off a late Rutland rally to earn the victory. Vinny Doell had a multi-hit game for Brattleboro.
At press time, game two of the best-of-three series was set for July 19 at South Main Street Field.
Legion baseball roundup
• After beating White River Junction, 7-2, on July 12, Brattleboro Post 5 lost a 7-2 decision to Manchester Union Underground on July 14.
Winning pitcher Max Brownlee teamed up with Trevor Greene to hold Post 5 to just four hits. Griff Briggs had four hits and drove in two runs for Manchester.
Aidan Davis drove in one of Brattleboro's runs with a groundout in the fourth inning. Evan Wright, Alex Bingham, and Jackson Emery split the pitching chores for Post 5, which ended the week with a 9-4 record.
Brattleboro is locked in a three-way race with Bellows Falls and White River Junction for the final two playoff spots in the Southern Division. Lakes Region gets an automatic spot for hosting the state tournament.
• Bellows Falls Post 37 got its week started with a 9-5 win on July 12 at Bennington Post 13. They then hosted White River Junction for a doubleheader on July 16 at Hadley Field. Post 37 won the opener, 10-0, but lost the second game, 11-6, to end the week with a 9-5 record.
Jack Cravinho went the distance for Post 37 in the first game of the doubleheader. Bellows Falls looked like they might pull off a sweep, but White River Junction scored for 10 runs across the final two innings of the second game to salvage a split.
Rec. Dept. hosts pickleball camp
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department and Gurudharm Khalsa will offer a pickleball camp for those in 4th-8th grade this summer at the Harris Tennis Courts at Living Memorial Park.
The camp will be held July 25-29, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The fee for the program is $45 for Brattleboro residents and $60 for non-residents.
The camp will cover the basic fundamentals of pickleball play which include the underhand serve, the drive, the dink, and the volley. Participants will work their way forward to learn the basic rules of the game for doubles play, and some elements of strategy. Warmups, stretching, agility and mobility drills will be included.
Khalsa is not only the Senior State champion in Vermont for singles and doubles, but he recently won the National Senior Games championship in singles for players 70-74. For more information, call the Rec. Dept.'s office at Gibson-Aiken Center at 802-254-5808.
Free basketball camp offered in Brattleboro
• Brattleboro Union High School boys' varsity basketball coach Jason Coplan will lead a youth basketball camp and clinic on Aug. 1-5, from 9 a.m. to noon daily, at the BUHS gym.
Coplan says that, thanks to a donation by Kristen Ziter at Brattleboro Area Reality, the camp will be free for all girls and boys in grades 2-9. All ability levels are welcome, as the camp will emphasize basketball fundamentals as well as advanced skills.
Visit hoopscamp.net for more details and registration information, or call Coplan at 802-275-7527. Coplan says he's also looking for additional assistants and volunteers to help with this year's camp, as well as additional sponsors and donations to help keep the camp free for everyone.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 7 of the Brattleboro Senior Summer Bowling League on July 14 at Brattleboro Bowl saw Good Times (28-7) have a 4-1 week to take sole possession of first place at the midway point of the season.
Angus & Company (24-10) went 1-4 to slide into second place, followed by The Keglers (20-15), the Number 1's (19-16), The Strikers (17-18), The Anythings (14-21), Trash-O-Matic (9-26), and Stayin' Alive (8-27).
Nancy Dalzell had the women's high handicap game (241), while Pamela Greenblott had the high handicap series (652). Al Dascomb had the men's high handicap game (251) and series (715). The Number 1's had the high team handicap game (855) and Good Times again had the high team handicap series (2,428).
In scratch scoring, Chuck Adams once again led the men with a 595 series with games of 215, 204, and 190, while Fred Ashworth had a 538 series that featured a 211 game. Dascomb had a 532 series while Warren Corriveau Sr. and Marty Adams each had a 190 game.
Greenblott had the women's high scratch series (481) with games of 175 and 164, while Dalzell had the high scratch game (191).