Saxtons River Pirates take home CRVBL championship

BRATTLEBORO — The Saxtons River Pirates won the 2011 Connecticut River Valley Baseball League championship on Aug. 14, defeating the Claremont Cardinals 4-3 in a well pitched, exciting game at the new Walpole, N.H., baseball complex. 

Veteran lefty Chris Lundberg, working on one day's rest, pitched a complete game for the win. He scattered 8 hits, with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts.

Saxtons River jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but Claremont chipped away by scoring single runs in the the second, third, and fourth to tie the game at 3-3. In the top of the fifth, Pirates third baseman Andrew Robbins walked. Andrew Bashaw (2-for-3, triple, RBI) then stepped to the plate and drove in Robbins by blasting a triple to the gap in right center to put Saxtons River ahead for good.

The Pirates' Justin Beebe went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Claremont's Scott Christian had two hits and two runs, and Paul Felix went 2-for-3. Mike Wells took the tough luck loss, allowing only two earned runs in a complete game effort.

Saxtons River got to the finals by beating Brattleboro 8-2 on Aug. 12 as Lundberg went the distance for the win and Bo Lambert went 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs. The Pirates shut on Brattleboro 8-0 on Aug. 13  (Derek Smidutz blasted a home run) and defeated Chester 3-2 in Sunday's play-in game; David Lockerby went the distance for the win.

Claremont lost to Putney, 7-0, on Aug. 12, then defeated the Fossils twice (10-1 and 7-2) on Aug. 13 to earn their berth in the championship game.

'Bump Your Rump' in Grafton

Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center will host the inaugural “Bump Your Rump” mountain bike race on Saturday, Aug. 27. It's a six-hour cross-country mountain biking race that measures competitors' endurance; the more laps completed, the higher the bragging rights.

There is a four-mile primary racetrack that starts at Grafton Ponds and continues through the picturesque village of Grafton and includes a mix of 5 percent pavement, 10 percent cross-country ski trails and 85 percent single track.

Registration for the race is $50 per person with an included barbeque lunch after the race.  Awards will be given to the female and male contestants with most laps completed in each category.  Registration opens at 7 a.m. and the race will begin at 9 a.m. Pre-registration forms can be completed online at BikeReg.com. Racers can ride on their own or create relay teams of up to four people.

Clark wins season opener

Kelly Clark of West Dover opened the 2011-12 Burton Global Open tour with a victory in the tour's season opener on Aug. 13 at the New Zealand Open in Wanaka, New Zealand.

The 28-year-old Clark put down a frontside 720, cab 720, backside 540, and frontside 540, and finished with a frontside 900 to earn a score of 88.60 and win her 10th event in a row. Fellow Vermonter Hannah Teter came in second.

Ranked No. 1 in the world in the women's halfpipe, this was the third straight New Zealand Open victory for Clark.

Dummerston Rec offers youth soccer program

The Dummerston Recreation Department will have a fall soccer registration and practice for grades 1-5 on Sunday, Aug. 28, from 3-5 p.m., at the Dummerston School.

The cost is $20 per player. For more information, call Anna Piergentili at 802-999-9810.

Mountain Valley Open planned for Sept. 15

The 25th annual Mountain Valley Open golf tournament will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15, at Tater Hill Country Club in Londonderry, starting at noon. The 18-hole, four-player scramble event will benefit the Mountain Valley Medical Clinic, a nonprofit community health care clinic in Londonderry.

For more information, call Susie Wyman at 802-824-3537.

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