-Last week was a wet one, and many of the outdoor sporting events got rained out. With about two weeks left in the regular season, there's not much time left to make up the postponed games. Such is the nature of spring sports in Vermont.
Unified basketball
• Brattleboro defeated Rutland, 50-33, on May 6 to finish the regular season undefeated with a 7-0 record.
At press time, the Bears were set to face Twin Valley in a first-round playoff game on May 13 in the BUHS gym. Mill River also compiled a 7-0 record, but Brattleboro won't face them unless the Bears reach the Southern Division finals.
• Twin Valley ended the regular season with a 1-6 record after a 49-45 loss to Otter Valley on May 7 in Brandon.
The Wildcats were led by John-Michael Richard, who scored a game-high 16 points. Brogan Boyce and Brady Lackey added eight points each, Thomas Richard chipped in seven points, Chloe Lashway had four, and Trevor Morris-Boyd scored two points.
Softball
• Rutland got its first win of the season on May 7 with an 11-3 victory over Brattleboro on May 7 at Sawyer Field. Rutland scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back. The 1-6 Bears were held to just four hits as Rutland's Chloe Ellison struck out four batters to get the win.
• Burr & Burton pitcher Malayla Greene held Bellows Falls to just four hits as the Bulldogs eked out a 4-2 win in Manchester on May 7. BF's Izzy Stoodley was the losing pitcher. She struck out nine batters but walked three and gave up five hits. The Terriers are now 5-2.
Baseball
• Bellows Falls lost to undefeated White River Valley, 4-1, on May 10 in Royalton. The Terriers fell to 3-4 on the season.
• Burr & Burton shut out Brattleboro, 3-0, on May 8 in Manchester. The Bears also have a 3-4 record.
Girls' tennis
• On May 7, Bellows Falls started the first of four matches at their home-away-from-home, the Vermont Academy courts in Saxtons River, with a 6-1 loss to Mount Anthony. The only win for the Terriers came at No. 5 singles as Myleigh Illingworth defeated MAU's Emma Hall 6-2, 6-2.
Lacrosse
• The Brattleboro girls lost to undefeated Hartford, 13-4, at Natowich Field on May 8. The Bears fell to 3-4 on the season.
• The Brattleboro boys picked up a win against Otter Valley on May 5 and lost to Hartford on May 7 to fall to 2-6.
Ultimate disc
• Brattleboro has started its season undefeated. The Bears won their opening match against Leland & Gray, 15-3, under the lights at Natowich Field on April 23. Desmond Longsmith led the way for the Bears with five goal catches and CJ Tustin had four assists. Antero BrownMcCoard had a goal and two assists, along with adding two blocks on defense, for the Rebels and Miles Seiz and Dylan Hazelton each had a goal and a block.
The Bears won the rematch against Leland & Gray on April 26 in Townshend, 14-4, and edged Mount Anthony, 11-9, in Bennington on May 1 to improve their record to 3-0.
• Leland & Gray is still searching for its first win. After losing the opener to Brattleboro, the Rebels lost a rematch against Brattleboro on April 26 in Townshend, 14-4, and were shut out by Burr & Burton, 15-0, on April 29 in Manchester. On May 5 in Townshend, the Rebels lost to Mill River, 15-5, to drop their record to 0-4.
Honors for local athletes
• Brattleboro's Jack Cady was honored by the the Vermont Chapter of the National Football Foundation at its annual banquet at Vermont State University-Castleton on May 4.
Cady was selected as one of the chapter's six high school scholar-athletes for the 2024 and received a $500 scholarship. Eli Albee of Bellows Falls was one of the finalists for the scholarship.
A senior and a varsity letterman for the Bears in football, basketball, and track. Cady will be playing for Vermont in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl in August to conclude a successful high school athletic career and says he hopes to pursue a degree in political science on a pre-law track at either the University of Tennessee or the University of Virginia.
• Senji Kimura burst onto the local sports scene in 2022 as the pitching ace of the Brattleboro Little League Baseball 12-year-old All Stars that won the state championship. Kimura is currently a starter for the BUHS varsity baseball team.
Kimura is a great hockey player, too, and has developed into a solid goaltender. He was a varsity starter for the Bears as a freshman in the 2024-25 season and helped lead Brattleboro to the Division II semifinals.
USA Hockey has taken note, and recently selected Kimura for the U15 National Select Team. He was the only goaltender from Vermont selected out of the New England district. He will be in USA Hockey's player development camp in Amherst, New York, this summer.
Kimura was in one of USA Hockey's development camps two years ago, so a second invitation is a big deal. The players who go through these camps and perform well often end up representing the U.S. in international tournaments and the Olympics.
• It's not often that a baseball player from southern Vermont gets noticed nationally, but Baseball America - the premier publication that covers the sport with a focus on up-and-coming players from high school and college to the minor leagues - says one of the best high school pitchers in the U.S. lives in Chester.
Kaiden McCarthy, a sophomore at Vermont Academy, was recently named by Baseball America as one of the top high school baseball prospects in the Class of 2027. A six-foot tall right-hander, he throws a fastball that tops out in the mid-90s, with a good curveball and change-up.
He opened a lot of eyes as a varsity starter as an eighth-grader in 2023 at Green Mountain, where he went 5-0 with a 0.66 earned run average. He pitched 32 innings and struck out 70 batters. He allowed just 10 hits and walked only two batters. He also led the team at the plate with 27 hits and 25 RBIs.
McCarthy transferred to Vermont Academy in Saxtons River for his freshman season, where his father, Matt McCarthy, is a coach. Kaiden has continued his winning ways; VA ended last week with a 12-1 record. He's also been a standout in the national amateur baseball showcase circuit.
There haven't been many Vermonters in the big leagues. If the baseball deities smile upon him and things continue break his way, maybe Kaiden McCarthy will make it to "The Show."
Rec. Dept. offers summer sports camps
The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will offer softball, baseball, and basketball camps this summer.
• Softball camp takes place at Sawyer Field at Brattleboro Union High School from June 23 to 27 for those in grades 3–8. The camp will run from 9 a.m. to noon, and will be led by BUHS softball coaches Jay Cudworth and Erin Cooke, along with BUHS softball players and alumni. The fee is $130 for Brattleboro residents and $145 for nonresidents.
The camp will focus on fundamentals and help participants develop good habits and proper technique that players will be able to use on the softball field. All participants are required to come with a glove, cleats or sneakers, and a bat (if you own one), a water bottle and a snack for a morning break.
• Baseball camp will be led by instructors Jay Cudworth and Brian Casey at the Lower Field at Living Memorial Park. Session one is for kids entering grades 1–3 will take place on July 14 to 18, from 9 a.m. to noon. Session Two, for kids entering grades 4–6, will take place on July 21 to 25, from 9 a.m. to noon. The fee is $130 for Brattleboro residents and $145 for nonresidents.
Participants will be trained in the fundamentals of baseball. Each camper will receive personal attention to help improve their skills through the use of proper playing habits to help them take the next step in their baseball development. All participants must come with a glove, cleats/sneakers, water and bat if you own one. A minimum of 10 participants is required to run each week of camp.
• Jason Coplan of Hoopscamp.net will offer a week of youth basketball camp for those entering grades 1–9. This camp will run from July 7 to 11, and will be held at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main Street. Grades 1–4 will meet from 9 a.m. to noon, and grades 5–9 from 1 to 4 p.m. Both sections will have a maximum of 20 kids. The fee for this camp is $130 for Brattleboro residents and $145 for nonresidents.
Participants will take part in skills and drills that will help increase the level of play and understanding of the game. Students will learn valuable life skills working together in addition to taking part in various forms of competition and games, putting the fun in fundamentals. No player will be forced to participate if they do not feel comfortable. Bring sneakers and a water bottle.
• Individuals can register online at vtbrattleboroweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web, or in person Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.. at the Recreation & Parks office at Gibson-Aiken Center. If there are special needs required for programs, let them know five days in advance. For more information, call 802-254-5808.
Free day-use entry to state parks available for eligible Vermonters
• Vermont Parks Forever, the only nonprofit foundation for Vermont's 55 state parks, recently announced a first-in-the-nation, privately funded pilot program that will provide free day-use entry to Vermont State Parks for more than 100,000 income eligible Vermonters during the 2025 park season.
In partnership with Vermont State Parks, the Department for Children and Families' Economic Services Division, and the Department of Health's WIC Program, this initiative will run from the end of May through October and is available to families and individuals receiving services through the Economic Services Division and WIC.
Vermont individuals and families enrolled in Reach Up, 3SquaresVT, Fuel Assistance, General Assistance, Essential Person Program, Summer EBT, and WIC are eligible for free day-use entry. For more on how to use this pilot program, visit vermontparksforever.org/paf-pilot.
This pilot program is an expansion of Vermont Parks Forever's Park Access Fund that has been creating a more equitable outdoor experience since 2016. Contributions are welcome in support of this program and can be made at vermontparksforever.org/give-park-access.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 2 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on May 8 saw a few teams get their names and Team 7 and Team 4 (no names yet) move into a tie for first place with 8-2 records. Cylcones (Team 1) is in second place at 7.5-2.5, followed by Slo Movers (Team 3) and Leftovers (Team 8), both at 7-3, and Team 6 at 6.5-3.5. I.D.Care (Team 5) and Team 9 are both 6-4, Team 10 (Strikers) is 5-5, and Wayne's World (Team 2) is 1-9.
Candida Wall had the women's high handicap game (250), while Diane Cooke had the high handicap series (666). Wayne Randall had the men's high handicap game (235) and series (647). Team 7 had the high team handicap game (853) and I.D. Care had the high handicap series (2,451).
Kevin Napaver again had the men's high scratch series (546) with a 202 game, while Milt Sherman had a 528 series with a 198 game. Rich Pietro had a 524 series with a 207 game, and Wayne Randall had a 503 series with a 187 game. Mike Pavlovich had a 202 game and Warren Corriveau Sr. rolled a 198.
Deb Fantini had the women's high scratch series (534), with games of 212 and 164. Wall had a 178 game and Cook 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 [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.