-The Leland & Gray Rebels started the softball season with just three returning seniors. The rest of the roster was comprised of a senior joining the team for the first time, plus three juniors, two sophomores, seven ninth-graders, and two eighth-graders.
With so many young players, Rebels fans might have expected that this year would be a rebuilding season. Instead, the third-seeded Rebels made it all the way to the Division IV state championship game. They lost 19-4 to the top-seeded West Rutland Golden Horde at Vermont State University-Castleton on June 16. We'll have the full story in next week's roundup.
To get to the final, the Rebels defeated the second-seeded Proctor Phantoms, 5-4, in a semifinal game on June 9.
It was an eighth-grader, Addison Eldridge, who was the spark plug on offense. She got all three of the Rebels' hits off Proctor pitcher Olivia Graham and used her speed and base running smarts to twice steal home to score runs in the first and third innings. Eldridge also beat out an infield single in the fifth inning and ultimately scored on an error.
The Rebels' other runs came in the second inning, when Sophia Hallock reached base on an error and later scored on an error, and in the third inning when McKinley Bertram scored on a wild pitch.
Rebels pitcher Kristen Lowe kept her team in the game. She allowed nine hits, including a home run by Proctor's Lauren Palmer, but struck out eight batters. Proctor stranded nine base runners as the Rebels got the outs when they needed them, including a game-ending double play to snuff out a Phantoms rally.
Terriers fall to Oxbow in softball semis
• The Oxbow Olympians won their fifth straight Division III state softball championship on June 15 by blanking second-seeded BFA-Fairfax, 13-0, on June 14. It was Oxbow's 66th win in a row.
Oxbow's 65th straight win came on June 11, when they defeated the fifth-seeded Bellows Falls Terriers, 10-1, in the semifinals. It was the third straight year that Oxbow has beaten the Terriers in the playoffs.
Oxbow pitcher Anastase Bourgeois held BF to just two hits as she struck out 13 and walked no one. The Olympians scored in every inning they went to bat as they got 13 hits.
Yes, Oxbow is that good, and there is no shame in losing to them. They set the standard in Division III, and Bellows Falls has been steadily improving to approach that standard. In the 2023 semifinal, BF lost, 17-1. In the 2024 championship game, BF lost, 37-2. This year, the Terriers got closer. Who knows what next year will bring?
BF has lost starting pitcher Izzy Stoodley, second baseman Emma McDonough, and outfielder Maya Rentas to graduation, but they have a strong core of underclasswomen returning for 2026, including pitchers Maeve Mulverhill and Delaney Stoodley.
Rebels lose a close one in baseball semis
• Like their softball comrades, the Leland & Gray Rebels also entered this baseball season with a young team filled with eighth- and ninth-graders. The baseball team couldn't reach the championship game, but in losing to the top-seeded Blue Mountain Bucks, 4-3, in the Division IV semifinals on June 10, the Rebels showed they have talent to be reckoned with in the coming years.
Senior pitcher Cody Hescock, a workhorse all season for the Rebels, turned in another solid effort against the Bucks, throwing 86 pitches and striking out five batters over seven innings. The Rebels were in trouble early as the Bucks took a 4-0 lead. Leland & Gray battled back to score three runs in the fourth inning, but could get no closer.
The Bucks, who beat the Rebels in last year's championship game, won their third straight championship by beating seventh-seeded West Rutland, 4-1, on June 14.
While the Rebels lost Hescock, catcher Lucas Stolpp, and reserves Dakota Dunham and Jax Mesiter to graduation. they will be returning 11 underclassmen for the 2026 season, including Spencer Clausen, Logan Holden, and Shane LeCours, who all played well against Blue Mountain in this game.
HCRS hosts 18th annual Golf Tournament to support housing needs
• Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont's nonprofit community mental health agency, hosts its 18th annual Golf Tournament & Silent Auction on Friday, June 20, at the Brattleboro Country Club-a day that blends fun and fundraising to support one of the most urgent needs in our region: housing.
This annual event does more than bring people together for golf, good food, and community. It also powers HCRS's Housing Contingency Fund, which provides vital assistance to clients and families who are unhoused or on the brink of it.
"Whether it's helping cover a security deposit, turning the lights back on, or fixing a car so someone can get to work, this fund offers immediate support when there's nowhere else to turn," organizers said in a news release. "In Vermont, which has one of the highest rates of homelessness per capita in the U.S., that kind of support can change the course of someone's life.
The tournament begins at noon with a shotgun start. Registration is $175 per player and includes greens fees, a golf cart, lunch, dinner, player gifts, golf balls, entry into contests like the air cannon and longest drive, and a shot at team prizes.
The silent auction - which runs through June 20 - offers another way to support the cause while bidding on exciting prizes donated by generous local businesses. For more information or to register, visit hcrs.org.
BUHS Alumni tee up for a cause
• The Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Booster Club presents its 22nd annual BUHS Alumni Golf Tournament on Saturday, June 21, at the Brattleboro Country Club. The shotgun start begins at 8:30 a.m., and the first 25 teams to register will secure their spot in this beloved community tradition.
This high-spirited event is open to BUHS alumni, friends, family, and supporters. Golfers can register as a foursome or as individuals, with Brattleboro Country Club's Mike Zaranek assisting solo players in finding a team.
Registration is $130 per player or $520 per team, and the entry fee includes green fees and cart, range access, a tee gift, food and beverage voucher, and entry into the team and closest-to-the-pin prizes. Attendees can also take part in the popular Putting Contest, where $5 gets you three chances to sink your putt and win big.
This outing serves as a fundraiser for the BUHS Booster Club, a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit that supports Brattleboro Union High School's student-athletes. Proceeds from the event help to pay for uniforms, equipment, travel, and other essential needs for BUHS sports programs. Register at buhsboosters.org.
Nine new inductees to BHS/BUHS Hall of Fame
• The Brattleboro High School/Brattleboro Union High School Hall of Fame Committee recently announced its nine new inductees into the Class of 2025. Spanning 60 years (1941-2001), they competed on the gridiron to the trails, the court to the mountains and jumps, to diamonds and the track.
Athletes include Ray Bueb '65 (football, basketball, and baseball), Marvin Carley '60 and Clayton Lane '41 (football and track & field), Heather Nelson '81 (basketball and softball), Amy Springer '01 (cross country, soccer, basketball, and track & field), and Bernie Wells '71 (ski jumping and golf).
Two teams will inducted - the 1971-74 boys' ski teams and the 1971-72 girls' ski team. Both won state championships during that span.
Peter Kenneth "Ken" Campbell, who worked at the Brattleboro Reformer from 1952 to 1989, will be inducted in the media category.
Campbell, who was inducted into the Vermont Principals' Association Hall of Fame in 2019, pretty much created the modern template for covering high school sports in Vermont as the Reformer's sports editor. He was among the first to make sure the girls' teams got as much coverage as the boys' teams, and his weekly "Speaking of Sports" column was a must-read.
I worked briefly with Ken in 1989, when I arrived in Brattleboro to be the No. 2 sports reporter and photographer at the Reformer. He was kind, easy-going, and beloved by virtually everyone in Brattleboro. I learned much from him and the example that he set for covering sports in a county that truly cares about the doings of its young athletes.
The induction banquet takes place on Nov. 1 at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street. Tickets are $35 per person. Send you ticket requests to BHS/BUHS Athletic Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 8018, Brattleboro, VT 05304. Tickets can be paid for by check (made out to BHS/BUHS Athletic HOF), or via PayPal or Venmo, email the committee at [email protected] for information to do that.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 7 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on June 12 saw Slo Movers (28.5-6.5) have a 4-1 week to remain in first place. Team 7 (22-13) also went 4-1 to move into second place, followed by Dims (21-14), Cyclones (20.5-14.5), 4 Queens (18.5-16.5), Wayne's World and Having Fun (both 14-21), Leftovers (13-22), I.D. Care (12-23), and Strikers (11.5-23.5).
Carol Gloski again had the women's high handicap game (248), while Nancy Dalzell had the high handicap series (638). Al Dascomb had the men's high handicap game (243) and Norm Corliss had the high handicap series (764). Team 7 had the high team handicap game (894) and series (2,489).
Kevin Napaver had the men's high scratch series (607), with games of 223 and 219, and Gary Montgomery had a 519 series with games of 192 and 180. Dascomb had a 183 game, Eric Brown had a 175 game, Milt Sherman had a 174 game, and Duane Schillemat rolled a 172.
Dalzell had the women's high scratch series (461) and Gloski had the high scratch game (199). Dalzell had a 169 game and Darlene Ladabouche rolled a 151.
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.