-It had been a great summer for the Brattleboro Little League 12U All-Stars. They swept through the district and state tournament without a loss, and everything was lined up for a happy ending. They had home field advantage, their top two pitchers were fully rested, and the team was quietly confident they could win a state championship.
But it didn't work out that way for Brattleboro. Essex Town shut down the Brattleboro offense with great pitching and defense on the way to a 4-0 win on July 26 at South Main Street Field.
Essex, which beat Colchester, 8-4, on July 23 to reach the state championship game, got dominating pitching performances from starter Dylan Markey and reliever David Bent as they combined on a no-hitter.
"We just didn't string anything together offensively today," said Brattleboro head coach Seth Deyo. "It doesn't matter how many runs you give up, if you don't score any, you're not going to win a ball game."
It was not for lack of trying. Brattleboro, which lost a coin flip and was the visiting team in this game, opened the first inning by loading the bases.
Gavin Carpenter led off with a walk, but after two quick outs, Cole Systo stepped up to the plate. Essex Town was not going to give the slugger a chance to hit one of his tape measure home runs. Instead, they walked him intentionally. The move almost backfired after Niko Papadimitriou walked to load the bases, but Markey struck out Mason Vollinger to end the inning.
Systo was Brattleboro's starting pitcher and, like Markey, also pitched himself into a jam in the bottom of the first after Essex Town's Brady Salvatori was hit by a pitch and Kayl Leshchishin reached base on an infield single. A passed ball put both runners in scoring position with one out, but Systo retired the next two batters with a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat.
The game was shaping up to be a pitchers duel after that. Bent replaced Markey in the third inning and retired Brattleboro in order to keep the game scoreless. Essex Town then got all the runs they needed to win in the bottom half of the inning.
Brandon Kinney started the inning with a single to left. Lawson Valyou laid down a bunt, and Brattleboro got Kinney out at second as Valyou reached on a fielder's choice. Grayson Morgan walked, and things quickly unraveled for Brattleboro. Finn Eklof hit an RBI single to right field and Bent hit another RBI single to left field. Salvatori then walked, and Leshchishin cleared the bases with a two-run single to left for a 4-0 lead. Systo then got the final two outs of the inning, but the damage had been done.
In the fourth inning, Systo was again intentionally walked with two outs and the bases empty. The Brattleboro fans booed, but it's hard to argue with Essex Town's strategy of not giving Systo a chance to change the momentum with one swing of the bat.
After Systo finished up the fourth inning and reached his pitch limit, Carpenter came on to relieve his teammate in the fifth inning and retired the Essex Town batters in order, with the highlight of the inning being a great running catch by Papadimitriou of a long fly ball hit by Bent to left field. The sensational play gave Brattleboro an emotional lift, but Bent retired all three batters he faced in the sixth inning to clinch the title for Essex Town.
The next stop for Essex Town is Bristol, Connecticut, where they will play in the Little League New England regional for the first time since 2021. The New England regional will run from Aug. 2–7. Essex Town will open the tournament against Bedford, New Hampshire on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m.
Brattleboro has won 18 state championships at the 12U level, the last coming in 2022. This year's All-Stars had the makings of a team that could capture a 19th championship banner, but it was not be.
After going undefeated to win the District 2 title, and beating Essex Town and Colchester in the first weekend of the state tournament, Brattleboro's season was now over with the loss to Essex Town. A change in the format of the double-elimination state tournament this made the final game a winner-take-all affair, even though it was Brattleboro's only loss in the tournament.
This year's Brattleboro 12U All-Stars were: Gavin Carpenter, Soren Cheslawski, Ayden Deyo, Cooper Deyo, Brayson George, Ben Hettrick, Dominic Houle, Owen Malouin, Niko Papadimitriou, Cole Systo, Mason Vollinger, and Zealand Wentworth.
"I'm proud of all 12 guys, they worked hard throughout and while we didn't ultimately achieve the goals we were looking for, they devoted their entire summer to each other. I'm real proud of that effort," said Coach Deyo.
He was also confident that this group will continue to make its mark as they move on to the next level of their baseball journeys.
"We've had a great run together, many of these guys have played three or four years of tournament ball, and [I'm] just proud of what they've accomplished in that time and I'm sure that they're going to continue to thrive on the ballfield. Wherever it is they decide to go, they're going to do well."
Legion roundup
• Brattleboro Post 5 and Bellows Falls Post 37 did not make it out of pool play in this year's Vermont American Legion Baseball tournament in White River Junction.
Post 5, the No. 2 seed in the Southern Division, and Post 37, the No. 4 seed in the Southern Division, opened the tournament on July 23 with losses. Brattleboro was beaten by Addison County, 3-0, and Bellows Falls was defeated by Essex Post 91, 6-4.
On July 24, Brattleboro and Bellows Falls faced each other, and the result was a 15-1 win for Post 5 in five innings.
Alex McClelland went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs to lead Brattleboro, while Sam Bogart was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI and Ryder Butynski was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Post 5 also took advantage of eight errors by Post 37.
Jayke Glidden, who was named to the tournament's all-star team, earned the win for Post 5. He struck out four and walked no one in giving up just one hit and no runs in 3 1/3 innings. Quincy Knapp scored Post 37's only run in the fourth inning off an RBI double from Trenton Fletcher.
Bellows Falls ended its tournament run on July 25 with a 7-4 loss to Addison County, while Essex beat Brattleboro, 4-2, to finish off Post 5.
Essex and St. Johnsbury Post 58, the last two teams standing, faced each other for the championship on July 27, with Post 58 coming away with an 8-3 victory for their first-ever state Legion title. Post 58 will now represent Vermont in the Northeast Regional Tournament that begins on Aug. 8 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
PVYBL roundup
• Brattleboro and Whitingham both went deep into the Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League's (PVYBL) 14U Koufax Division playoffs, but it was Brattleboro that ultimately won the PVYPL's season-ending tournament.
The double-elimination tourney opened on July 21 with Northampton beating Brattleboro, 15-6, while Frontier (South Deerfield) beat Whitingham, 11-5.
Whitingham bounced back on July 23 with a 14-0 win Greenfield as Colton Corey, Ethan Burgh, and Osiah Ballard combined to pitch a shutout.
On July 24, Brattleboro shut out Frontier, 7-0. AJ Blais was the winning pitcher. Whitingham beat Northampton, 5-3, to join Brattleboro in the tourney's final four that was played at Deerfield (Mass.) Academy.
Brattleboro reached the championship game with a 14-3 win over West County (Shelburne Falls) on July 26 and a 19-3 victory over Amherst. Carson Depue, Kason Gundry, and Briar Cutting shared the pitching chores for Brattleboro in the West County win, while Jackson Dermatis was the winning pitcher in the Amherst game. Earlier in the day, Whitingham was eliminated with a 14-3 loss to Amherst.
Brattleboro faced West County for the PVYBL championship on July 27 at Deerfield Academy and won, 6-4. Gundry was the winning pitcher.
• Brattleboro's 14U PVYBL team, sponsored by American Legion Post 5, also played in the Vermont Babe Ruth 14U Tournament in Woodstock, and the team won the state title, defeating St. Johnsbury, 9-6, on July 13 in Woodstock. Brattleboro went undefeated in the state tournament.
Brattleboro then traveled to North Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the eight-team Babe Ruth 14U New England Regional tournament against teams from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and Connecticut.
They lost to Westfield, Massachusetts, 4-1, in the opener of the double-elimination tournament on July 18; defeated Plymouth, New Hampshire, 11-1, on July 20; and were knocked out of the tourney with a 7-2 loss to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on July 21.
The Post 5 Babe Ruth team was coached by Ryan Squires and Nate Boudreau. On the roster were AJ Blais, Jacoby Bonnette, Axton Crowley, Braydon Fostyck, Cutting, Shaun Emery-Greene, Bryce Tracey, Camden Olmstead, Carson Depue, Eli Depue, Grant DeBlois, Dermatis, Kason Gundry, Logan Holden, Nolan Domanski, and Spencer Jones.
Shrine Game is this Saturday
• The 72nd annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Football Game, played between two all-star teams of graduated high school seniors from Vermont and New Hampshire, takes place on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Vermont State University's Dave Wolk Stadium.
Three local players will be on the Vermont squad. Brattleboro sends receiver and kick returner Jack Cady, while Bellows Falls sends quarterback/defensive back Eli Allbee and running back/linebacker Carson Clark.
The Vermont team will be coached by Bellows Falls' Bob Lockerby, who has been the coach of the Terriers since 2006 and, before that, was an assistant under the legendary Bis Bisbee from 1981 to 2005.
Vermont has won the last two Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl games, but New Hampshire has won this game 50 times to Vermont's 18.
Tickets for the game are available in advance at zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/72nd-shrine-maple-sugar-bowl, or at the gate on game day. Proceeds from the game help support Shriners Children's Hospitals.
Clinic for new soccer referees
• A clinic for new high school soccer referees for candidates 18 years or older will be held Saturday Aug. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m, in Wilmington.
Classroom instruction will be followed by on-field refereeing of a high school scrimmage. Cost is $50 and includes the clinic, a 2025 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Soccer Rulebook, and first year dues in the Vermont Soccer Officials Association.
An RSVP is required. Contact Eric Evans at [email protected].
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 13 of the spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on July 24 saw Slo Movers (44.5-20.5) have a 4-1 week to move back into first place, just a half-game ahead of Team 7 (44-21), which had a 3-2 week to slide into second place. Cyclones (36.5-28.5) is now in third place, followed by Dims (35-30), Leftovers (32-33), Wayne's World (31-34), Having Fun (27-38), I.D. Care (25-35), 4 Queens (25.5-39.5), and Strikers (23.5-41.5).
Debbie Rittenhour had the women's high handicap game (248) and Shirley Aiken had the high handicap series (624). Stan Kolpa once again had the men's high handicap game (262) and series (716). Slo Movers had the high team handicap game (881) and Cyclones had the high handicap series (2,478).
Robert Rigby had the men's high scratch series (644), with games of 233, 201, and 201, while Chuck Adams had a 624 series with games of 211, 207 and 206. Kevin Napaver had a 609 series with games of 226, 193, and 190, Milt Sherman had a 578 series with games of 200 and 196, and Kolpa had a 572 series with games of 214 and 200. Gary Montgomery had a 566 series with games of 199 and 196, Charlie Marchant had a 536 series with a 197 game, and Fred Ashworth had a 532 series.
Aiken had the women's high scratch series (447) and game (179). She also had a 163 game. Rittenhour rolled a 173.
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.