-For the fourth time in the past five years, the Brattleboro Little League 12-U All-Stars have won the District 2 championship.
Brattleboro defeated the Rutland County Little League All-Stars in a best-of-three series for the district title. Brattleboro won a 3-2 thriller June 15 at South Main Street Field and shut out Rutland, 10-0, in five innings on July 17 at White Memorial Park in Rutland.
Rutland, who won the District 2 title in 2024, had beaten Brattleboro, 4-2, on July 12 in Rutland in the finale of the round robin stage of the tournament. Brattleboro had already clinched a spot in the finals, so both teams knew they were going to be facing each other in the knockout round.
In Game 1, great defense and solid pitching allowed Brattleboro to escape with the win. Simon Potter went five innings, giving up four hits, one unearned run, and two walks while striking out eight to earn the win. Closer Benson Urban pitched the final inning and got out of the jam to pick up the save.
Brattleboro took a 1-0 lead when a ground out by Teddy McKay scored a run. McKay made inT2-0 in the fourth inning with an RBI double, but Rutland cut the lead in half in the fifth when Gavin Gensch scored on a passed ball. Brattleboro got the run back in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single by Patrick Carroll.
Trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth, Rutland’s Sire Beayon hit a grounder that was misplayed to allow a run to score. With no outs and runners at the corners, Brattleboro manager Chad Gundry called for an intentional walk to load the bases in the hope of getting a double play. The strategy worked, as Brattleboro completed a double play without allowing a run to score. Urban then struck out the next batter to nail down the win.
There was no drama in Game 2 as Brattleboro went with McKay as its starting pitcher and held Rutland to just four hits as he struck out nine batters and walked no one.
Beayon, who was the winning pitcher in the July 11 game, was Rutland’s starter. This time, however, the Brattleboro hitters had little difficulty in scoring runs.
Brattleboro scored three runs in a second inning that featured an RBI bunt single by Grayson Boudreau. They got three more runs in the fourth inning as Bryson Letourneau had an RBI single, Boudreau an RBI fielder’s choice, and Jordan Torres drew a bases-load walk to force in a run.
The 10-run mercy rule was triggered in the fifth inning as Brattleboro scored four runs on a pair of passed balls, a bases-loaded walk to Urban and an RBI groundout by Carroll.
Brattleboro will represent District 2 in the state 12U tournament which is set to begin on Saturday, July 25, in Stowe.
Legion roundup
• This week is the final week of the Vermont American Legion Baseball regular season. As of the end of last week, White River Junction Post 84 (11-4) and Ludlow Post 36 (10-5) held the top two spots in the Southern Division.
The remaining two spots are a toss up. Brattleboro Post 5 was in third place (8-6), and Bennington Post 13 (7-8), Rutland Post 31 (7-9), and Bellows Falls Post 37 (6-8) were jockeying for the final playoff berth. At 3-12, Lakes Region is out of the running.
• Bellows Falls had a rough week with a pair of losses, with a 19-7 drubbing at the hands of Ludlow on July 14 at Hadley Field and an 8-3 loss at Rutland on July 18.
In the loss to Ludlow, Post 36 took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning as the first run came on a passed ball, and Evan Farrar and Garrett Brickey each drew a bases-loaded walk. They got three more runs in the fourth inning; Tanner Swisher drove in two of them with a base hit.Post 37 got five runs in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a pair of errors, an RBI single by Saul James, and an RBI double by Jaden Bazin.
But Ludlow pulled away in the fifth as two Post 37 errors and run-scoring hits by Milo Tucker and Swisher made it a 10-5 game. Bellows Falls never recovered. Post 36 made sure of that in a seventh inning that featured a home run by Aiden Garvey and a two-run base hit by Swisher.
Against Rutland, Post 37 saw a 3-3 tie vanish when Post 31 took a one-run lead in the fourth inning and pulled away with four runs in the fifth inning. Bellows Falls starting pitcher Steven Joslyn took the loss.
The second game of the scheduled doubleheader with Rutland was postponed due to heavy rain that left the field unplayable.The postponement left Post 37 faced with playing five games in five days this week with a playoff spot on the line.
• Brattleboro swept a doubleheader with Bennington on July 12, and lost 9-2 to White River Junction on July 15 to finish a five-game homestand at Tenney Field.
Winning pitcher Sean Cozza scattered 10 hits but got plenty of offensive support in a 13-5 win in the first game of the doubleheader with Bennington. Post 5 scored 10 runs in the first inning and cruised from there. While Post 5 managed just four hits, they drew 12 walks and stole bases. Jackson Dermatis and Kmar Hall each had a hit and drove in two runs.
Kason Gundry was the winning pitcher in a 14-1 victory in the second game, which ended after five innings due to the mercy rule. He held Post 13 to four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Brattleboro again did not get many hits, just five in all, but again took advantage of walks and errors to pile up the runs.
Against White River Junction, Post 5 stayed close for the first three innings before Post 84 broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth. Dermatis was the losing pitcher. Post 5 also entered the final week of the season with a compressed schedule of four games in three days.
Brattleboro reaches New England Babe Ruth 13U tournament
• Brattleboro hosted the Vermont Babe Ruth 13U Tournament July 10–12. It was the first state baseball tournament at Tenney Field since its renovation was completed this spring.
The Brattleboro Gold team, one of two Brattleboro 13U teams playing in the Koufax Division of the Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League, swept through the Vermont tournament. They opened with a 16-1 win in four innings over Arlington, then beat Essex twice in two days— first in a 10-0 victory in five innings, and again in an 11-0 victory.
Brattleboro advanced to the New England 13U Tournament in Westfield, Massachusetts, and won their first two games in pool play, defeating Fairfield, Connecticut, 9-2, on July 17, and and North Providence/Smithfield, Rhode Island, 11-3, on July 18.
Fall baseball sign-ups in Brattleboro
• Sign-ups for Brattleboro Little League’s Fall Ball program will take place July 27, 28, and 29 from 4 to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m to noon. The cost of the program is $25.
Eligible players are anyone who played in Brattleboro Little League this year as well as anyone who will turn 9 years old by Aug. 31, 2027, but will not be 13 before Aug. 31, 2026. Players who played Small Fry baseball this past year and are unsure if they are ready for Little League next season are encouraged to participate.
Teams will play a 12-game regular season from early September to mid-October, with games on Saturdays and Sundays. Games last two hours, and no score is kept. The emphasis is on player development and learning baseball skills. Players are limited to no more than two innings at any position, so kids who played the outfield this season can get a chance to play the infield or pitch, and vice versa.
If you have any questions or if you are interested in coaching (they will need four coaches per team), reach out to organizers through the Brattleboro Little League Facebook group.
A strong spring season for Brattleboro Storm soccer
• It was a successful spring season for the nine teams that play youth soccer for the Brattleboro Storm.
The Storm youth soccer program fields teams in the Roots Soccer League in western Massachusetts for players that range in age from under 8 to the high school level.
The youngest teams in the U-8 and U-10 divisions focus on development. The four U-11 and U-12 teams all played in the postseason, with the U-11 girls and U-12 coed teams both reaching the semifinals. The U-13 and U-14 boys both made the finals in their respective age groups, and the high school team was competitive against some of the best players in the region.
Now, the Storm is gearing up for the fall season. Registration for the Fall Travel Team is now officially open until Aug. 15. More information can be found at brattleborostormsoccer.com.
Soccer officials clinic in Wilmington Aug. 15
• A clinic for those interested in refereeing high school soccer this fall will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Wilmington.
Classroom discussion will be followed by on-field work. The cost is $50 and includes membership in the Vermont Soccer Officials Association, rulebook, and the clinic. Attendees must be 18 years of age or older. To sign up, or for more information, contact Eric Evans at [email protected].
Coaches needed at Leland & Gray
• There are several coaching vacancies at Leland & Gray Union High School in Townshend for the 2026-27 school year.
For the fall season, coaches are needed for middle school boys’ soccer and varsity and middle school cross country. The boys’ basketball program needs coaches this winter at the middle school and varsity levels. Coaches are also needed next spring for middle school baseball and middle school and varsity track & field.
Candidates for these positions should contact Athletic & Activities Director Tammy Claussen at [email protected]with a letter of interest and contact information.
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.