-The first weeks of baseball season in Vermont can be a rollercoaster of experiences - battling the unpredictable weather, getting used to playing baseball outdoors after weeks of being cooped up in a gymnasium, and the challenge of pulling a team together that can handle the sprint of a compressed schedule.
The Bellows Falls Terriers went through all of that, and more, in their opening week.
On April 14, they lost at Rutland, 8-5, as the Terriers saw their early lead vanish with Rutland scoring three runs in the third inning and four runs in the fourth to battle back for the win.
The next day, the Terriers were at Fair Haven and played one of the wildest games of the young season, as BF ran up a 34-13 lead with one out in the top of the fifth inning before the game was halted due to darkness. The game will be completed this Saturday morning before a regularly scheduled game between the two teams at Hadley Field.
How wild was this game? The Terriers had 16 hits and drew 18 walks. Steve Joslyn went 5 for 6 and scored four runs, and Jake Tostrup went 3 for 5 and scored five runs. Eli Allbee also scored five runs, Jaden Bazin and Declan Lisai scored four times, and Will Hallock, Quincy Knapp, and Jackson Fletcher each scored three times. All those runs scored with just four extra-base hits as Allbee, Tostrup, Bazin, and Joslyn each had a double. As for the BF pitchers, they gave up a total of 13 walks. Bazin, the starter, walked six and failed to make it out of the first inning, while Knapp, Peyton Haskins, and Tostrup finished up in relief.
After those first two games, the Terriers were due for something resembling a normal, well-played game, and BF delivered on April 19 with a 4-3 win over the Hartford Hurricanes at Hadley Field.
Joslyn was the BF starting pitcher and he faced Wyatt Chambers, Hartford's ace. Chambers was dominant, with 12 strikeouts in the four innings he worked, while Joslyn struck out five batters over his four-inning stint. However, neither pitcher figured in the decision, as the game was tied 2-2 when both departed.
Hartford got the first run in the third inning when Jack Grigsby walked and Noah Jenks, pinch-running for Grigsby, scored on an infield error. They made it 2-0 in the fourth when Chambers doubled to center field and pinch-runner Jayden Armstrong scored on a single up the middle by Kyle Spaulding.
So how did BF's batters score two runs to tie the game in the fourth inning despite striking out 12 times? They did so with the familiar formula that coach Bob Lockerby has used for years - get on base any way you can and create havoc once you get there. Hallock led off with a single up the middle, then stole second, took third on a passed ball, and scored on another passed ball. Fletcher later drew a two-out walk and he eventually scored the tying run on another dropped third strike.
A light shower that started in the fourth inning turned into a steady rain by the top of the fifth inning as Joslyn gave way to Bazin on the mound. Hartford took a 3-2 lead when Tate Mosenthal lofted a double down the right field line and Solly Flores followed with a triple to the right field fence.
BF held Hartford to that lone run, and tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Bazin drew a walk from Hartford reliever Colby Luca, stole second, and scored on a throwing error after Hallock safely reached first base on a dropped third strike.
The game was still tied when the rain let up in the seventh inning and BF would score the winning run in classic Lockerby fashion. Allbee led off with a walk, stole second, and went to third on a bunt single by Tostrup. Bazin was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs. Against a drawn-in infield, Joslyn lined a single to score Allbee to end the game with a Terrier victory.
"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit," said Joslyn after the game. He wasn't disappointed about leaving the game early. "I'd thrown 73 pitches when I came out, and I knew Coach Lockerby was trying to save me for next week's games."
"We stole this game from them," said Lockerby. "But that's the way we play - get someone on base and make something happen. We battled back against a good team, and I love to see that."
Baseball
• It's rare that you get a pitching duel in your first game of the season, but Leland & Gray's Cody Hescock and Arlington's Cosby Lux hooked up in a tight, well-played game that saw Arlington come away with a 2-1 win in eight innings on a sunny but cold and windy afternoon in Townshend on April 17.
Both pitchers went the distance, with Hescock throwing 118 pitches. He struck out eight batters and allowed just two hits. Lux gave up three hits and struck 12 batters.
"Cody's always been our workhorse, and he proved that today," said Rebels head coach John Lonardo. "That's the effort we get out of him every time he comes out."
Arlington got its first run in the first inning when Lux led off with an infield single, took second on a passed ball and scored on an infield error on a ball hit by Will Calder. The Rebels then tied the game in the bottom half of the inning when Spencer Claussen led off with a double to left field, stole third, and scored on an infield hit by Ryan Dunn.
After that, neither team could score until Arlington broke the tie in the top of the eighth when Lewis Douglas reached base with a bunt that was misplayed into an error and scored a base hit to left by Hunter King. Lux then retired the Rebels in order, with two strikeouts and a fly ball to center to nail down the victory.
The Rebels then hosted Woodstock on April 19 and lost 5-3 to drop their record to 1-2.
Softball
• Leland & Gray started their season by winning all three of their home games last week in Townshend. After beating Long Trail, 10-4, on April 14, the Rebels took care of Windsor, 15-1, in five innings on April 16.
Despite cold, damp, and blustery conditions, the Rebels played a solid game in the field as well as at the plate against Windsor. The Rebels scored five runs in the first inning, added four more in the third inning, and got six additional runs in the fourth inning. Windsor scored their run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch by eighth-grade relief pitcher McKinley Bertram.
Rebels starting pitcher Kristen Lowe, a senior, was superb. She gave up just three hits over four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks, and got plenty of help from her defense, which did not commit an error in the game. At the plate, leadoff hitter Addie Aldridge hit a two-run double in the third inning and a two-run triple in the fourth inning, and Bertram hit an RBI triple in the fourth.
"I was definitely impressed with how the girls played," Rebels coach Mike Bingham said. "The best part was being able to get everybody in the game. That's what's going to help build the team. When everybody gets a taste of the action, it keeps everybody more involved."
The Rebels finished their homestand on April 19 with a 30-2 win in five innings over Woodstock.
• Bellows Falls pitcher Izzy Stoodley was the heroine as she smacked three doubles and an RBI single and scored five runs as the Terriers topped Fair Haven, 19-13, in nine innings on April 15. In the circle, Stoodley pitched the first four innings before giving way to ninth-grader Brielle Mulverhill, who finished the game and got the win.
On April 19, the Terriers hosted Hartford, and lost 14-1, to even their record to 1-1 on the season.
Earth Day hikes at Deer Run Nature Preserve
• Renowned trailmeister Roger Haydock will lead a hike at the Green Mountain Conservancy's (GMC) Deer Run Nature Preserve in West Dummerston on Saturday, April 26, at 9:30 a.m. The hike itinerary will include forested landscapes, several power line crossings with magnificent views to the south and west, a red pine plantation, and countless hemlocks and oaks.
Hikers will traverse a four-mile loop that includes a 1,000 foot vertical rise, which requires a practiced degree of physical fitness. For those just emerging from five months of winter inactivity, or for those who are altitude averse or not so vertically inclined, GMC has scheduled a second less strenuous hike, also at the Deer Run Preserve, led by renowned local ecologist Dan Dubie. He has a vast knowledge of the natural world that he will share on this meander through the woods of Deer Run, pointing out highlights and answering questions.
Hikes will originate at the Deer Run trail head. Participants should meet at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot located at 940 Camp Arden Rd. Hikes are free and open to all ages. Hikers should bring liquids and a snack. Dependable hiking boots plus appropriate outerwear for cool, wet conditions as well as protection against deer ticks are highly recommended.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 14 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on April 10 saw Renegades and Full Monty (both 47-23) remain tied for first place, followed by Double Trouble (45-25), Charlie's Angels (42-28), Sandbaggers (36-34), Slo Movers (35-35), Wayne's World (32-38), Let 'Em Roll (31-39), and Niners (30-40).
Vikki Butynski had the women's high handicap game (238), while Nancy Dalzell had the high handicap series (644). Rich Pietro had the men's high handicap game (244) and series (692). Slo Movers had the high team handicap game (850) and Charlie's Angels had the high handicap series (2,481).
Pietro had the men's high scratch series (626) with games of 222, 214, and 190, while Robert Rigby had a 592 series with games of 223, 203 and 190. Kevin Napaver had a 589 series with a 222 game, Peter Deyo had a 555 series with games of 213 and 192, and Mike Pavlovich had a 529 series with a 211 game. Fred Ashworth had a 510 series, Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 509 series with a 190 game, Gary Montgomery had a 508 series, and Jerry Dunham had a 192 game.
Dalzell again had the women's high scratch series (473), with games of 158, 158, and 157. Carol Gloski had games of 167 and 166, Butynski had a 162 game, and Pam Greenblott rolled a 159.
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.