Vermont Sweeps 2018 Twin State Baseball Classic

Contact: Bruce Bosley (bbosley.vbca@gmail.com)

June 23, 2018

Game One: Vermont 8, New Hampshire 1

Game Two: Vermont 10, New Hampshire 3

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt.— Strong pitching in the opener and a pair of two-run triples by Leif Bigelow of Brattleboro and Tyler Hamilton of Hartford in game two led Vermont to a sweep of New Hampshire in the 2018 Twin State Baseball Classic at the Maxfield Complex Saturday morning. Vermont pitchers held New Hampshire to one hit in its 8-1 victory in the lid lifter and it came back in the nightcap to win 10-3.

It is the first sweep in the fourth year of the annual border series that resumed in 2015 after an 11-year hiatus. Vermont and New Hampshire had split six one-run games the previous three seasons.

The Vermont MVP, Bigelow struck out two in the seventh on the mound and went 1-for-2 in game one and in the second game, went 2-for-3 at the plate along with a pair of nice plays at shortstop to take hits away from New Hampshire. Bound for UConn, Bigelow had a two-out run-scoring single in the first and his booming two-run triple in the fifth snapped a 3-3 tie in the nightcap. Hamilton capped the seven-run frame with another long triple to plate two more. RBI singles by Jacob Bortnick (Champlain Valley) and Jake Choiniere (St. Johnsbury) added two more in the sixth. 

Seth Balch of Windsor picked up the win in game two allowing just one hit in the fourth and the fifth. Hamilton and Brayden Howrigan of Enosburg Falls followed with scoreless innings to complete the sweep.

New Hampshire MVP Max Lamora of Bishop Brady singled and doubled, scoring twice to give his team an early 3-1 lead. He came home on a RBI-single by Charlie Lynch of Derryfield in the first. He led the third with a hard double down the left field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by Dan Heise of Mondanock. Lynch then scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1.

Vermont rapped out 11 hits in game two and held New Hampshire to five, just two after the third inning. Heise pitched a strong three innings in game two allowing the one first inning run.

Backed by a two-run double by Nate Selby of Lamoille in the second of the opener, Vermont jumped out to a 3-0 lead. It opened it up with four more in the fourth, two unearned, taking advantage of a pair of errors and two wild pitches. An infield hit by Sky Rahill of Burlington plated South Burlington's Sammy Premsager, who scampered in from second in the frame. Bortnick doubled and scored on a single by Harwood's Jake O'Brien in the fifth for the final run.

Nick Fitzgerald of Lamoille started for Vermont and struck out three in the first two innings to earn the win. New Hampshire scored its lone run in the bottom of the second on a pair of walks, a wild pitch and a RBI-ground out by Brendan Bean of Stevens. He was followed on the mound with scoreless innings by Premsager, Owen Tarleton of Woodstock, Brandon Brunell of Lyndon Institute. Liam Reiner of CVU (two Ks) and Bigelow.

Vermont rapped out 13 hits in game one with O'Brien and Rahill each with a pair to go along with the doubles by Bortnick and Selby. Michael Tollman of Moultonborough had the lone New Hampshire hit, a leadoff single in the fourth. 

Special thanks to the Town of Hartford Recreation Department and the Upper Valley Nighthawks for this year's Twin State Baseball Classic. The classic will likely return to the Maxfield Complex in June of 2019.

2018 Vermont Announces Twin State Baseball Classic Roster

Annual Game Slated For June 23 in White River Junction, VT  

 

Contact:  Bruce Bosley, executive director, VBCA (bbosley.vbca@gmail.com)

 

Eighteen of the finest senior high school baseball players from Vermont will play for the Green Mountain State against New Hampshire in the annual 2018 Twin State Baseball Classic on Saturday, June 23. The Vermont Baseball Coaches Association announced its roster today.

 

The classic featuring many of the top high school seniors from Vermont and New Hampshire take place Saturday, June 23 at the Maxfield Complex in White River Junction, Vt. Pre-game festivities will start at 9:30 a.m. followed by the first pitch of game one of a pair of seven-inning contests.

 

The Vermont roster is: Leif Bigelow (IF/RHP) and Dan Petrie (C), Brattleboro; Sky Rahill (OF), Burlington; Jay McCoy (IF/OF/RHP), Burr and Burton; Jacob Bortnick (C) and Liam Reiner (RHP/IF), Champlain Valley; Brayden Howrigan (RHP), Enosburg Falls; Tyler Hamilton (IF/C), Hartford; Jake O'Brien (IF/RHP), Harwood; Nick Fitzgerald (RHP/IF) and Nate Selby (C/IF), Lamoille; Brandon Brunell (RHP/IF), Lyndon Institute; Dustin Whitcomb, IF/RHP, Mount Abraham; Jake Choiniere (C) and Jasper Rankin (OF), St. Johnsbury; Sammy Premsagar (SS/RHP), South Burlington; Seth Balch (RHP/OF), Windsor; and Owen Tarleton, IF/RHP, Woodstock.

 

Coaches for the Green Mountain State will be Mike Czok of Randolph, Shawn French of Oxbow, Marcel Girouard of Burlington and Jason Tarleton of Woodstock.

 

The Twin State Baseball Classic returned after an 11-year hiatus in 2015 with Vermont and New Hampshire splitting three doubleheaders the past three seasons with all six games decided by one run.

 

The Vermont Baseball Coaches Association would like to thank the Town of Hartford (Vt.) Recreation Department and the Hartford High School athletic department for assisting in hosting this year's classic. The VBCA would also like to thank the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation for its generosity.  

2018 VBCA Underclass Showcase To Be Held Thursday June 21 at Castleton

Previous showcases have widened exposure for many Vermont high school underclass student-athletes  

The seventh annual Vermont Baseball Coaches Association Junior Showcase will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Castleton University's Spartan Field in Castleton, Vermont. Vermont high school baseball student-athletes who are in the class of 2019 (junior in 2017-18) will have the opportunity to display their skills and participate in a controlled game for New England and Northeast region collegiate baseball coaches. 

The showcase will be administered by VBCA member coaches.

On-field registration for the student-athletes begins at 11:30 a.m. with the first showcase workouts beginning at noon. Rain date for the event is the following week. The cost per student-athlete is $40, payable to the VBCA.  Student-athletes can contact their coach for more information and for registration forms. Have players dressed and ready to play. T-shirts and batting helmets will be provided. Also any catchers need to bring their gear and all student-athletes should bring a water bottle.

Other questions- and requests for registration forms- can be sent to Bruce Bosley, VBCA executive director, at bbosley.vbca@gmail.com or bosleyb@comcast.net. The deadline for registration is June 18, 2018.  Click HERE to download the registration form in PDF.

The sixth annual VBCA Showcase was held in June 2017. Fifty underclass student-athletes displayed their skills in front of coaches from over 20 collegiate baseball programs at all levels from throughout the Northeast.

Close to 60 former Vermont high school players were represented on 2018 NCAA Division I, II and III, and USCAA four-year baseball rosters. Several earned all-conference honors and participated or will participate with schools advancing to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Nearly all of these student-athletes participated in previous VBCA events.