Contact: Bruce Bosley (bbosley.vbca@gmail.com)
June 25, 2022
Game One: Vermont 9, New Hampshire 7
Game Two: Vermont 19, New Hampshire 4
NORTHFIELD, Vt.— Clutch hitting by Sully Beers of South Burlington led a game one comeback and a 10-run inning broke open the nightcap to lift Vermont to a doubleheader sweep over New Hampshire in the 2022 Twin State Baseball Classic Saturday at Norwich University’s Garrity Field. Vermont came back in the top of the seventh to win the opener, 9-7, and then cruised to a 19-4 victory in game two. The sweep was just the second in six classics since the border rivalry in its current format was renewed in 2015.
Beers two-run double capped a three-run rally with two outs in the seventh to capture the lid-lifter. He added another run-scoring double in Vermont’s 10-run second inning in the second game to pick up Most Valuable Player honors for the Green Mountain State. Dominic Van Laere-Nutting of Fall Mountain Regional was the Most Valuable Player for New Hampshire after a strong two games at the plate, reaching base four times in six trips going 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored, a stolen base and two RBI.
The first game, a back and forth affair, opened with strong pitching from hurlers bound for NCAA Division I programs. Tyler Hicks (White Mountain Regional) from NH who is heading to Maine, and Manhattan College-bound Ollie Pudvar (Champlain Valley) for Vermont. In the first three frames, Hicks allowed two hits and a walk, one earned run while striking out four while Pudvar set down the side in order in the first with two strikeouts.
Vermont’s two runs in the top of the second were matched by New Hampshire’s two in the bottom half paced by Van Laere-Nutting’s double. Fritz Hauser (St. Johnsbury) led the fourth with an infield hit and came around to score to give Vermont a 3-2 lead.
New Hampshire would take a 4-3 lead with two in the fifth capped by a sacrifice fly by Kevin Putnam (Monadnock). After a two-run triple by Trevor Lussier (Lyndon) pushed Vermont back on top, 6-4, in the top of the sixth, the Granite State answered in the bottom half with three runs on just one hit, a single by Janai Cruz (Derryfield).
With Braedon Jones (Champlain Valley) on second with two down in the seventh, and New Hampshire one strike away from the win, John Dennis (Blue Mountain) singled to score Jones to tie it. Dennis and Adam Mansfield (Mount Abraham), who walked, rode home on Beers long double to left center. Andrew Goodrich (Essex) retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to save it for winning pitcher Carter Hoffman (Union-32).
Vermont out-hit New Hampshire, 9-3, in game one but the Granite State took advantage of five walks, a hit batter and three errors. Brody LaBounty (White Mountain Regional) had the other hit for New Hampshire while for Vermont, Lussier and Goodrich each went 2-for-2, and Nolan Simon (Burlington) doubled and walked in three trips.
Ryan Latsha (Campbell) led the nightcap with a walk and after stealing second, scored on a single by Putnam. Van Laere-Nutting plated Putnam with a sacrifice fly to give New Hampshire an early 2-0 edge. Vermont broke it open with 10 runs in the bottom of the second sending 16 hitters to the plate. In addition to Beers RBI-double, Jones had two hits in the inning, a two-run double and a RBI-single.
New Hampshire added two more in the sixth on a Putnam RBI-double and a sacrifice fly by Troy Brennan (Wliton-Lydeborough). Of the team’s seven hits in game two, Putnam went 2-for-4 and Cruz went 2-for-3 adding a triple.
Vermont rapped out 15 hits in the nightcap. In addition to Jones and Beers, Hauser went 3-for-3 with a double and Lussier went 2-for-3, both with four hits on the day. Will Fowler (St. Johnsbury) was 2-for-2 with a triple, reaching three times and scoring three runs, and Turner Clews (Brattleboro) added two hits, scoring three times. Matt Gonyeau (BFA St. Albans) allowed two hits in two scoreless innings to get the win, and Clews tossed a scoreless seventh to lead five Vermont pitchers in game two.
In the two games, all 18 players for Vermont reached base at least once, with 13 different players having at least one hit.
The classic returned to action after a two-year absence. Vermont’s team is from all four divisions (64 schools) and the team from the higher-populated Granite State is made up from its Division’s 2, 3 and 4.
Special thanks for the 2022 Twin State Baseball Classic go out to host Norwich University, especially head baseball coach Frank Pecora and his staff, and director of athletics Ed Hockenbury. While at Northfield High, Pecora was a Vermont Twin State coach several times and Hockenbury as a senior at Northfield, played in the classic.
2022 Twin State Baseball Classic MVPs: Sully Beers, Vermont (L) and Dominic Van Laere-Nutting, New Hampshire (R).
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