April 7, 2015 — B section

Page 1

ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT

B Section

THURSDAY, Â MAY Â 7, Â 2015

KARL LINDHOLM

Do  it  if  you  must; just  get  it  over  with I  am  not  Pete  Rose’s  biggest  fan.  Actually  I  can’t  stand  the  man.  He’s  repulsive. Go  ahead.  Reinstate  him,  put  him  in  the  Hall  of  Fame,  and  be  over  with  it.  Just  do  it.  I’ll  get  used  to  it.  Pete  was  a  great  player,  more  or  less,  and  deserves  to  be  in,  I  guess.  He’s  not  as  great  as  he  and  his  sup-­ porters  think:  his  most  celebrated  DWWULEXWH ZDV VXSHUĂ€XRXV KXVWOH ² VSULQWLQJ WR ÂżUVW RQ D ZDON VOLGLQJ KHDG ÂżUVW He  was  a  fairly  big  guy  (210  pounds)  who  hit  singles  and  wasn’t  a  base  stealer.  He  played  more  games  and  went  to  bat  more  times  (and  made  more  outs)  than  any  player  in  the  long  history  of  the  game.  The  last  three  or  four  of  his  24  years  in  the  game  constituted  shameless  record  chasing. But  these  are  quibbles.  He  does  indeed  have  more  base  hits  than  anyone  else  in  Major  League  Baseball  history,  and  that  in  itself  merits  his  inclusion  in  the  Hall.  Every  day,  in  all  of  his  3,562  games,  Pete  co-­existed  with  the  notice  of  the  gambling  prohibition  posted  in  every  clubhouse,  Major  League  Baseball  Rule  21(d):  Any  player,  umpire,  or  club  or  OHDJXH RIÂżFLDO RU HPSOR\HH ZKR VKDOO EHW DQ\ VXP ZKDWVRHYHU XSRQ any  baseball  game  in  connection  ZLWK ZKLFK WKH EHWWRU KDV D GXW\ WR perform  shall  be  declared  perma-­ nently  ineligible. Above  the  game,  or  too  stupid  to  respect  the  rule’s  validity,  he  ignored  it,  and  eventually  paid  the  price.  The  Dowd  Commission  Re-­ port,  which  formed  the  basis  for  Pete’s  suspension  in  1989  docu-­ mented  a  man  addicted  to  gam-­ bling  who  bet  â€œchronicallyâ€?  and  â€œrecklessly.â€?  His  suspension  by  Commissioner  Bart  Giamatti  was  HQWLUHO\ MXVWLÂżHG Yet  for  the  next  15  years  Pete  de-­ nied  his  guilt  in  forum  after  forum;Íž  in  every  interview,  in  every  conver-­ (See  Lindholm,  Page  4B)

ScoreBOARD HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girls’ Lacrosse 5/5  MUHS  vs.  CVU  ................................12-­9 Boys’ Lacrosse 5/4  Montpelier  vs.  OV  ..........................11-­10 5/5  MUHS  vs.  St.  Albans  .........................6-­5 5/5  Stowe  vs.  VUHS  ..............................15-­2 Softball 5/4  Mt.  Abe  vs.  Burlington  ......................12-­0 5/5  Milton  vs.  Mt.  Abe  ..............................5-­1 5/5  Fair  Haven  vs.  OV  ...........................17-­0 5/5  MUHS  vs.  VUHS  ...............................4-­1 Baseball 5/4  Burlington  vs.  Mt.  Abe  ........................2-­0 5/5  Milton  vs.  Mt.  Abe  ............................24-­6 5/5  OV  vs.  Fair  Haven  .............................3-­2 5/5  VUHS  vs.  MUHS  ...............................8-­3 Tennis 5/4  Rutland  vs.  OV  Girls  ..........................7-­0 5/5  U-­32  vs.  MUHS  Boys  .........................4-­3 5/5  MUHS  Girls  vs.  U-­32  .........................7-­0 COLLEGE SPORTS Baseball 5/3  Tufts  vs.  Midd.  ........................... 3-­2,  8-­2 Men’s Lacrosse NCAA D-­III Tournament 5/6  Montclair  State  at  Midd.  ...................Late

(See  Schedule,  Page  4B)

SPORTS

ALSO IN THIS SECTION:

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VUHS nine emerges with victory vs. Tigers

Commodores  end  skid;  MUHS  remains  winless By  ANDY  KIRKALDY 0,''/(%85< ² $IWHU VXUYLYLQJ four  losses  in  a  recent  eight-­day  stretch  against  some  of  Vermont’s  top  Divi-­ sion  I  programs,  the  Vergennes  Union  High  School  baseball  team  bounced  back  on  Tuesday  with  an  8-­3  victory  at  Middlebury,  one  that  extended  the  Tigers’  own  early-­season  hardship. The  2-­4  Commodores  got  a  tidy  ¿YH KLWWHU IURP VRSKRPRUH +XQWHU O’Connor,  who  settled  down  after  a  URFN\ ÂżUVW LQQLQJ DQG VWUXFN RXW VHYHQ VUHS  also  got  some  timely  hits  to  take  advantage  of  10  walks  issued  by  two  Tiger  hurlers. Senior  third  baseman  Chris  Leach,  ZKR GURYH LQ UXQV LQ HDFK RI WKH ÂżUVW two  innings  as  VUHS  took  a  5-­3  lead,  said  the  Commodores  were  happy  to  break  through  after  being  outscored,  70-­17,  in  losses  to  Burlington,  Cham-­ plain  Valley,  St.  Albans  and  Essex.  Now  that  they  are  past  that  stretch,  Leach  said  they  are  also  optimistic  they  can  compete  in  future  games.  ³,WÂśV QLFH WR ÂżQDOO\ ZLQ ´ /HDFK VDLG “It’s  nice  to  get  some  games  coming  XS ZH FDQ ÂżQDOO\ ZLQ ´ VUHS  Coach  Dwight  Burkett,  who  guided  the  team  through  a  JV-­only  schedule  in  2014  and  was  hired  to  lead  the  Commodores  in  their  return  to  var-­ sity  competition,  said  they  remained  positive  through  the  tough  patch.  â€œI’m  proud  of  them.  They  kept  their  chins  up.  They  kept  trying  to  get  bet-­ ter  every  game.  They  worked  hard  on Â

MIDDLEBURY  UNION  HIGH  School  senior  pitcher  Collin  Champine  pitches  against  Vergennes  Tuesday  af-­ ternoon  in  Middlebury.  The  Commodores  beat  the  Tigers,  8-­3. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell

their  defense,â€?  Burkett  said.  â€œWe  knew  we  had  a  chance  to  win  this  game,  and  they  performed.  They  executed  today.  Hunter  pitched  a  great  game.  We  hit  the  ball  a  little  bit.â€? MUHS  Coach  Charlie  Messenger’s  squad  is  also  dealing  with  adversity.  Senior  No.  1  pitcher  and  key  offen-­ sive  cog  Matt  Dunton  has  been  lost  to  a  season-­ending  injury,  forcing  Mes-­ senger  to  juggle  his  lineup.  And  the  0-­4  Tigers,  too,  have  faced  some  tough  opponents. “We  hit  the  ball  a  little  bit  harder  today,  a  few  more  hits.  But  we’re  still  learning.  We’ve  still  got  new  players  in  new  positions,  so  it’s  going  to  be  a  process,â€?  Messenger  said.  â€œIt’s  going  to  take  a  little  while  for  it  to  all  come  together.â€? The  Commodores  scored  three  in  9(5*(11(6 81,21 +,*+ 6FKRRO ÂżUVW EDVHPDQ 'XVWLQ +LUWOH VWUHWFK-­ WKH ÂżUVW RII 7LJHU VWDUWHU &ROOLQ &KDPS-­ es  to  get  the  out  on  Tiger  runner  Liam  Smith  Tuesday  in  Middlebury. (See  Baseball,  Page  3B) Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell

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Track athletes score points at BHS Invitaional By  ANDY  KIRKALDY %85/,1*721 ² $WKOHWHV IURP the  Division  II  Middlebury,  Mount  Abraham  and  Vergennes  union  high  VFKRRO WUDFN DQG ÂżHOG WHDPV SODFHG in  events  at  the  major  Burlington  Invitational  this  past  Saturday.  The  event  drew  many  competitors  from  Division  I,  II  and  III  programs.  Enjoying  the  most  success  was  Mount  Abe  freshman  Lydia  Pitts,  who  took  second  in  the  girls’  100-­meter  hurdles  and  placed  fourth  in  two  other  events. 7KH QH[W EHVW ÂżQLVK FDPH IURP the  MUHS  girls’  four-­by-­100-­meter  relay  team  of  Gretta  Groves,  Chloe  Kane,  Kat  Townsend  and  Megan  Townsend. Also  placing  in  the  top  six  were  the  Tiger  boys’  and  girls’  4x400  me-­ ter  relay  teams,  VUHS  runner  Jake  Dombek,  Tiger  thrower  Chris  Grier,  Eagle  jumper  Emma  Radler,  Kat  Townsend  in  an  individual  event,  and  the  Tiger  girls’  4x800  squad. The  complete  boys’  results  were:   Â‡ [ PHWHU UHOD\ 08+6 3:44.93  (Wyatt  Norris;Íž  Ryan  Biette;Íž  Christopher  Garner;Íž  James  Whitley);Íž  (See  Meet,  Page  3B)

Tennis:  MUHS  girls  win;͞  Tiger  boys,  OV  topped

$'',621 &2817< ² ,Q OR-­ cal  high  school  tennis  action  earlier  this  week,  the  Middlebury  Union  girls  won  to  improve  to  6-­1,  but  the  MUHS  boys  and  Otter  Valley  girls  came  up  short  in  bids  to  earn  their  second  wins  of  the  spring.  TIGER  GIRLS On  Tuesday,  the  Tiger  girls  blanked  host  U-­32,  7-­0. In  individual  matches:  Â‡ $W 1R VLQJOHV 0DUYLH $YHU\ $'',621 &2817< ² 0LGGOH-­ VUHS  VS.  MUHS nine,  and  catcher  Hannah  Lawrence  modores,  who  dropped  to  0-­5. M,  defeated  Signe  Goddard,  U-­32,  The  Tigers  outlasted  the  Commo-­ drove  in  a  pair  of  runs  to  spark  the  Ti-­ EAGLES EXU\ GHIHDWHG 9HUJHQQHV IRU WKH ÂżUVW 6-­1,  6-­0. time  in  recent  years  to  highlight  local  dores,  4-­1,  on  Tuesday  to  break  into  ger  attack. On  Monday,  Audrey  Shahan  Â‡ $W 1R VLQJOHV %UHH &RWURQHR high  school  softball  action  earlier  this  the  win  column  after  opening  the  Taylor  Aunchman  went  the  dis-­ tossed  a  one-­hit  shutout,  striking  out  M,  defeated  Nell  Peterson,  U-­32,  week.  In  other  games,  Mount  Abra-­ season  with  two  tough,  extra-­inning  tance  for  VUHS,  striking  out  four  and  four,  as  the  Eagles  blanked  host  Burl-­ 6-­0,  6-­1. ham  split  a  pair  of  games,  and  Otter  setbacks.  Payton  Buxton  earned  the  ZDONLQJ QRQH &HQWHU ÂżHOGHU Kayla  ington,  12-­0.  Dani  Forand  (two  hits)  Â‡ $W 1R VLQJOHV -HVVH :XOI-­ complete-­game  victory,  striking  out  Charron  plated  the  run  for  the  Com-­ Valley  came  up  short  at  Fair  Haven.  (See  Softball,  Page  5B) (See  Tennis,  Page  4B)

Softball:  Tigers  top  VUHS;͞  Mount  Abe  splits

Eagles excel  on  own  track By  ANDY  KIRKALDY %5,672/ ² 1LQH 0RXQW $EUDKDP 8QLRQ +LJK 6FKRRO WUDFN DQG ÂżHOG DWK-­ letes  won  events  at  a  three-­team  home  meet  on  Monday,  and  four  of  them  won  multiple  events  as  visiting  Divi-­ sion  I  power  Essex  won  the  overall  competition.  )UHVKPDQ /\GLD 3LWWV ² IUHVK RII placing  in  three  events  at  the  major  Burlington  Invitational  two  days  be-­ IRUH ² OHG WKH ZD\ E\ VZHHSLQJ DOO four  of  her  events,  two  hurdling  races,  the  400-­meter  run,  and  the  long  jump.  Fellow  Eagle  freshman  Emma  Ra-­ dler  won  the  girls’  high  jump  and  pole  vault,  senior  Nick  Turner  prevailed  in  both  boys’  horizontal  jumping  events,  and  sophomore  Andrew  Raymond  sprinted  to  wins  in  the  boys’  100-­  and  200-­meter  races.  Radler  and  Turner  along  with  Pitts  also  placed  in  Burlington  against  many  ($*/( 6(1,25 &8//(1 -HPLVRQ DWWHPSWV WR FOHDU WKH EDU LQ WKH KLJK MXPS FRPSHWLWLRQ DW 0RQGD\ÂśV PHHW LQ %ULVWRO -DPHVRQ ÂżQLVKHG WKH HYHQW D-­I  competitors  (see  story,  Page  2B),  in  third  place. (See  Mt.  Abe  track,  Page  2B) Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell

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