MIDDLEBURY — The Addison County American Legion baseball team opened its summer campaign by winning three out of five games between June 25 and 30 after bad weather wiped out AC’s first few outings. 

ADDISON COUNTY PITCHER Tucker Wright winds up to deliver an offering during the AC Legion baseball team’s June 27 home game vs. South Burlington. Wright allowed just two runs in six-plus innings.
Independent photo/Steve James

AC played three straight home games on June 25, 26, and 27, topping Champlain Valley, 7-4, and Franklin County, 4-3, before falling to South Burlington, 2-0. 

On Sunday the  local nine traveled to Montpelier for a rescheduled doubleheader and lost the first game, 3-2, but bounced back to take the nightcap, 12-0. 

Last week, after his team took two outings against teams expected to contend for playoff berths, AC Coach Tim Paquette said he believed this summer’s AC team could play with anybody.

“I’m happy. The pitching’s been good. We’ve been getting timely hitting the last couple games, and the boys have been playing solid defense,” Paquette said. “There’s good camaraderie.”

AC was set to host defending Vermont Legion baseball champion Essex on Tuesday at this summer’s home field, the Middlebury Union High School varsity diamond. That game was played after the early holiday edition for this edition of the Independent. 

AC is scheduled to host Franklin County for two games on Saturday beginning at noon and Montpelier for one game on Sunday at noon. The team’s next six games on the official schedule are all on the road, although some makeup games might be sprinkled in. 

AC TOPS CV

On June 25 AC took the field for the first time and claimed a 7-4 victory over visiting Champlain Valley, scoring late to secure the result. Tyler Kimball started for AC and pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks, striking out five. Cole Warren took the mound for the final two outs and earned a save. 

Alex Sperry sparked the offense with three hits, three stolen bases, two runs, and an RBI. Eyon Tembreull, Kimball, and Sperry each doubled; Kimball scored two runs; and Tembreull, Ryan Brouillard, Kimball, and Warren picked up RBIs.

AC NIPS FRANKLIN 

On June 26, AC picked up a dramatic 4-3 victory over Franklin County that was not sealed until a Franklin baserunning miscue ended the game. Franklin, featuring players from high school Division I teams St. Albans and D-II top seed Missisquoi, scored all three of its runs, two earned off Tembreull, the winning pitcher, in the top of the first inning.

The Tigers fought back in the course of the game with an RBI groundout from Ethan Sweet, an RBI double from Sperry, and RBI triples from Carter Paquette and Tembreull to took a one-run lead into the top of the seventh. FC then tried to rally with a pair of hits, and the runners advanced to second and third base on a ground-out. 

The next batter hit a shallow fly ball that was caught. The runner tagged up to score, but AC believed he left early, and threw to third base to double him up. The umpires agreed, and the double play won the game for the home side. 

Tembreull allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked none.

AC THIRD BASEMAN Eyon Tembreull applies the tag on a South Burlington baserunner during the Addison County Legion baseball team’s June 27 home game at the Middlebury Union High School field.
Independent photo/Steve James

SB wins, 2-0

On June 27, visiting South Burlington emerged on top of a pitchers’ duel, 2-0. Tucker Wright (six-plus innings; two runs, one earned; four hits, six walks and seven strikeouts) and Brody Barnard (one inning, no hits, one walk) combined to keep SB in check. 

Meanwhile, SB hurlers David Hobbs (five innings, two hits, three walks, six Ks) and Gary Gray (two innings, one hit, one walk) teamed up to blank AC, which had three runners thrown out at home and two runners caught stealing. 

AC threatened early and late. After Wright worked around a first-inning single and a walk, AC leadoff hitter Warren reached third base on two errors. But he was erased trying to score on a roller to shortstop. 

In the second inning, AC loaded the bases against Hobbs with none out and failed to score. Brouillard walked, Barnard reached on a bunt single, and Aiden Fuller walked. But the next batter fanned, and a missed squeeze bunt turned into an out at home and another runner caught in a rundown for a double play. 

In the fourth Brouillard reached second on an error, and Barnard stroked a single up the middle with two out, but SB threw Brouillard out trying to score. 

SB took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth. Kaiden Quinn’s leadoff single and stolen base was followed by an RBI single by Kyle Tanis. 

AC mustered only one baserunner in each of the final three innings, while SB added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Two walks, one each issued by Wright and then Barnard in relief, put two runners on, and SB bunted them to second and third. Quinn’s RBI grounder plated the run. From there Barnard held the line there with a creditable job in relief. 

“It could have gone either way,” Paquette said afterward. “Tucker pitched a hell of a game. Our offense wasn’t there for him today.”

A SOUTH BURLINGTON baserunner makes it back to first base on a pickoff play before AC’s Ethan Sweet can apply the tag during the Addison County Legion baseball team’s June 27 home game at the Middlebury Union High School field.
Independent photo/Steve James

SPLIT ON THE ROAD

In the 3-2 loss in the Sunday opener at Montpelier, AC took the lead in the second inning with two unearned runs. Xavier DeBlois reached on an error and eventually scored on a Barnard single, and Barnard scored on an error. 

AC starter Kimball made the lead stand up until the fifth, but Montpelier scored one run in each of the final three innings to pull out the victory. Nicholas Casey and Ethan Wichrowski had key RBI hits for Montpelier as their team rallied. 

Kimball went 6.2 innings in taking the loss, allowing three runs, two earned. He allowed five hits and three walks, striking out four. Tembreull poked two hits for AC.  

The nightcap at Montpelier saw AC post a five-inning, 12-0 victory. AC jumped on top with six runs in the top of the first on walks to Fuller, DeBlois and Dylan Stowe, singles by Wright and Warren, and a Sperry RBI grounder. 

AC added two more runs in the third on another walk to Fuller and singles by Paquette and Tembreull. 

CATCHER CARTER PAQUETTE makes solid contact during the Addison County Legion baseball team’s June 27 home game vs. South Burlington.
Independent photo/Steve James

Four more runs in the fifth made it 12-0 and ended the game on the 10-run mercy rule when Montpelier failed to score in the bottom of the inning. Brouillard tossed the five-inning shutout, allowing three hits, walking four and whiffing five. 

AC drew 11 walks in the game, three each by Brouillard and Fuller. Wright and Paquette led with two hits apiece, and eight AC players drove in runs, led by Tembreull with two.