MIDDLEBURY — The Addison County American Legion baseball team started its season with three home wins, one of them a non-league game, all on the team’s home turf — Middlebury College’s South Street Field.

AC capped the streak on Tuesday by knocking off previously undefeated South Burlington, 8-3, as three pitchers combined to toss a one-hitter, with Aricin Griffin getting the win and Tyler Kimball picking up a save for working out of a jam while it was still a close game.

On Sunday AC coasted past the Strikers, a younger travel team based in Essex, 17-3. And on June 19 the local nine opened by defeating Champlain Valley, 10-5.

Catcher Carter Paquette, a Legion veteran and former Middlebury Union High School standout who played for VTSU-Lyndon this spring, said this year’s AC roster is deep and talented.

“There’s no holes on this team. You stick someone out there, and they know how to play that position,” Paquette said. “Our pitching is good. We’ve got guys who can control the zone and get batters out when we need to, as you saw today.”

AC SECOND BASEMAN Brody Barnard races to make a play on a bouncing ball as a CVU baserunner dives into the bag during the county Legion team’s June 19 game.
Independent photo/Steve James

AC is getting a few key hits, such as Eyon Tembreull’s go-ahead fifth-inning RBI double on Tuesday, and is showing patience at the plate — many of their runs have come by drawing walks and creating traffic on the bases. But Paquette said AC is waiting for a team-wide offensive surge that he believes is on the way, as was the case late in Tuesday’s game.

“These guys are trying to do too much at the plate, not staying within themselves. But we just attacked in that fifth inning and didn’t look back after that,” Paquette said.

Before the season the team’s coach, Tim Paquette, told the Independent he believed AC would contend this summer. What does Carter think?

“I agree, 100%,” he said. “I don’t see a situation where we’re not in the playoffs and making a run for it.”

AC will be looking to move to 3-0 in league play at Montpelier this Thursday. Next, AC is scheduled to play a doubleheader at Essex on Saturday, a single game at Franklin County on Sunday, and host St. Johnsbury at 5:30 p.m. next Wednesday.

AC HURLER ARICIN Griffin tossed five innings of scoreless one-hit baseball to help the county American Legion team defeat visiting South Burlington on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

AC, 8-3

The first four innings of Tuesday’s game was a pitcher’s duel between AC’s hard-throwing Griffin, and South Burlington’s Matt Chamberlain, who kept AC off balance with curveballs.

Griffin struck out 10 in his five-inning stint and allowed just one hit, but also walked five. SB advanced two runners as far as third base against him. In the third, after a walk, Mateo Ortiz stroked a two-out single to put runners on first and third. But Griffin got a grounder to second baseman Cole Warren to end the threat. In the fifth Jack Foster walked and stole second and third base, but Griffin retired the next three batters to end his successful stint.

AC had more baserunners, but couldn’t break through against Chamberlain until the fifth. In the second Gabe Velez reached on an infield hit and Griffin walked with none out, but AC couldn’t plate them. In the fourth Clark Crary singled and Velez walked, but they were also stranded.

AC broke through in the fifth, batting around and scoring four times on three hits, a walk and a hit batter. Cole Warren started the festivities by being hit by a pitch, Aiden Fuller singled, and Paquette walked to load the bases. Tembreull then cleared them with a double that one-hopped the left-center field fence. Tucker Wright followed with an RBI single, and the lead was 4-0.

AC’S CLARK CRARY makes contact against South Burlington during the county American Legion team’s home win against South Burlington on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

Griffin had thrown just short of 100 pitches, and Coach Paquette summoned Jackson Jennings to the mound; Jennings had thrown well and gotten the win vs. Champlain Valley. But on Tuesday he struggled to find the strike zone, and he left after getting one ground ball out, walking four and hitting a batter with the lead down to 4-2 and the bases loaded.

Kimball came on and hit the next batter to force in a run. But Kimball righted the ship, mixing in a lethal changeup with his fastball to fan the next two hitters.

And then it was AC’s turn to benefit from pitchers having trouble throwing strikes. Chamberlain walked Warren. Paquette singled to put two runners on, and Chamberlain hit Tembreull with a pitch and walked Writh to make it 5-3. Foster entered to pitch and walked Crary and Ryan Brouillard to force in two more runs. Noah Lapierre then took the mound to get the final two outs — one was a Velez RBI grounder that made it 8-3.

Kimball made quick work of SB in the top of the seventh, striking out two more batters to nail down AC’s win.

AC, 17-3

Sunday’s non-league outing was against a 16-and-under traveling team based in Essex. AC took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth and broke the game open with five runs in that inning. The local nine then went one scoreless inning before pulling away.

Among the offensive contributors were Warren (walk, hit by pitch, two runs), Griffin (two hits, two runs), Paquette (double, single, two RBI, run), Tembreull (two singles, RBI, four runs), and Crary (three hits, RBI, two runs).

Brouillard started and gave up three runs in four innings, and Tembreull earned the win with four scoreless relief innings. Warren tossed a scoreless ninth.

AC’S TUCKER WRIGHT collides with South Burlington first baseman Mateo Ortiz on a close play in Tuesday night’s American Legion game in Middlebury. He was called out on the play.
Independent photo/Steve James

AC, 10-5

On the previous Thursday AC won its opener, 10-5, when the CVU starting pitcher had trouble finding the strike zone early on. AC scored eight times in the second inning on one hit to take charge.

Wright and Mike Dunbar both walked, and Jennings was hit by a pitch. Fuller walked to force in a run, and Paquette followed with a double to plate more runs. Walks to Tembreull and Dunbar and a run-scoring ground ball capped the rally.

Jennings started on the mound for AC and gave up five runs, three earned in six innings, for the pitching win. Kimball tossed a scoreless seventh inning to nail down the win.