On Wednesday night, after the final outs took place in the Vermont high school baseball semifinals, we all had the same idea going: It was going to be a busy day at Centennial Field for the championship games.
That was until we realized that when Enosburg knocked off Lyndon, a tripleheader Saturday became 2 doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. That's because Enosburg (D2) and White River Valley (D3) were graduating that AM while their opponents graduated the night before. It meant their games would take place on Saturday afternoon/evening and the D4 and D1 finals would happen on Friday night.
Not to worry though because it meant that I could also get to Virtue Field for the Ultimate finals on Saturday morning. So instead of attending just 4 baseball games over 2 days, I got to see 6 title games and meet so many people (both new and familiar) to talk everything involving high school sports.
Without further ado, here is a look at my weekend attending the VPA championship games.
D4 Baseball Final: Blue Mountain vs. West Rutland
Prior to the game, I had the chance to speak with Vermont Sports Hall of Famer George Commo about Friday's action. He told me that this one had all the makings for an upset (more from him in a moment). It made sense as the Golden Horde had knocked off #2 Arlington and #3 MSJ to get here.
But 3 batters in, everything changed. Leadoff hitter Ryan Coolidge was on third base heading home on a chopper to third and was out by a mile, but tried sliding in a suffered a severe knee injury in the process. Nearly 30 minutes later, he was transported to UVM Medical Center, and the game was able to resume.
After that, the story turned to the Bucks' #9 hitter Kristofer Fennimore, who broke his wrist in a scrimmage before the season began. It led to him wearing a brace throughout the season. But on Friday, it didn't faze him one bit as he hit an RBI single and got the save, pitching 2 innings in relief, to help Blue Mountain 3-peat as D4 state champions 4-1 over West Rutland.
D1 Baseball Final: Mount Anthony vs. St. Johnsbury
Going back to my conversation with Mr. Commo, we talked in great lengths about this matchup and had the same thought: These two teams making it here was somewhat a surprise.
It was probably a Chittenden County bias if you ask me, but then I talked to Michael Mawson of the Bennington Banner, and he felt the same way. But in his case, he thought CVU would give the Patriots a run for their money in their QF matchup. But in the end, MAU and St. J put on an exciting (and pretty sloppy) contest.
After Wedensday's win, we knew Rex Hauser, the Gatorade player of the year in baseball for the state, would start for the Hilltoppers. But he had a rough start against Mount Anthony, allowing 6 runs (1 earned) in 4IP while walking 4 batters in the process. But St. Johnsbury would rally with a 4-run fourth (down 3-0) and a 2-run sixth (down 6-5) to claim the program's first D1 title since 2016 by a final of 9-7.
Boys Ultimate Final: Champlain Valley vs. Montpelier
At 9:45AM on Saturday, UVM's Virtue Field was set up for the Ultimate finals and it was a pretty unique experience for me. In ultimate, the goal is to either be ahead after 90 minutes or be the first to 15 points to win. After a back and forth start, the Solons would make a run to take an 8-5 lead into halftime. Montpelier would then pour it on, making stops and scoring goals to get to within 1 goal of the title.
That's when the chant of "Rally, Rally, Champlain Valley" would kick in as the Redhawks would score the next 4 goals to get within 2. But the Solons would get that title-clinching goal with about 3 and a half minutes left in the game to win their third boys ultimate title 15-12. An exciting contest and a great look at how the sport has grown since its inception in 2019.
Girls Ultimate Final: Champlain Valley vs. Milton
Next up was the girls' final, also involving CVU as they faced the Yellow Jackets from Milton, making the final in only their second year as a varsity program. Unfortunately, this game was a lot different from the boys as it was all Redhawks from the opening toss.
Zoey McNabb was the star of this one, scoring 5 goals in the first half and guiding Champlain Valley to their first girls ultimate title in program history. It was a great story for Milton to make the title game, but it was CVU who would not be denied on this day.
D2 Baseball Final: Missisquoi vs. Enosburg
Back at Centennial Field on Saturday, the place was packed with folks from eastern and western Franklin County as the #1 Thunderbirds faced off with the #6 Hornets in the Division 2 final. This one ended up being a blowout, but not without some excitement from both teams as a couple of foul balls ended up closer to me than I would've liked.
In the end, a massive game from Missisquoi's AJ Dennett (2-run single and bases-clearing double) and a great pitching performance from Parker Hakey proved to be too much for Enosburg as the T-Birds finished a perfect season with a 12-2 win.
D3 Baseball Final: White River Valley vs. Thetford
Occasionally, I could have some bias towards a team depending on location or who follows me on social media. This one, my bias was towards the home plate umpire who I've talked to several times online and formally met in St. Johnsbury back in November for the football championships.
If I had a chance after this game, I would've asked if he implemented a pitch clock for this one as it started at 8PM and ended nearly 100 minutes later with the same outcome as the last two D3 title games: White River Valley falling short in Burlington.
The Wildcats did end up scoring first on an error by Thetford (their first run in the last 3 years at Centennial Field), but Thetford answered with back-to-back doubles from Owen Goodrich and Ollie Sarazin giving the Panthers the lead for good, adding one more in the 6th for a 4-1 win.
So, after all of that, the 2024-2025 Vermont high school season has come to a close for me. It was one of the most time-consuming years I've had. From the first game at Munson Field to the championships at Centennial Field, it has been a blast being able to see so many great student-athletes compete in the sports they love and the people who covered these events for the different media partners.
Over the course of those 30 hours, I met up with some familiar faces and others who I hadn't talked to either in years (Mawson) or at all (James Biggam of the Times Argus). That's the benefit of being at 6 games with different parts of the state represented; you never know who's going to show up and cover the games.
As we head into summer vacation, a note that hopefully I can catch some American Legion baseball action before we return to the high schoolers again in August. For now, enjoy the sunshine (however much there may be this year) and we'll come back again when the gridiron calls in the fall.
