Terriers beat Jacks in extras, 4-3

By Kameron Towle
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WESTMINSTER, Vt. – Did the playoffs start early this year?

Friday’s season-finale, what felt like a playoff game between Bellows Falls and Windsor, needed an extra inning to decide the winner, as the two ball clubs are playing quality baseball with the postseason approaching.

BF came up with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extras tied at 3, and then plated a run in the bottom-half of the eighth to seal the victory.

“That was intense… that was a playoff atmosphere,” said Windsor head coach Jamie Richardson.

BF head coach Bob Lockerby agreed, saying, “That had a tournament feel to it… with the excitement between two schools that play in different tournaments and have kind of been baseball rivals for a long time.”

The excitement came in the seventh, where the Terriers entered the bottom-half having trailed the entire game after allowing 2 runs in the first. Trailing 3-1 six innings later, BF put runners on second and third with one out before the Yellow Jackets made a pitching change.

Senior Justin Smith came on in a jam, not to mention during a 3 balls, 1 strike count on the batter.

Smith didn’t flinch and recorded the strike out with back-to-back strikes. And for a moment, it looked like the Jacks were going to stall all Terriers’ momentum.

But, with two outs and runners in scoring position, Grady Lockerby stepped up to the plate and hit a hard ground ball to the left side of the infield.

The ball was fielded cleanly, but the throw to first sailed wide and both Noah Rawling and McGregor Vancor were able to score, knotting the game at 3.

After stranding a Windsor base runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth, BF had a chance to end it in the bottom half, and they seized the opportunity.

Griff Waryas led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a sac-bunt, and then scampered to third on a passed ball to put the winning run just 90 feet away with Elliott Graham up in the box.

Graham hit a chopper to second base, and by the time the ball was fielded, Waryas had already scooted halfway down the third base line. As the throw came in, Waryas snuck just under the tag at home.

“I told Griff, anything on the ground and you’re going,” said coach Lockerby. “But, you still have to react… and Griff did a great job.”

The drama-filled win for the Terriers came on Senior Day, as they honored Jack Brown, Noah Rawling, Gunnar Sawyer, Jeff Rainville, and Ethan Morey.

“All five have been in the program all four years,” said Lockerby on his senior class. “When guys make a commitment like that, you’re going to miss them. They do a good job showing the younger guys the ropes and how we do things. I appreciate that from them.”

There were a combined 5 hits in the game Friday, 3 from Windsor and 2 from BF, as both sides provided quality pitching for much of the game.

For Windsor, Robert Slocum went 4 innings, striking out 5 and allowing just 1 hit for 1 run. He was relieved by Grayson Frazer who went 2.1 innings, allowing 1 hit and 4 walks. Smith pitched the final inning, with Waryas’ winning run the only base runner to reach cleanly.

Windsor’s hits came from Slocum, Josh Gaudette, and Jordan Place.

For BF, their two hits came from Jack Burke and Grady Lockerby.

On the mound, Jack Brown started, going 4.2 innings, striking out 6 and allowing 2 hits and 6 walks for 3 runs. Elliott Graham pitched 3.1 innings of shutout relief work, striking out 2 and allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk.

After Friday’s game, both teams now await the final seeding for their respective tournaments.

The Terriers end their season with a record of 7-9 while the Jacks’ record is 6-10.

Windsor was riding a 2-game win streak before Friday, and looked sharp for the majority of the game.

“We played a good game… there was just a couple mental mistakes,” said coach Richardson. “If we clean those up I think we’re looking good for the playoffs… we’re playing better right now and I’m excited to see what we can do.”