Craftsbury ninth grader Grayson McNaughton pitches to a Danville batter during a home JV game on Dustan Field May 10. In the back at right is Cyrus Graham. The Bears outscored the Chargers 12-7.
by Ken Brown
CRAFTSBURY – The Craftsbury Academy (CA) junior varsity baseball team suffered losses to Danville and Richford last week and is still in search of their first win since rebooting the program this past spring after a four-year hiatus.
After dropping a battle with local rival Danville on Wednesday, the Chargers fell to Richford on the road Thursday 16-8. Freshman Grayson McNaughten has been a bright spot on the mound for CA and pitched well again last week, before suffering the loss against the Bears. Senior Dalton Gravel continues to split time between his baseball and track and field duties for the Chargers and pitched well against the Rockets, with Landon Miller coming on in relief to finish up. Former Red Sox legend and Craftsbury mainstay Bill Lee has been pitching batting practice for coaches Shaun Allen and William Garske to get their young team accustomed to live pitching.
“Grayson was great again on the hill for us against Danville and are bats started to show signs of life at the end of that game. We brought that momentum over to the Richford game and continued to hit the ball hard with good quality at bats. Dalton was excellent against Richford, but in the end our lack of experience showed this week with some mistakes in key situations. Back-to-back games on consecutive days are tough for any team at this level. The boys have done a nice job of being competitive with every team since their opener against Enosburg and we are getting stronger as a team every day and I hope they can see that and keep putting in the work,” said head coach Shaun Allen.
The Chargers will look to notch their first win of the season this week as they travel to Danville on Wednesday and Winooski on Thursday. They are also scheduled to travel to Lyndon Institute next Monday.
Craftsbury junior Dylan Washer (left) safely reaches third base before Thomas Gouge of Danville can tag him during action May 10, on Dustan Field. Danville won 12-7.
