Jake Davison of Hazen Union gets the out just before Camden Strong of Peoples Academy reaches first base during play in Hardwick Tuesday. Peoples prevailed 9-5.
MONTPELIER – After the offense was shut down in a road loss to Montpelier, the Hazen Union baseball team lost a back-and-forth battle with three-time defending state champion Peoples Academy last week, evening their record at 2-2.
Keegan Smith struck out 11 and didn’t allow a hit through five innings of work as Montpelier took care of business at home against the Wildcats last Monday 10-0.
Colden Hollingsworth went 2-3 with a pair of stolen bases, Beckett Buckley belted a double and Smith helped his own cause with a hit, a pair of runs and two stolen bases.
Twinfield-Cabot’s Sam Russell drove in a pair of runs with a single for the Solons and fellow Trojan Meles Gouge struck out a pair to close out the game on the mound.
Hazen Union’s Dan des Groseilliers (center) looks to steal second as Alex Hudson (left) and Derek Baxter (right) of Peoples Academy keep a close watch on him during a game on Hudson Field April 30. Peoples Academy won 9-5.
Dan des Groseilliers rapped a double in the top of the sixth for Hazen’s only hit.
Grayson McNaughten suffered the loss, striking out five and walking five over three-plus innings of work.
With the win, Montpelier improved to 2-1.
Peoples Academy (PA) outlasted the Wildcats 9-5 to hand them their second straight loss at Hudson Fields on Tuesday.
Andrew Menard suffered the loss despite striking out 10 over five innings of work. The senior righty has 20 K’s in 10 innings on the bump this season, including a no-hitter against Williamstown in the Cats’ season opener.
Fellow senior Jake Davison had two hits, including a double to drive in a pair of runs. Menard kept his hot bat going with two more hits and a pair of RBI.
Derek Baxter led the Wolves’ offense for a second straight as they improved to 2-4 on the season.
PA is the defending Division II state champion and won back-to-back Division III state titles in ’21 and ’22.
“Tuesday was another tough loss. Andrew and Jake really boosted us offensively and Fenton Meyer ended a potential big inning in the sixth with an amazing diving catch. Dan almost saved a couple more runs with a sensational grab in right, but the ball just popped out of his glove at the end of the play. Grayson started the bottom of the seventh off with a big triple for us to rally back, but we just couldn’t string anything else together. We are young and it shows on fielding miscues and on the base paths at times. The good news is, you can teach from there. We have a talented team, we just have to get them firing on all cylinders,” said head coach Shaun Allen.
The Wildcats got a well-deserved break after playing four games over a six day period and hosted Montpelier on Tuesday. They will stay at home the rest of the week with Capital League match-ups against Thetford Academy and Spaulding on Thursday and Saturday.
