‘Cats struggle as roof caves in

WHITINGHAM- The Leland & Gray and Twin Valley varsity softball teams met for the second time this season Friday afternoon. Much like the first meeting, Leland & Gray used its experience, pitching, and timely hitting to come away with a 24-6 win over the host Wildcats.
The Rebels jumped on Twin Valley starter Callie Dix, scoring four runs in the first inning. Sarah Anderson led off with a double and Sidney Hescock had the big hit in the inning, a bases-clearing triple to drive in two runs. Olivia Brown and Abby Lowe also had hits in the inning.   
Leland & Gray added three more runs in the second inning, two in the third, and then blew the game open with a 13-run fourth inning.  Anderson and Hescock each had doubles, and Erin Cutts had a big triple as well.   
Meanwhile, Rebel starter Brown was in control of the Twin Valley batters. She held them to one hit through the first three innings, a double by Kara Bird in the third. Bird was thrown out trying to score later in the inning.
Twin Valley broke through in the bottom of the fourth, scoring five runs off Lowe, who came on in relief at the start of the inning. Dix and Jarrett Niles doubled, and Leah Putnam and Hannah Sullivan singled during the rally.
Twin Valley hurt its cause with fielding and base-running miscues during the game.  There were a number of dropped balls in the infield and outfield, which led to extended innings and more runs for the Rebels.  In the third, over-aggressive base running twice led to runners being tagged out, which snuffed out a scoring threat.
“We can’t focus,” said Twin Valley coach Jeff Putnam.  “We didn’t concentrate.”
Sullivan, Niles, and Putnam each went 2-3 in the game. Bird, Celia Betit, and Maria Page also had hits for the Wildcats.
The win moved Leland & Gray to 6-3 on the season, good for third in the statewide division 3 rankings.
Poultney 12, TV 6
POULTNEY- Twin Valley played one of its closest games of the season Monday, but came up short in a 12-6 road loss to Poultney.   
“We were in that game, it was close for a while,” said Twin Valley coach Jeff Putnam.  
Celia Betit led the Wildcats’ offense, going 2-4 with two home runs and three runs batted in. Callie Dix was 2-3, Hannah Sullivan 2-4,  and Kara Bird 2-2.    
WR 19, TV 2  
WHITINGHAM- Twin Valley faced a strong West Rutland softball team Tuesday afternoon, and through the first four inning played them very close.  But eventually the Golden Horde pulled away for a 19-2 win over the Wildcats.
Twin Valley’s undoing was the top of the fifth inning, when West Rutland scored eight runs.  The Wildcats couldn’t respond, as the Horde’s pitching kept the  home team in check.
“There was not a whole lot of offense,” said Twin Valley coach Jeff Putnam. “Four hits were all we had.”
Sadie Boyd led the way with a single and two runs scored, Callie Dix, Jarrett Niles, and Kara Bird had the other hits for Twin Valley.
BR 29,  TV 5
WHITINGHAM-   As has often been the case this season, the Twin Valley varsity softball team was competitive through much of a game.  As has also been the case in many games, one bad inning was enough to sink the team.  That scenario played out on Wednesday as the Wildcats dropped a home game to Black River 29-5.
“We’re good for four or five innings,” said Twin Valley coach Jeff Putnam, “and then we have our bad inning.”
Twin Valley trailed 6-5 after four innings, buoyed by some good play in the field and timely hitting. In the top of the fifth, they were able to record the first two outs and appeared to be working out of a jam. Black River had two runners on base, but hadn’t pushed any runs across. That’s when the floodgates opened, and Black River scored 11 runs before the Wildcats could record the final out.
“I cannot fathom how we can play with a lot of these teams for four or five innings and then the roof caves in,” said Putnam. “As soon as somebody makes a mistake or an error, it seems like they all make them.”
The coach had some good things to say about the early play in the game, and praised freshman Jayden Crawford, who made the switch from outfield to third base.
“We had some really good defensive plays,” said Putnam. “Jayden had some nice plays at third base.”
Crawford also had a good day at the plate, going 2-4 and scoring a run. Hannah Sullivan also had two hits, and Jarrett Niles and Leah Putnam each had a hit.
Twin Valley’s record is 0-9. They travel to Green Mountain Friday then head to West Rutland Tuesday. Games start at 4:30 pm.