Eighteen of the top senior baseball players from the Green Mountain State have been selected to represent Vermont against New Hampshire in the 2022 Twin State Baseball Classic on Saturday.
The Twin State Baseball Classic returns for the first time since 2019. Both the 2020 and 2021 games were canceled owing to the pandemic. The best seniors on the diamond across the state will represent Vermont at Norwich University’s Garrity Field in Northfield
The Vermont Baseball Coaches Association announced its roster last week, with Arlington’s Griff Briggs the lone Bennington County senior selected.
The double header will be played at Norwich University’s Garrity Field in Northfield.
Briggs helped lead his Eagles to a 10-4 season, batting .469 with 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
The Arlington senior also displayed great command on the mound, striking out 39 batters while walking just nine in 19 ⅔ innings pitched. Briggs finished with a 2.49 earned run average. He will be continuing his baseball career at Southern New Hampshire University, a NCAA Division II baseball program.
Joining Briggs on team Vermont is:
Matt Gonyeau (OF), BFA St. Albans; John Dennis (IF), Blue Mountain; Alex Bingham (SS/RHP) and Turner Clews (C), Brattleboro; Nolan Simon (IF), Burlington; Braedon Jones (IF/RHP) and Oliver Pudvar (OF/LHP), Champlain Valley; Eli Bostwick (C) and Andrew Goodrich (IF/RHP), Essex; David Piers (IF/RHP), Lake Region; Trevor Lussier (C), Lyndon; Adam Mansfield (IF/RHP), Mount Abraham; Tanner Wolpert (IF/OF), Rice Memorial; Will Fowler (IF) and Fritz Hauser (IF), Saint Johnsbury; Sully Beers (OF), South Burlington; and Carter Hoffman (OF/RHP), Union 32.
The Vermont coaches are Nick DeCaro (Danville), Tim Root (Essex), Mike Howe (Otter Valley) and Jason Tarleton (Woodstock).
The Green Mountain State’s squad is made up of student-athletes from 14 different high schools. Three additional high schools (Danville, Otter Valley and Woodstock) are represented by Vermont’s coaching staff.
First pitch of game one of a pair of seven-inning contests is at 10 a.m., preceded by brief pregame ceremonies. Admission to the twin-bill is free.
The Twin State Baseball Classic was last played in 2019 with the two states splitting a pair, the fourth twin-bill split in five events since returning in its current format in 2015. A year ago, the VBCA recognized its seniors with the 2021 Vermont North-South Classic at Hadley Field in Rockingham.
For more information on the VBCA, log on to www.vermontbaseball.org