December 8, 2000

I've done a lot of work on the Yearly History pages, with a new frames layout. I've also given all of those pages a facelift, and I'm double-checking some of my factual information. I think the frames will make the section much easier to navigate through. Due to the frames, however, I've decided that clicking on "Yearly History Pages" will open a new window. It will make things work much more smoothly if the frames are in a separate window. Also, the 2000 schedule, roster, and stats will force open a new window. Check it out and enjoy. More info to come, hopefully soon.

December 1, 2000

Hey All! The site looks a bit different, doesn't it? I cleaned up the front page, so hopefully things will appear neater to everyone. I also took the welcome message that I had down on the front page and put it on a separate page. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to the toolbar and click on "Welcome Message from Webmaster..." and you'll go there.

And my New Media class at Saint Mike's is coming in handy: that's where I learned how to make the GIF file at the top of the front page. [ed. note: since removed]

I also added a new page listing the Top Ten in each Individual Career Statistic category. I threw in some stats that I've never posted before, like BB:K ratios for hitters and wins by left-handed pitchers. There are a couple of other new ones there, too. Check it out on the toolbar under "Leaders in All-Time Stats."

November 26, 2000

I just finished the updates to the Yearly History pages. There's not that much of a difference between the old ones, but now there's a better directory structure.

November 24, 2000

I just received a story from Kevin Grabowski, who played for the Lakers from 1986 through 1988. He is also the holder of numerous records at Colchester High School, including the career home run record. His anecdote can be read on the "Pictures & Stories" page.

I'm also in the midst of updating the Yearly History pages, and trying to create folders for each year. That will hopefully be done soon, after which I would like to obtain a more distinct URL for the Lakers Baseball Page, something along the lines of lakersbaseball.net. Stay tuned.

BTW, HAPPY THANKSGIVING everybody! And with the frequency I've been updating the page recently, I should also wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

October 3, 2000

Recently, Pat Phillips was named the fifth head coach in the 25-year history of Colchester High School's Varsity Baseball program. The Junior Varsity head coach at Colchester since 1995, Coach Phillips has seen 34 of his players make the Varsity squad in subsequent years, including all thirteen of the players who appeared on Varsity this past season. Additionally, the five sophomores he coached on JV last year stand a good chance of joining him again in 2001. The peak of success for Coach Phillips' teams was during the 1997 and 98 seasons when the jayvee squad went a combined 29-3. The team tied for the Metro South crown in 1997 and then won it outright the next year. Dave Saddlemire, Colchester's Varsity head coach for the past seventeen years, retires with a 115-172 record.

June 16, 2000

Now for the post-season wrap-up:

June 10, 2000

Agonizingly close. But so painfully far. The sixth-seeded Lakers (14-6) blew out to an early lead over fifth-seeded Mount Mansfield (16-4) at Centennial Field in the Division I Championship game, then had to withstand a Cougar rally before staging one of their own, only to eventually lose a heartbreaker in eight innings. The Lakers scored one run in the first inning, two in the second, and one more in each the third and fourth innings to run out to an early 5-0 lead behind Justin Bissonnette. But Mount Mansfield scored one run in the fourth and then five in the fifth, mostly around sacrifice bunts that put pressure on the Laker defense, causing some bad throws and misplays. The 6-5 Cougar lead stood until the top of the seventh inning, when Andrew Folley reached on an error and Ryan O'Hara singled. Sophomore Jason Compagnon pinch ran for Folley and stole third base, then scored on Travis Miles' single. The Lakers did no further damage in the inning, but it was a 6-6 ballgame going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore pitcher Travis Clairmont then struck out three of the next four batters with the winning run on second base, sending the game into extra innings. In the eighth, Ty Pratt sent a one-out triple off the right field fence and scored on Luke Laroche's single, putting the Lakers ahead again for the first time since the fifth inning. The Cougars got a gift single to lead off the eighth when a weakly hit ball fell in behind second base between center fielder Laroche, shortstop Addie Dion, and second baseman Jeff Boyer. The runner later advanced to second then scored to tie the game on Dion's error, which allowed another runner to reach first base. That runner got around to third base on a sacrifice bunt, forcing Colchester to intentionally walk the next two batters. The next hitter followed with a line single to left field, ending the season for both teams.

It was the first time Colchester had been in a championship game, and it was the first time since 1982 that the Lakers had even gotten as far as the semifinals. With only twelve players donning a uniform this year, this Lakers squad was the smallest ever, but definitely the most successful. The fourteen wins were also tied for the second-most ever, tying the 1983 team, and were just off the record of sixteen posted by the 1982 team.

The 2000 Lakers graduate seven seniors and may bid farewell to their head coach, as well. Coach Dave Saddlemire had said at the beginning of the season that this might be his last year, and after twenty years coaching baseball in Colchester, seventeen on Varsity, the 2000 squad may have been his best team. It took his first fourteen teams from 1984 until 1997 to wrack up three playoff victories, but the 2000 team took only eight days to accomplish that feat. His first Varsity game was on April 14, 1984, an 8-2 win over visiting Mount Abraham. Jamie Moore was born less than a month later and Travis Clairmont (today's relief pitcher who was tagged with the loss) wasn't to be born for exactly two more months. If "Saddie" does indeed retire, he will be missed by all of his players because he was a great coach and a great friend and was respected and liked not only by his players but by the parents and other local coaches. He has 115 career Varsity victories.

Lastly, I'd like to point out that I had a lot of fun this year. These guys didn't get much press (scratch that; they got NO press), but this was the most talented, passionate, hard-working, and close-knit group of baseball players I have ever been on a team with. I was a coach/statistician for the last thirteen games this year (over which time these guys posted a 9-4 record) and saw all of these guys play their hearts out in every inning, in every at bat, and on every pitch. Jason Compagnon joined the team for the playoff run, so it was basically eleven guys during that time, though only ten were playing because Jason Carey was injured. Six of them played every inning in every game!! They were: Jeff Boyer, Justin Bissonnette, Addie Dion, Luke Laroche, Jamie Moore, and Ty Pratt, all of whom were seniors excluding Moore, a sophomore. I hope that all of the guys who played this year keep playing baseball in the future and stay connected with it in one capacity or another. And I hope they all retain their love for the game and stay in contact with each other, because they were close like brothers this year. I sure had a blast this year and I hope everyone else did, too. Have a great summer everyone!

June 7, 2000

Well, the Lakers will finally get their game at Centennial Field this year. After a long bus ride down to Brattleboro to face the defending state champions in a Semifinal game, the sixth-seeded Lakers (14-5) ambushed the second-seeded Colonels (15-4) by an 11-2 score, sending them into the Championship game for the first time in their history. The first five innings was all Lakers, as the bats came out hot and Travis Clairmont's arm held the Colonels in check. The Lakers scored three runs in the first inning, three in the third, two in the fourth, and three in the fifth, building an 11-0 lead for Clairmont, who allowed only three hits and two unearned runs in 5-1/3 innings before leaving in favor of Justin Bissonnette. Bissonnette pitched the remaining 1-2/3 innings, and got four of his five outs via the strikeout, tying the single-season school record for strikeouts with 60. Meanwhile, there were many offensive heroes on the day for the Lakers: Luke Laroche hit a first inning three-run homer and scored three times; Ty Pratt hit a mammoth fourth-inning two-run home run to right field, added a double, and went three-for-five while scoring three times; Jason Carey went two-for-four, scoring three times; Bissonnette had a bases-clearing triple while also hitting two doubles and driving in three; Clairmont also hit a long double to the left field gap. Meanwhile, the defensive standout on the day was Addie Dion, who made many tough plays in the hole over at shortstop, taking away at least three hits.

Now Colchester will play the visiting team in Saturday's Divison I Championship game against fifth-seeded Mount Mansfield (15-4). The game will be played at Centennial Field at 4:00 PM.

I know the season isn't over yet, but Thank You to all of the parents, students, and everyone else who has supported the team this year, especially to those of you who made the looong drives down to Springfield and Brattleboro for the playoffs. Your support has been greatly appreciated. We hope to see all of you again on Saturday at Centennial Field!!

June 6, 2000

Today's game was postponed until tomorrow at 4:30 PM. As far as I know, all previous bus arrangements will be the same as they were supposed to be today. See everyone tomorrow!

June 3, 2000

Sixth-seeded Colchester (13-5) won their Quarterfinal game today in Springfield, dropping the fourteenth-seeded Cosmos (9-10) by a 9-2 score. Justin Bissonnette pitched a complete game, allowing only two unearned runs and striking out thirteen men. In the first meeting ever between these two teams, Luke Laroche added a double and a triple while Travis Clairmont smacked a double. Luke ended up going 3-for-3 while scoring twice and driving in two runs, while Ty Pratt reached base three times and stole three bases. The Lakers put the game away with a five-run seventh inning in which they got six singles.

And you think today's drive was long? On Tuesday, the Lakers will once again travel down south when they take on second-seeded Brattleboro (15-3). The game will be played at 4:30 PM. In the other semifinal game, fifth-seeded Mount Mansfield (14-4) will travel to take on the top seed Essex (17-1).

June 1, 2000

Get ready for a long drive on Saturday: the sixth-seeded Lakers (12-5) will be travelling to face the fourteenth-seeded Springfield Cosmos (9-9) in the Quarterfinals round of the Division I Playoffs. Wondering where Springfield actually is? I was too until I looked at a map... It's in the southeastern corner of the state, perilously close to New Hampshire. Colchester will make the close-to-three-hour drive to face Springfield at a 4:30 PM scheduled starting time. The Cosmos got to the Quarterfinals by beating third-seeded Rice (12-5) by a 6-2 score. It helped that an unidentified number of Rice starters (somewhere between two and four of them) got into "trouble" and were not allowed to play. Hope to see everyone on Saturday!!!

May 31, 2000

The Lakers won today in their Playdown game with #11 North Country (9-8). Sixth-seeded Colchester (12-5) used six strong innings of pitching from Travis Clairmont in a 6-1 victory, with the only run being unearned. Travis allowed only five hits while striking out six. He moves to 4-0 with the win. Justin Bissonnette came on to pitch the seventh inning. Senior Ty Pratt provided much of the offense with three doubles and a couple of RBIs, but Addie Dion's three-run homer into the woods in left field was the big blow. Addie added two singles and scored three times. That sixth inning blast put the finishing touches on a four-run inning, one which included four of Colchester's thirteen hits. With his fourth win, Clairmont became only the third sophomore to record four or more wins in a season, joining Dave Robideau (4-1 in 1976) and Justin Bissonnette (4-1 in 1998). Colchester will play again on Saturday, at a time to be determined, against either Rice or Springfield. Either way, it will be a road game. More info when I get it!

May 25, 2000

The Playoff Pairings came out today: the Lakers are the sixth seed in Division I, with an 11-5 record. They will face #11 (9-7) North Country next Wednesday (May 31st) at 4:30 PM at Colchester High School.

May 23, 2000

Colchester lost their regular season finale today, 9-0 at Rice Memorial High School. The Lakers accumulated three hits, all by the Travises: Clairmont with two and Miles with one. Travis Miles pitched four innings against a tough hitting team and allowed all nine of the runs, seven being earned. Justin Bissonnette pitched the final two innings of shutout ball. Colchester went to 11-5 with the loss, including 6-2 in the Metro South. The playoff pairings will be announced tomorrow. Rice is now 12-4 and 5-3 in the Metro South.

May 20, 2000

The visiting Lakers beat Winooski today in grand fashion, 14-3, as sophomore Travis Clairmont pitched six strong innings while recording eleven strikeouts. Senior Travis Miles came in and pitched the final inning as the Lakers improved to 11-4, and 6-1 in the Metro South. Miles also drove in two runs and scored twice. The last time Colchester's Varsity Baseball team had eleven wins was in May of 1983, before current Lakers Jason Carey, Travis Clairmont, Jason Compagnon, Andrew Folley, and Jamie Moore were born. Colchester scored seven times in the sixth inning, all with two outs. The key hit was senior Jeff Boyer's three-run bomb to the over-sized novelty bat in left center field. It was his first home run in high school and his second hit of the day. He also scored three times. This was the sixth straight game in which a Laker went deep. Addie Dion also tripled in the seventh inning, sending a liner into left field that ended up rolling into the bushes at the base of the fence. It was the 3,000th hit in the Varsity team's history. Meanwhile, the Lakers have won their last two games played in Winooski after losing the first six they ever played there. The year in which this two-game winning streak began: 1993.

The Lakers complete their regular season on Tuesday in South Burlington, as they make a trip out to Rice Memorial High School. The 4:30 PM game will pit Rice (10-4, 4-3 through Sunday night) against a Colchester team that has won six of its last seven games, and four of its last five on the road. This is only the third season in Colchester's 25-year history that the Lakers have won as many as eleven games.

May 19, 2000

Well, it wasn't Centennial Field, but Mount Abraham Union High School was a good enough backdrop as the Lakers demolished the Eagles, 13-3. Senior Justin Bissonnette pitched a complete game, allowing three earned runs, striking out nine, and walking none. He also knocked a seventh inning three-run homer over the right field fence in Bristol and finished with five RBIs. Meanwhile, Luke Laroche went 4-for-4 while scoring 4 runs and walking once, and Ty Pratt scored three times and had two hits, including a double. The other was a single while batting right-handed. For those of you who don't know, Ty bats lefty (usually). Jeff Boyer also got plunked for the fourth time in three games and broke the career record for times being hit by a pitch. He and Mark Carpenter had shared the career record of seven for three days.

The Lakers are now 10-4, and 5-1 in the Metro South. In the school's 25-year history, this is only the sixth ten-win season, and only the fourth ten-win regular season. Also, this is the third ten-win season of Coach Dave Saddlemire's 17-year Colchester coaching career, and only the second time a team of his has reached ten wins during the regular season. Colchester faces Winooski (6-7, 1-4) tomorrow at 11:00 AM at Hawthorne Field in Winooski.

May 18, 2000

Today's game was rained on, so unfortunately the Lakers won't be able to play at Centennial Field this year. The game will be replayed at 4:30 PM tomorrow at Mount Abraham Union High School, all the way in Bristol. Just to update some things that have occurred this year: Ty Pratt has stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts, the first Laker since Bryant Perry in 1993 to steal 10 or more bases. Perry stole 10 in 11 attempts. In the fourth inning of the May 13th game against Middlebury, Pratt drove in Addie Dion, moving Colchester's all-time total in runs produced up to 4,000. Runs produced are simply runs plus runs batted in, minus home runs. Meanwhile, at the time I'm writing this, Ty also had 78 runs produced in his career, passing the record of 74 that Jason Carey had set earlier this year (pre-injury). Also, on May 16th, by getting hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and for the third time in two games, Jeff Boyer tied Mark Carpenter's career record of number of times getting hit by a pitch at seven. Also, Luke Laroche has tied Kevin Grabowski's all-time record for RBIs at 43.

May 16, 2000

The Lakers lost a tough one at Champlain Valley Union High School today, 15-9. Despite falling behind early, 3-0, they fought back to within 3-2, then fell back 5-2, took a 7-5 lead, then reliquished it for the last time in the fourth when Champlain Valley scored five times. The Crusader 10-7 lead was cut to 10-9 thanks to two errors in the fifth inning, but that was as close as Colchester got the rest of the way, as they gave up two more runs in the fifth and three in the sixth. Addie Dion and Luke Laroche pitched well for Colchester, but they were killed by eight errors made behind them. The only Colchester extra base hit was Travis Miles' home run in the fourth inning. It was his first of the year and second in his two-year Varsity career. CVU improved to 6-6 and the Lakers fell to 9-4 with three regular season games remaining. This was a non-league game, so it won't affect Colchester when it comes to the Metro South standings, but it will make a difference when the Division I Playoff pairings come out on Thursday, May 25th. The Lakers have been 9-4 one other time: 1999, when they lost their last four games.

May 15, 2000

Scheduling Change!!: Since a light pole has fallen at Centennial Field, none of the high school night games will be played at 7:30 PM this week. In Sunday's edition, The Burlington Free Press reported that the Lakers won't play their game against Mount Abraham at Centennial, but instead at Mount Abraham Union High School. This is false. The Lakers are scheduled to play at 4:30 PM on Thursday, May 18th, at Centennial Field. Sorry for the confusion. I was also confused until Justin Bissonnette was kind enough to point this out (thanks JB!). Hope to see everyone at Centennial Field on Thursday afternoon.

May 13, 2000

The Lakers swept a pair at home to push their record up to 9-3 overall, including 4-1 within the Metro South. In Game One, Mount Mansfield fell to the Lakers, 6-4. Justin Bissonnette pitched six strong innings, allowing only two unearned runs. The Lakers put up a three-spot in the fourth inning on Luke Laroche's three-run bomb to right-center-field. It was the 100th home run in the history of Colchester's Varsity Baseball program. Laroche and Andrew Folley also doubled during the game. Mount Mansfield fell to 7-3 with the loss. In the second game, Colchester turned a tight 7-5 game into a 15-5 rout when Middlebury's only healthy pitcher got tossed from the game in the fifth inning. After allowing Middlebury to build a 3-0 first inning lead, senior Travis Miles settled down and allowed only a two-run homer in the fifth inning the rest of the way en route to his second complete game victory of the year. The Lakers were held scoreless in the first inning, but scored two in the second, one in the third, and four in the fourth and held a comfortable 7-3 lead going into the fifth inning. However, the trouble really started for Middlebury when their only healthy pitcher, Jesse Emilo, got tossed after arguing a bang-bang play at first base after he laid down a sacrifice bunt. Middlebury's Jaan Kolts hit a two-run homer in the inning, but the 7-5 Colchester lead ballooned to a 15-5 lead against the poor Middlebury pitching in the fifth inning, and the ten-run rule kicked in and the game ended. The eight-run inning included Ty Pratt's first home run of the year, the fifth of his career, a two-run shot to left-center-field. Ty went 2-for-2 and drove in 4 runs while scoring three times. Justin Bissonnette added a double in the victory as Middlebury fell to 5-5. This was the second doubleheader that the Lakers have swept this year, winning all four games by a combined score of 43-9. The only other year in which a doubleheader occurred was 1976, when the Lakers swept Harwood in two games played in Colchester, once as the home team and once as the visitor. That means that in these three doubleheaders, the Lakers were 5-0 in Colchester and 1-0 at a neutral site.

May 12, 2000

Colchester received a masterful pitching performance from sophomore Travis Clairmont, senior Addie Dion hit a home run, and the Lakers won 4-1 over visiting South Burlington. Clairmont went the first six innings without yielding a hit until a Nick Morwood home run to center field leading off the seventh. He allowed a double to the next batter, but Justin Bissonnette came in after that and got three outs for his first save of the year. It was also the first save for any Laker pitcher this season. Clairmont received solid defense throughout the game, including a nice running catch by left fielder Andrew Folley and a pretty play at the plate where catcher Ty Pratt flipped to Clairmont, covering home, to preserve the shutout in the sixth inning. Meanwhile, Luke Laroche, Folley, and Clairmont each hit long doubles, and Dion hit a bomb to left field for his first home run of the season, and the third of his career. Fittingly, Clairmont caught the last out of the game while in right field, helping the Lakers move to 7-3 (2-1 in the Metro South) on the season, the first time a Lakers team has ever been 7-3. Colchester has a tough doubleheader tomorrow against Mount Mansfield and Middlebury. First, Mount Mansfield (6-2 overall, 2-0 in the Metro South) pays a visit to Colchester for an 11:00 AM game. Then, Middlebury (5-3, 1-2) makes the drive to Colchester for a game scheduled to start around 3:00 PM. Keep in mind that Middlebury plays an 11:00 AM home game also, so the game may start a little later than planned. Also, Mother Nature threatens to wreak havoc on the baseball schedule as she might throw some rain at us tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see. Hope to see everyone tomorrow!

May 11, 2000

Let me get to the scheduling updates first: tomorrow at 4:30 PM, Colchester will host South Burlington. That's on Friday, May 12th, in Colchester. The next scheduling change I have to report is about next Thursday's game against Mount Abraham at Centennial Field. Coach Saddlemire said that there was some damage done to a light standard there, which means there won't be night games for a while. So instead of playing at 7:30, the game has been moved to 4:30 PM. Just so everyone knows. On to today's game...

Colchester set a single-game team record with 17 bases on balls drawn in their pummeling of Vergennes, 16-1. The previous walks record had been 16, set by the 1982 squad in a game versus BFA-Fairfax. Today's game was supposed to be played in Vergennes, but because of poor field conditions, the game was moved to Colchester. Colchester still played the visiting team. Luke Laroche went 3-for-3 at the plate while pitching a complete seven inning game, allowing only six singles. Ty Pratt also drove in two runs on a triple while Addie Dion flashed a great glove at shortstop and went 2-for-3, while also walking and scoring three times each. Sophomore Jason Compagnon also became the 12th player to suit up for Varsity this year, leaving the 2000 Lakers with one player less than the 1990 team, which had an all-time low of 13 players wear a uniform at some point. Jason courtesy ran for Luke and stole two bases in three attempts while scoring three runs.

Also in today's game, Travis Miles' seventh inning sacrifice fly was the team's tenth of the season, a new single season team record. The old record was held by the 1980 squad.

May 10, 2000

As per my nightly routine this week, I must inform everyone who didn't know that today's game was rained out; this time, it was a make-up game with South Burlington that will most likely be postponed to a later date. It might be made up on Friday, but that's unconfirmed at this point. Regardless of whether the game is scheduled to be played this week, Mother Nature may not cooperate in the next few days. According to the "Weather Underground" (click here for the Colchester forecast; thanks Joel!), showers are expected to hit the area tomorrow and Saturday, with a chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. However, Friday is supposed to be nice, with some sun and highs in the 70s. Maybe the Lakers will get a game in that day. Also, tomorrow's game at Vergennes may run into some problems: a) it's supposed to rain, and b) Coach Saddlemire said that Vergennes' field may not be in any condition to play on. That means that the game could be either postponed or moved to be played at home tomorrow at the same time (4:30 pm). I'm not sure, so I won't give out any false information, but that's what the situation looked like as of this afternoon.

In the following days, Colchester's confirmed schedule looks like this:

May 9, 2000

Hey everyone. Well, today's game was rained out, but it will be made up tomorrow at 4:30 PM at Colchester. Colchester is 5-3 overall, and 0-1 in the Metro South, while South Burlington sports a 6-3 record overall, and is 1-1 in the Metro South. I am totally sure on that one now. As far as the make-up for last Saturday's (5/6) Middlebury game, I've been told that it will be made up on Saturday as part of a doubleheader at Colchester High School. The Lakers will play Mount Mansfield at 11:00 AM and then will play Middlebury in the afternoon some time, maybe around 3:00 PM. If I get any more information, I'll pass it on.

May 7, 2000

Many records have already been broken this year. Here's a list of them:
Obviously, the percentage-based records can change at any time. Watch out for those and other records possibly this year. I'll let you how close they get to other records soon.

May 6, 2000

Colchester's game with the Middlebury Tigers was washed out today and will probably be made up on a later date. When I find out when, I'll post it here on the site. The Lakers' next scheduled game is on Tuesday versus South Burlington High School (5-2) at 4:30 PM. One of the Rebels' losses came against Burlington (1-6), whom the Lakers defeated 10-0.

May 4, 2000

Let's get the record out of the way first: junior Jason Carey hit his 14th & 15th career doubles, breaking Shea Lamphere's all-time career record of 13. But obviously, the game was much more important. In each team's first league game of the season, Colchester fell to visiting Essex, 6-5. The Lakers led 5-3 with none out in the seventh inning when Jeremy Brooks hit a two-run home run off of Justin Bissonnette, who had previously fanned Brooks twice. Essex scored another run later in the inning while sophomore Travis Clairmont was pitching. Carey went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs, Jeff Boyer ripped a double, and Andrew Folley had three hits in three at bats, including a long double. Senior outfielders Luke Laroche and Ryan O'Hara also contributed with strong defense and lent a hand in a few outs at home plate. The Lakers (5-3, 0-1) will face Middlebury at 3 PM on Saturday at home.

May 2, 2000

Colchester fell short to Milton at home, 3-1. That dropped the Lakers to 5-2 as they prepare for a Thursday showdown at home with 6-1 Essex. "Addie Dion pitched a gem of a game," said senior Justin Bissonnette. Addie only allowed five hits and one earned run in the complete game loss, but all the Laker offense could muster on his behalf was six hits and one run. Jason Carey went 3-for-4 while Jamie Moore scored the lone run in the seventh inning. Milton moved to 6-1 with the victory.

April 29, 2000

The Lakers swept a doubleheader today with Burlington and North Country. First, senior Travis Miles pitched a complete game, three-hit shutout over visiting Burlington for a 10-0, 6-inning victory. He also drove in three runs while Justin Bissonnette went 3-for-4, scoring twice with a double. Addie Dion also went 0-for-0, walking twice and getting hit by a pitch twice.

Later on, in a game played at Essex High School, sophomore Travis Clairmont went the distance (5 innings) in a one-hit, 12-0 shutout of the home team, North Country. Ty Pratt scored three runs and Jeff Boyer went 2-for-3 while driving in three runs. The Lakers are now 5-1 for the first time since 1996.

As May approaches, each weekday game will now being at 4:30 PM. Colchester begins a four-game homestand with a Tuesday game versus Milton and a Thursday game versus Essex. The Essex game is the first league game of the year for Colchester, as eight of their last nine regular season games will be league games counting towards the standings in the Metro South. I should be at the Thursday game, so I hope to see everyone there!!

April 27, 2000

Colchester crushed Missisquoi, 18-6, in a 6-inning game played in Swanton. Addie Dion pitched his second complete game of the year for his second win and Justin Bissonnette hit a home run. Jason Carey had three hits while scoring four times and Ty Pratt went 3-for-4, drove in four, doubled twice, and scored 5 times, the latter tying Chris Montgomery's single game runs record set in a 1991 contest, most likely at Middlebury. Oddly enough there were 24 total runs scored in that game, too (17-7 CHS win). The Lakers are now 3-1 as they prepare for an April 29th doubleheader against Burlington and North Country: 11:00 AM versus Burlington in Colchester, then 2:30 PM against North Country at Essex High School. This is the sixth time the Lakers have opened the season 3-1, but the first time a team has ever started 3-1 without winning 3 in a row at some point during their first 4 games. In the other five seasons that began with 3-1 starts, the Lakers were only a combined 49-38 and had only 3 winning seasons.

By the way: during this game, junior Jason Carey recorded his 13th career double, tying him for first all-time with Shea Lamphere, who played on Varsity from 1986-88.

April 25, 2000

The Lakers dropped their first game of the year by a 7-6 decision at South Burlington High School. Colchester is now 2-1 as they prepare for a road game at Missisquoi Valley Union High School tomorrow at 4:00 PM. Note (6/16/00): Jason Carey went 3-for-3, scored three times, and doubled and tripled. Travis Miles went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs.

April 24, 2000

The game that was originally supposed to be played at North Country on Saturday, April 15th, and then was supposed to be made up on Monday, April 24th, will now be made up at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 29th, at Essex High School. After Colchester plays their 11:00 AM home game with Burlington, they will travel to Essex, where North Country plays at 11:00 AM, and will be the visiting team in this neutral site make-up game.

April 20, 2000

In CHS's 400th game, Travis Miles' squeeze scored Jason Carey for the winning run in the bottom of the seventh for an exciting 13-12 victory over visiting Saint Johnsbury Academy. Through 400 games, CHS's record stands at 166-234, including 93-108 at home. Coach Saddlemire picked up his 100th regular season victory in the win. It was also just the second time in seven home games that Colchester defeated Saint Johnsbury since the teams began playing each other in 1988. Note (6/16/00): Jason Carey went 4-for-5, scored four times, drove in four, and doubled and homered. His homer was a grand slam. Jeff Boyer went 3-for-5 and drove in three while Ty Pratt went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

April 18, 2000

Congratulations to the Lakers for winning their season opener, 10-0 over visiting BFA-St. Albans. I wasn't there to witness it, but by all accounts senior Addie Dion tossed a gem (one hit, eight strikeouts, no walks) in recording the five-inning shutout and his first Varsity win. More to come, for sure. I'm lacking quite a bit of information, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your support. See yins soon! Note (6/16/00): Jason Carey went 3-for-3, scored twice, drove in four, doubled, and homered. Addie also went 2-for-3, scored twice, and doubled.

March 13, 2000

The 2000 schedule is up. For anyone who wants to know, I'll be posting the stats on the web site this season and I'll keep the scorebook for some games once school lets out in early May. See everyone soon and GOOD LUCK LAKERS!

January 31, 2000

I changed graduation year for Ray Halnon from 1978 to the corrected 1979. I also changed Larry Bevins from batting left/throwing left to righty/righty and changed Tim Maynes from batting left to batting right (sorry about that, Tim!).

January 14, 2000

Changed graduation years for Tim Maynes and Dave Robideau from 1979 and 1977, respectively, to 1978 for both (as it should be).

January 7, 2000

Corrections were made to all references to "Craig" Lefebvre, "Rob" Campbell, and "Jon" Brigante, as their names are actually Gary Lefebvre, Robin Campbell, and John Brigante. Thanks to those people who pointed out the mistakes. Some inaccuracies in the older records have led to incorrect information, so don't hesitate to e-mail me and give me the correct info. Corrections were also made to incorrectly posted statistics involving Jay Dashnow's career fielding and batting stats and Dave Robideau's fielding stats.