White River Junction
Starting on the mound for Hartford Post 84’s senior American Legion team, the rising senior at Hartford High displayed a sizzling fastball and a relaxed demeanor Tuesday during an 8-2 defeat of visiting Lakes Region.
Allard, a Woodstock resident with a fastball that was recently clocked at 91 miles per hour, allowed five hits and two runs during five innings and struck out eight batters while walking one.
A closer during his team’s run to the Vermont state title game last summer, the righthander started Tuesday and mixed in a curve ball and split-fingered fastball with his usual heater.
“I was always a fastball pitcher with no curve ball, but I’ve been working on it,” said Allard, who was staked to a 4-0 lead after an inning. “I feel we’re bringing what we had last season into this one and we’ve learned from our mistakes.”
One area in which Allard can improve is in learning to vary pitch speed and location. His fastball hums, but has little movement. That’s tolerable as a closer, but once batters see him for a second and third time, they begin to adjust and get better whacks at the ball. Nonetheless, Allard’s raw talent has attracted college recruiting attention from Franklin Pierce University and UMass, among others.
“He’s got to learn how to pitch because at the next level, kids will time him up,” Post 84 and Hartford High coach Jarrod Grassi said. “He can’t just go out there and try and throw it through a wall. That’s why we’re (starting and) extending him. His velocity improves every year, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t get to 92, 93, 94. Maybe more than that, because he’s only 17.”
Despite the intensity Allard brings to the mound, he’s endearingly loose when he’s not heaving horsehide. He smiled and patted catcher Tyler Hamilton on the shoulder after the backstop couldn’t block a pitch in the dirt. Later, he was mercilessly heckled from the home dugout after lumbering home with a run. Allard just grinned.
“That’s why he’s been closing for me forever,” Grassi said. “He’s a good kid and he’s fun to be around.”
Tuesday’s result improved the re-christened Post 84 squad to 3-3 and 1-0 in league play. Most of the players and coaches on this year’s team competed for a generic Hartford squad last year, but have now affiliated with Jeffrey S. Holmes Post 84, which is based at White River Junction’s Veterans Administration Hospital.
Along with new uniforms in black, white and crimson are some new players and improved depth. Hanover’s Moises Celaya started at third base Tuesday and Oxbow infielder Eddie White and Windsor catcher Ryland Richardson appeared in the late innings.
“We had no depth with last year’s team, but now we have two or three more pitchers and five extra players overall who can hit and throw,” Allard said. “They’ve fit right in. It’s like we’ve been together since we were 12. They’re not outcasts at all.”
Allard was relieved by Steve Cerrone, a Quechee resident and recent Phillips Exeter Academy graduate who previously attended Hartford High. He pitched for Lebanon Post 22 last season, but was allowed to return across the river for the current campaign. Codi Smith contributed two hits and Jacob Perkins and Dylan Spencer each had a hit and two walks.
“We’re going to keep rotating guys through the lineup and when they’re swinging it well and playing well defensively, they’re going to play,” said Grassi, whose team hosts Bellows Falls at 7 p.m. Thursday at Maxfield. “Every game, there’s going to be someone on the bench who could be playing. It’s a good problem to have.
“I told the kids that I have a bunch of lineup cards in my bag and they’re all empty. They’re the ones who will make them out, not me.”
Notes: Perkins said he plans to attend and play at Lyndon (Vt.) State. Smith said he’s headed to Massachusetts’ LaSell College and plans to play for the Lasers. … Lakes Region is comprised of players from Putney, Mill River and Fair Haven and is sponsored by Posts 39, 49, 50 and 87. … Vermont’s American Legion teams will begin using wooden bats next season. … Working the public address system was Post 84 junior team coach Mat Pause, a former Hartford High standout. Pause, who teaches math at his alma mater, played at Castleton University and coached at Adirondack Junior College and the College of St. Jospeh in Rutland, before returning home. … Richardson is the son of Windsor High coach Jamie Richardson.