Sports Roundup: Baseball Beats Sturgis West 8-2
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes updates on the baseball team after a home win on Wednesday while riding a strong start by their star sophomore pitcher, the girls lacrosse team after their incredible second half rally came up just short, the sailing team after a home regatta win with drone footage of the race, the boys lacrosse team after they fell short against an elite program despite a stellar performance by their star goalie, the softball team, and the boys tennis team.
Bedell’s Gem Lifts Whaler Baseball Over Sturgis West
The Whaler baseball team rode the arm of sophomore pitcher Keegan Bedell Wednesday afternoon as he tossed a complete game, 10 strikeout gem to help Nantucket beat the Sturgis West Navigators 8-2.
“I think the story starts and ends with Keegan Bedell's performance," Nantucket head coach Jack Pearson said. "He pitched in control the whole game, getting ahead of batters. The curveball was being thrown for strikes consistently. He should be able to do that against that lineup, it's just a matter of execution.
“That was the best I have seen him throw,” Pearson continued. “I felt like velocity increased as the game went on, which is usually a really good indication that the guy is feeling it.”
The Whaler’s offense scored seven runs in the first inning. Andrew Lavin drove in the game’s first two runs after a grounder to the shortstop went underneath his glove with two runners on. The Whalers capitalized on some passed balls and errors in the field to jump out to a big lead early that they’d never relinquish.
"The jumps were better," Pearson said of his team's aggressive base running. "The base running got sloppier towards the end. You wonder why we only added one other run after the first inning, well, we kind of put ourselves in that position. It wasn't a perfectly played game, but when you put a big number up in the first, you are afforded the position, and we held onto it.”
Junior captain Ronald Del Rosario Gomez played a strong game in the field, making several key defensive plays at shortstop to help Bedell cruise through inning after inning.
"Ronald made several really, really good plays at short, Henry had a nice play at third base," Pearson said. "We've been working this week on really attacking ground balls and not letting them eat up the ground in front of you. We're trying to minimize those bang-bang plays.
"The outfield play needs some major work,” Pearson added. “I'm not sure where that's coming from all of a sudden. We're trying to figure it out, and we will figure it out.”
The Whalers improved to 5-7 with the victory but fell to 5-8 on Thursday following a 9-4 loss on the road to the Mashpee Falcons. Pearson said he felt his team hit and pitched better than Mashpee but ultimately didn’t out defend them, which led to the defeat.
Nantucket will try to win their sixth game of the season on Wednesday, May 14th on the road against the Monomoy Sharks at 4 p.m. The Whalers lost to Monomoy 9-3 last month.
Girls Lax Comeback Falls Just Short Against Nauset
As the girls lacrosse team entered halftime trailing the Nauset Warriors 11-3, it appeared the game was all but over with the Warriors building an insurmountable lead out while they dominated time of possession, on top of Nantucket making some uncharacteristic errors on defense and with the fundamentals of their game such as ground balls, ineffective rides, and simple passes.
But after an early goal by Nauset in the opening seconds of the third quarter, the Whalers surged to score the game’s final seven goals while coming up just short of the win, losing 12-10.
“Number 15 (Julia Kipperman) had 10 of their goals,” Whaler head coach Jami Lower said. "They were trying to figure out how to stop her, and then they figured it out. Once again, they know what to do, but it just takes them a little while to get clicking. I said to them earlier this week, don't be so scared of losing. It's not necessarily a bad thing to lose if you feel like you played well and in that second half, they played well. The defense was busting their butts all over the field, the midfield on the draw, like Quinn (Canty) stepping in and taking a couple of the draws just to shake it up. There were definitely a lot of positives even though it was a loss."
Ella Douglas made some key stops in net throughout the second half of the game, including an impressive right foot kick save that kept it a 12-3 game early in the second half. She finished with six saves total.
The defense also stepped up, notably with Myah Johnson making some shutdown plays that helped keep Nauset scoreless for almost two quarters.
"Maddie (Lombardi) had a couple (beautiful defensive plays) too," Lower said. "The defense was really working hard.”
Nantucket also began to win more faceoffs, something Lower said they expected to be a challenge with Kipperman on the other side.
"She's a draw specialist, and she is a high-scoring girl," Lower said. "She's known for it's hard to win the draw. I think we won maybe one draw (in the first half)."
Nantucket’s depth continues to show up on the stat sheet, with four different players scoring in Thursday’s game. Mayson Lower led the team with four goals. Mia Beaudette scored three goals – including the first three Whaler goals of the second half to make it a 12-6 game. Grace Hanlon scored two goals. Dylan Damian scored one goal. Suz Peraner, Myah Johnson, Sophia Sullivan, and Sam Zadroga each tallied one assist.
"People keep asking me (who are best offensive players are) and once I say one player's name, I want to mention all of them because it really is such a collaborative effort,” Lower said. “They really work well together when they click. If there's one piece of that link that isn't working well, it kind of all falls apart.”
Nantucket is still 7-3 this season and are jockeying for a top 10 spot in the Div. 4 state tournament bracket. They are currently #9 as of Thursday evening in the bracket and will try to win their eighth game of the season when they travel to Falmouth on Saturday, May 10th for a 10:30 a.m. game against the Clippers, who the Whalers beat on the island 9-5 on May 1st.
Sailing Wins Home Regatta
The sailing team was at home for a regatta against the Monomoy Sharks Thursday afternoon and won 5-0. It was their Morgan’s Message Dedication Race, and they are now 5-1 this season. Morgan’s Message is a 501(c)(3) that strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.
Nantucket Current photographer Kit Noble flew his drone on Thursday to catch a unique view of the Whalers as they raced the Sharks. You can view the photos below.
Nantucket’s next regatta is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th on the road against the Nauset Warriors at 4 p.m.
Boys Lax Loses Despite Stellar Performance By Jenkinson In Net
The boys lacrosse team came up short against the Nauset Warriors, who are one of the top teams in Div. 3 as the #4 seed and one of the better programs in Massachusetts, by a score of 7-4 on Thursday. It dropped Nantucket’s record to 7-4 and cemented a season sweep by the Warriors after Nantucket swept Nauset last year. The Warriors beat Nantucket in the first meeting of the spring 15-7 on April 15th.
But if Nantucket continues to receive the level of goaltending from junior Jeremy Jenkinson that they benefitted from on Thursday, Nantucket will be a difficult team to beat come tournament time.
Jenkinson, who helped lead the Whalers to a state title last June as a sophomore goalie, finished the game with 25 saves on 32 shots while Nauset possessed the ball for most of the game thanks to the efforts of former University of Vermont, Div. 1 commit Logan Poulin, as well as Nantucket losing one of their top offensive players, Nolen Mosscrop, to injury early in the game.
Head coach Sam Aloisi said postgame that eight or nine of the stops made by Jenkinson “were amazing” and described Jenkinson as “a beast.”
Jenkinson has shown an ability to raise his game in the biggest moments and he is having another strong season with a Whaler team in front of him that has had some devastating injuries to some key starters combined with young players needing to be incorporated into the lineup following several departures from last year’s championship team.
Nantucket was the #5 seed in the latest MIAA Div. 4 power rankings that came out Tuesday morning, and shouldn’t drop much, if at all, following a 16-5 win against Barnstable, a Div. 1 program, Tuesday afternoon and then a close 7-4 loss to one of Div. 3’s top teams.
The Whalers continue to show signs of improvement with many of the first-year starters raising their games and becoming more comfortable at the varsity level. Nantucket will be back in action on Saturday, May 10th when they travel to play Shrewsbury High School at 12 p.m.
Softball Beats Sturgis East
The Whaler softball team put together a strong performance on the road Wednesday afternoon, beating the Sturgis East Storm 20-6. Nantucket has now won two straight games while outscoring their two opponents 42-12. They remain outside of the state tournament picture as of Thursday evening and are currently the #51 seed.
But Nantucket is now 3-8 this season and still have nine games to play. If they can finish with a record of .500 or better, they would automatically clinch a play-in berth to the state tournament. This team also knows a thing or two about late season rallies after winning eight of their final 12 games last year to finish with a 10-9 record and make the postseason after a frustrating 2-5 start.
The Whalers will have a busy couple of weeks ahead and will get back on the diamond Friday, May 9th at home against the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins at 4 p.m. Nantucket played DY on the road April 16th and lost 20-17.
Boys Tennis Loses 4-1 To Sturgis West
The boys tennis team lost to the Sturgis West Navigators 4-1 on Wednesday in a road matchup. The loss dropped Nantucket to 4-7 this season but due to strength of schedule, the boys still find themselves firmly in the tournament picture at #13 in the latest MIAA Div. 4 bracket. Sturgis West was ranked #5 in Div. 4 as of Thursday evening.
The lone win for the Whalers on Wednesday was the first doubles pairing of Forbes Keating and Thomas Schroeder, who beat their opponent in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
The Whalers will try to bounce back on Saturday, May 10th when they travel to Martha’s Vineyard for a 1 m. match. The Vineyard has yet to lose this spring and is currently the #1 seed in Div. 3.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, May 9th:
The softball team will be at home playing Dennis-Yarmouth at 4 p.m.
The girls tennis team will be on the road playing Cape Cod Academy at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 10th:
The girls tennis team will be at home against Martha's Vineyard at 11 a.m. and then play again at 1 p.m.
The girls lacrosse team will be on the road playing Falmouth at 10:30 a.m.
The softball team will be on the road playing O'Bryant High School at 11:15 a.m. and then again at 1:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader.
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing Shrewsbury at 12 p.m.
The boys tennis team will be on the road playing Martha's Vineyard at 1 p.m.
You can view all of the MIAA power rankings here.