Sports Roundup: Baseball Improves To 3-1, Girls Lax Scores 15 Goals Against Monomoy
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the baseball team following their second straight shutout victory to improve to 3-1 on the season, the girls lacrosse team following a convincing win in their home opener, the boys lacrosse team following a road victory against a strong Cape opponent, the girls tennis team following a road matchup, and the sailing team following an away regatta in Hyannis.
Whaler Baseball Off To A Strong Start To Begin 2026
The Whaler baseball team beat the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Crusaders 7-0 in five innings Wednesday afternoon to improve to 3-1 this season. Senior Ronald Del Rosario Gomez went 2 for 3 with a team-high 3 runs batted in to lead the Whaler’s offensive attack.
"We're feeling pretty good about where we are at right now,” Whaler head coach Jack Pearson said. “I can feel that there's a confidence within the collective group. We hit the ball hard. We're putting the pressure on the other team. I couldn't tell you how many stolen bases in four and a half innings today and (Tuesday), but it was a bunch. We played clean defense and we threw strikes.”
Henry Tejada did a little bit of everything on the diamond Wednesday afternoon. He pitched three innings of scoreless baseball, struck out six batters, and allowed just two hits. Tejada also finished the day 2 for 3 with an RBI double at the plate after hitting his first home run of the season on Tuesday, and played left field the final two innings.
"Henry's off-speed stuff has a good bite, but he hasn't even really flashed the changeup, which is maybe his best pitch," Pearson said. Like (Tuesday) with Ronald, we stuck to the game plan which is we don't need to overpower anybody in the first inning. Let's just establish the zone, let's fill it up with strikes and then you reach back on a few when you need to, and mixed in the breaking ball when the situation called for it, and kept them off balance.”
Keegan Bedell made his debut on the mound and tossed two shutout innings while striking out two batters.
The play of the day was made in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore outfielder Justin Torres made an incredibly athletic move to leap over the Crusader’s catcher’s mitt to avoid a tag at home and extend Nantucket’s lead to 6-0. Torres has had an excellent start to his sophomore season and the play was symbolic of the way this group has played through four games.
"That was maybe the most athletic play I've seen on a baseball field," Pearson said. "He had the right initial read, and then he didn't trust it and he stopped in his tracks. Now he's in no-man's land and it was just like, 'Well, I got to come up with something.' Then he just vaulted over the catcher. That was pretty cool.”
Nantucket now heads off island for a matchup with their biggest rival, Martha’s Vineyard. Since Pearson took over the program in the spring of 2021, the Whalers have only beaten the Vineyarders once.
"The Vineyards is always a good benchmark game for us," Pearson said. “We're deep. We've got six outfielders that could probably play centerfield on most of the teams we're playing. They're fighting for some playing time and that's a good problem to have as a head coach. There is a team mentality to it. They're feeling themselves right now.”
View more photos from this game here.
Damian’s Six Goals Lead Whalers To Comfortable Win Over Monomoy
The girls lacrosse team won their home opener on Wednesday against the Monomoy Sharks 15-5 to improve to 2-0 this season. Senior Dylan Damian had another strong offensive game - finishing with a team-high six goals while adding an assist. Sophomore Louisa Beni continues to produce offensively as well and scored five goals while tallying an assist of her own.
Midfielder Grace Hanlon scored two goals while attacker Grace Schroeder scored one goal. Quinn Canty, Myah Johnson, Maddy Boulter, and Jimmy Verney each added assists.
After a busy 11-save performance on the road against Nauset on Monday, junior goalie Ella Douglas had four saves on Wednesday.
The Whalers will try to improve to 3-0 on Saturday, April 4th when they host Martha’s Vineyard at 10:15 a.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
Girls Tennis Loses Season Opener
The girls tennis team went on the road and played the St. John Paul II Lions Wednesday afternoon to begin their season, but lost 0-4-1.
In singles play, Gabby Nikolova got the nod as the team’s third singles player and lost a close matchup in a tiebreaker. She won the first set 6-2, lost the second set 0-6, and then lost the tiebreaker 7-10. After the match, Nikolova said it was a great first match for her.
“The first set I was hitting balls deep, having consistent serves, and hustling back and forth for every ball,” she explained. “My opponent was getting really angry and I was using that to my advantage. However, the second set I got in my head. I was making stupid mistakes, such as hitting the ball into the net and hitting the ball too hard. The tiebreaker was very close, but I double faulted which ruined my mentality. To improve I will work on my temper, as well as taking my time to time hitting the ball perfectly to avoid it hitting the net. Overall, I’m impressed with the way I played and will continue to work in practice to avoid these silly mistakes.”
Head coach Luke Thornewill said afterwards that they were fun matches to watch with great points across the board.
“We lost but made it very difficult and uncomfortable for them,” he said. “That was our realistic goal, which we accomplished. Special mention to the three top singles matches – exceptional play.”
The Whalers will be back in action on Friday, April 3rd for their home opener against the Barnstable Red Hawks at 4 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse Beats Barnstable On The Road
The boys lacrosse team went on the road to play the Barnstable Red Hawks Thursday afternoon and won 6-3 behind some stellar goaltending by senior captain Jeremy Jenkinson.
Jenkinson finished the game with 14 saves. Nolen Mosscrop led the team with two goals while Arann Hanlon, Andrick Mooney, Marco La Chuisa, and Noah Stringer each scored one goal. Jake Grant led the team with two assists while Hanlon and Canton Jenkinson each had one helper.
Head coach Sam Aloisi said he felt his team made their share of mistakes and that they should’ve won the game by six or seven goals had they played a cleaner game. However, Aloisi acknowledged that Barnstable is a fast and physical team that continues to improve every year and said he felt this performance was "not too bad" for their first road game.
Nantucket will attempt to improve to 3-0 when they travel to Martha's Vineyard on Saturday, April 4th for a 12:30 p.m. game.
Sailing Loses Road Regatta
The Whaler sailing team went over to Hyannis to face Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod Academy on a cold day on the water, and lost both regattas according to head coach Bruce Turner. Nantucket's next regatta is scheduled for Saturday, April 4th at home against Fairfield Ludlowe at 12 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, April 3rd:
The girls tennis team will host Barnstable High School at 4 p.m.
Saturday April 4th:
The girls lacrosse team will host Martha's Vineyard at 10:15 a.m.
The girls tennis team will host Martha's Vineyard at 10:45 a.m.
The softball team will host Martha's Vineyard at 10:45 a.m.
The sailing team will be at home for a regatta against Fairfield Ludlowe at 12 p.m.
The boys tennis team will be on the road playing Martha's Vineyard at 12:30 p.m.
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing Martha's Vineyard at 12:30 p.m.
The baseball team will be on the road playing Martha's Vineyard at 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 5th:
There are no games currently scheduled for this date.