Sports Roundup: Baseball Wins Again, Girls Lax Remains Undefeated
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the baseball team following another victory at home, the boys tennis team following their second win of the season, the girls lacrosse team following a road victory to remain undefeated, the girls tennis team following a road victory, the sailing team following a road win in their regatta, and the boys lacrosse team following a one-goal loss to last year's Division 3 state title runner-up.
Baseball Beats Monomoy 5-1
The Whaler baseball team improved to 4-2 this season with a 5-1 victory over the Monomoy Sharks Wednesday afternoon and continue to impress early on this season. Whaler head coach Jack Pearson said he is pleased with how his team is playing in every area of the diamond.
"That's a benchmark game every year when we see it on the calendar," Pearson said. "I believed that we were going to be as good as them. I think we outplayed them from start to finish. We outclassed them. We outpitched them. We outhit them. We executed first and third, double steals, great slides all around the bases. Hit and run there in the seventh gets Justin (Torres) into scoring position and we convert. It's like, 'This is what we've been talking about for years guys. You guys are doing it.' I am so proud of them.”
The pitching continues to dazzle for Nantucket with Keegan Bedell and Ronald Del Rosario Gomez dominating on the mound while benefitting from some consistent, dependable defense behind them. Monomoy didn’t score their lone run until the seventh inning thanks to Bedell’s five innings of work where he allowed just one hit and struck out three batters. Gomez came in to close it out and allowed just two hits, an unearned run, and struck out five batters in the final two innings of the game.
"Keegan just pounds the zone," Pearson said. "He mixes location, he mixes eye level, he mixes into off speed. He threw a couple of really good change ups today, which is always a really encouraging thing to see in your first start. He did great.”
Evan Cranston led the way at the plate going two for three with a pair of runs batted in. Henry Tejada also had a pair of hits. Torres finished with an RBI and went one for three.
"In six games we've had two bad innings, and it cost us two games," Pearson said. "They're realizing that and you know, I think the part that we want to continue to build on is just this permission we have given them this year to play free and have the confidence and experience to just go out and do it because they are a bunch of athletes. It is so exciting to see it all happening.”
Nantucket now has three straight games on the road, two of which are against teams they have already beaten this season, which means they’ll have an opportunity to build on this strong start. They will travel to play the Rising Tide Herons at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 10th, Bourne High School on Monday, April 13th at 3:30 p.m., Cape Cod Regional Technical High School on Wednesday, April 15th at 3:30 p.m., and then return home for a game against Sturgis West on Friday, April 17th at 4 p.m.
You can view more photos from Wednesday's game here.
Boys Tennis Earns Second Victory
The boys tennis team hosted the Rising Tide Herons Wednesday afternoon at the Great Harbor Yacht Club courts and won 5-0. The victory was the first of their spring season.
Knox Keating served as the Whaler’s number one singles player and won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
Toni Todorov was the second singles player for Nantucket and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
Dalton Frazier was the third singles player and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
In doubles play, Alec Anguelov and Maxim Iancu were the first pairing and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Rojus Rascius and Prokhor Artemenko were the second pairing and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Nantucket will try to improve to 3-2 when they travel to off-island to play Cape Cod Academy on Friday, April 10th at 4 p.m. You can view more photos from Wednesday's match here.
Girls Lacrosse Stays Undefeated With Road Win
The girls lacrosse team improved to 5-0 this season following a 19-2 victory over the Sturgis East Storm Thursday afternoon. The win improved Nantucket’s record to 5-0, and they have outscored their opponents 73-19 in those five victories.
Senior captain Dylan Damian led Nantucket in goals (four) and assists (four) in the game. She was one of 10 Whalers to score a goal in the game and one of six to tally an assist.
Grace Hanlon, Rowan Paul, Maddie Boulter, and Lorelei Fox each scored two goals while Louisa Beni, Quinn Canty, Finley Herlihy, and Myah Johnson each scored one goal.
Hanlon, Beni, and Canty each had two assists while Alex Wisentaner added one assist. Goalie Ella Douglas recorded five saves in the game.
The Whalers will attempt to improve their record to 6-0 when they travel to play the St. John Paul II Lions on Monday, April 13th at 3:30 p.m.
Girls Tennis Beats Rising Tide On The Road
The girls tennis team got back into the win column with a 5-0 victory over the Rising Tide Herons Wednesday afternoon to improve their record to 2-3 this season.
Viki Bozhkova was the Whaler’s first singles player and won in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Sara Dussault was the second singles player and won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
Gabby Nikolova was the third singles player and won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.
In double play, Sutton LeBrecht and Evie Phelps were the first pairing for the Whalers and won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. Presy Penkova and Elissa Holdgate were the second doubles pairing and won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
Nantucket will try to get back to .500 on the season when they host Cape Cod Academy on Friday, April 10th at 4 p.m.
Sailing Beats Sandwich
The sailing team went on the road and beat the Sandwich Blue Knights 3-2 Thursday afternoon. Whaler head coach Bruce Turner said the winds were up and down, leading to many lead changes throughout the regatta.
The pairings for this regatta were Sadie Paterson/Owen Mansfield, Shane Fox/Emmeline Browers, and Eddy Holland/Jacob Heneke.
Boys Lacrosse Loses To Falmouth
The boys lacrosse team welcomed a Falmouth Clippers program that finished as the Division 3 state championship runner-ups last June to Scituate to the island for a big Cape & Island’s matchup Thursday afternoon and lost the early season showdown 2-1.
Two early goals in the first quarter ultimately doomed the Whalers, who didn’t score their lone goal until there was just 2:10 remaining in the game.
"We came out a little bit slow, and they jumped on us 2-0," Whaler head coach Sam Aloisi said. "I mean, they didn't score after the first. Our defense played great. Honestly, I don't think their offense is that good, beyond that number one kid. The face-off guy yeah, he won the clamps. We didn't win a clamp all day. But our face-off guys, with Kyden and Noah and Canton and Soren on the wing, they did a great job controlling it even after we lost the ball. So we didn't give them any fast breaks, which is exactly what we wanted. I think you saw by the second half, they wanted nothing to do with our defense.”
Senior attacker Nolen Mosscrop was the Whaler’s lone goal scorer.
"We've got some things to work on," Aloisi said. "Their goalie is very good. We did have some good looks. We had some real good looks. We didn't score. We missed the net. You know, I know a couple of guys wished they could have had a couple of those shots back but that's the way it goes. I mean, a couple bounces here and there, and we win that game. So I'm really pleased.”
The loss was Nantucket’s first of the season. They will attempt to improve to 5-1 when they travel to Plymouth to play Plymouth South High School at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11th.
You can view more photos from this game here.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, April 10th:
The girls tennis team will be at home playing Cape Cod Academy at 4 p.m.
The boys tennis team will be on the road playing Cape Cod Academy at 4 p.m.
The softball team will be on the road playing Barnstable at 4 p.m.
The baseball team will be on the road playing Rising Tide at 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 11th:
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing Plymouth South at 12 p.m.
The softball team will be on the road playing O'Bryant High School at 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 12th:
There are no games currently scheduled for this date.
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