Sports Roundup: Late Inning Rally Lifts Baseball Over Sturgis West
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the baseball team after they won on the road to improve to 2-2, the girls tennis team following their second straight victory, and the softball team.
Six-Run Seventh Lifts Baseball Over Sturgis West
The Whaler baseball team improved their record to 2-2 this season following a 9-3 victory over the Sturgis West Navigators Friday afternoon. The game was tied 3-3 entering the final inning, but Nantucket scored six runs in the top half of the seventh to secure the win and benefitted from a strong pitching performance by junior captain Ronald Del Rosario Gomez on the mound.
"He did everything we could ask for," head coach Jack Pearson said of his ace. "He had a big hit to get us going in the seventh too.”
Gomez finished with a stat line of six innings pitched, four hits, three runs (zero earned), one walk, eight strikeouts, and went 1-for-4 at the plate with a run batted in.
There were contributions up and down the lineup with seven players recording hits. Eli MacIver and Alex Horton each led the team with two hits. Joao Silva led the team with two runs batted in.
"We needed to get rid of their starter and then I didn't think they had much left after him," Pearson said. "But the guy that came in was throwing hard. But he was having a hard time locating. So I guess we did a good job of staying patient at the plate and taking advantage of their chances. These guys battled in there in the box. It was good to see Eli scratch out a couple of hits. He has been waiting to break out. Ronald’s hitting the ball hard every time.”
Henry Tejada came in to close the game out in the seventh and did so while striking out one batter.
"He's been great and he likes coming out in that role and just rearing back and throwing gas," Pearson said. "He did a good job locating his fastball. His breaking ball wasn't quite as sharp as it's been, but when it is good it's pretty tough to hit.”
Pearson said he liked seeing the resilience his team showed after a frustrating end to last week’s 15-2 loss at home to St. John Paul II, where things began to unravel later in the game.
“The guys were tight, and I think they were a little afraid to make a mistake," Pearson said of last week's SJP game. "That's what really good teams can do to some teams. We just got to believe in ourselves a little bit. I think that's why I was as excited as I was about a come from behind win on Friday. Those kinds of wins early in the season can do a lot for a team's psyche and hopefully we get a chance to do that a few more times this year."
Nantucket’s next game is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th on the road against Cape Cod Regional Technical High School at 3:30 p.m. and then on Friday, April 18th at home against the Monomoy Sharks at 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis Beats Sturgis East
The girls tennis team improved their record to 2-1 following a 4-1 road victory over the Sturgis East Storm Friday afternoon. Below are the results from the match.
First Single: Elis Vieth lost in straight sets 2-6, 3-6. Vieth said afterwards that she was dealing with a hip issue that made it difficult to move on the court, but felt like her shots were decent and her footwork was what held her back.
Second Single: Andrea Bunlerssak won her match in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 and said afterwards that she was very good about running around the court and returning her opponent’s “tricky shots” no matter where they were. She said she should work on making her second serve stronger as they’re very weak compared to her first serves.
Third Single: Viki Bozhkova won her match in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 and she said after the match her opponent was very agile and quick on her feet and that she excelled with her backhands, which she said she felt weren’t good in Wednesday’s match. She also felt like she was much quicker on Friday getting to the balls up closer to the net.
First Doubles: Sara Dussault and Sutton LeBrecht won their match in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Dussault said afterwards that she felt she was very good at keeping the ball away from the opponent closer to the net and also had some strong serves.
Second Doubles: Fiona Keltz and Presy Penkova won their match in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 and Penkova said both of them want to improve their serving.
The Whalers will try to improve to 3-1 when they host Cape Cod Academy on Wednesday, April 16th at 4 p.m.
Softball Loses To Sturgis East
The softball team lost to the Sturgis East Storm on Friday 14-5, and are now 1-4 this season. Their game against O’Bryant, which was scheduled for Saturday, was postponed due to weather conditions.
The Whalers will try to earn their second win of the season on Wednesday, April 16th on the road against Dennis-Yarmouth at 4 p.m. Below are some photos from Friday’s game taken by Chris Tran.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Monday, April 14th:
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing Monomoy at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, April 15th:
The boys lacrosse team will be at home playing the Nauset Warriors at 4 p.m.
The boys tennis team will be at home playing Sturgis West at 4 p.m.
The sailing team will be at home facing Sandwich at 4 p.m.
The girls lacrosse team will be on the road playing Nauset at 3:30 p.m.