By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
It had been almost a month since the varsity softball team played a home game, but the Whalers seemed more than comfortable on their island diamond this weekend, sweeping a double-header against Boston Latin, 2-0 and 10-4 Sunday.
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
First baseman Sally Benson steps on the bag to record the out during the first game of Sunday's doubleheader againt Boston Latin. |
Also this week, the Whalers beat Blue Hills 12-5 Thursday to extend their winning streak to seven and improve to 7-2 overall.
Nantucket is scheduled to continue its homestand Saturday against Mashpee and Tuesday against Blue Hills.
Starting pitcher Kelly Reid led the Whalers in all three games this week, including a five-inning no-hitter in game one against Boston Latin Sunday.
The sophomore hurler tossed five innings of no-hit softball, facing only one batter over the minimum, while s
triking out six.
“That is a really good team. There are athletes at every single position. I thought she did a great job at moving the ball around on them and hitting the spots we wanted to,” head coach Chris Maury said.
The Whalers’ defense was also solid behind Reid, with an error leading to the only Boston Latin baserunner of the game in the fourth inning.
Nantucket had a little trouble getting things started against Dragons’ starting pitcher, Rachel McGrath. But in the third inning the Whalers made things happen with some aggressive baserunning. Morgan Dugan singled with one out and after advancing to second on a ground-out, scored on a double to center by Lindsay Fry. Fry kept running to third on an overthrow by the outfielder and after a walk to Reid, the Whalers were set up in a dangerous first-and-third situation. Reid took off to steal second base and when the throw left the catcher’s hand, Fry broke for home to give the Whalers the 2-0 advantage and ultimately the win.
“We were so heads-up on the basepaths, we took advantage of every little slip they made,” Maury said.
Boston Latin took the first lead in the first inning of game two as Reid surrendered her first hit of the afternoon for the 1-0 advantage. She got some payback in the top of the second, smashing a triple to right center-field and scoring on a ground-out by Morgan Dugan to tie the game.
In the third inning the Whalers finally got to the Dragons’ pitching staff, batting through the order for six runs on five hits, including triples from Morgan Tornovish and Ashley Clinger, and some more aggressive baserunning.
Jessica Guevara, Angela Paterson and Fry knocked three straight singles in the fourth inning to break things open.
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Third baseman Thayer Dugan gets the glove between the bag and the foot of a Boston Latin baserunner on a pick-off throw from catcher Parinda Darden in the fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader Sunday. The Whalers squashed the scoring threat and won the game 10-4 after winning game one 2-0. |
Tornovish played well at second base in both games for Nantucket, while Morgan Dugan was solid filling in behind the plate at catcher in game one.
The rust from the lengthy vacation week was evident Thursday as the Whalers traveled to Blue Hills. Nantucket committed five errors in the game, allowing the Warriors to stick around.
“We kept making mistakes and letting them back into the game. The good news was, we kept hitting the ball,” Maury said.
After a slow start by both teams, Nantucket broke out for six runs in the third inning. Guevara and Paterson got things started with back-to-back home runs to open the inning as the Whalers jumped to the 7-1 advantage. Blue Hills kept fighting back with three in the fifth and another four in the sixth to pull within four at 12-8. But three runs in the seventh for Nantucket put the game out of reach.
Fry had a solid day at the plate with a 4-for-5 line that included two doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. Morgan Dugan was 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Guevara, Paterson, Parinda Darden and Thayer Dugan had two hits each.
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