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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Martha’s Vineyard’s Brian Montamboult runs out of the basepath to avoid the tag of Tim Marsh on a cut-off from the outfield in the seventh inning of the Whalers’ 5-1 victory over the rivals Monday. It was the baseball team’s first win over the Vineyard in four years and the 10th straight this season.
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By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
Things looked a little grim in the varsity baseball dugout following the opening-game loss to Martha’s Vineyard in early April. But one month later, the Whalers are flying high after reeling off a 10-game win streak, including revenge against the island rivals.
Nantucket played seven games in seven days this week, winning six before Blue Hills paid a visit to the island Tuesday and left with the 6-1 win.
The Whalers beat Provincetown 16-8, Sturgis 7-1, New Testament 1-0 and 2-0, Mashpee 4-3 and Martha’s Vineyard 5-1, for its first victory over the Vineyarders in four years.
“I would never expect (10) wins after the first two losses, but the way these guys are gelling and the way they are handling themselves during the game is the way we need to be. They are always into it,” head coach Nick Duarte said. “These guys all want to play and it looks like they have the drive to win.”
Senior co-captain Eric Lowell led the way during the streak, going 14-for-20 with 16 RBI over the last seven games.
“Lowell has been our go-to guy. It started with P-Town and Sturgis. He has been on a tear. That means (Mike) Molta and (Chris) Welch are getting on and we are getting our runs,” Duarte said. “He is hitting the cover off the ball. Every hit he has had, has been a solid-contact rip somewhere.”
The Whalers will look to rebound from the Blue Hills loss and continue the success down the home stretch in the final five games of the season. Nantucket will visit Bishop Connolly Friday before hosting Pembroke for a double-header Saturday, Chatham Monday and Bishop Connolly Wednesday.
“The tough stretch comes now. We have no more creampuffs. There are no more teams we should automatically beat,” Duarte said.
Against Blue Hills Tuesday, the pressure of seven games in seven days and the strain on the pitching staff finally took its toll.
“The gas ran out of the tank,” Duarte said. “I had the fear that the level was going to drop and we came out so flat (Tuesday). They didn’t even stand up on the bench until the seventh inning. They were mentally exhausted.”
The Whalers hit the ball hard throughout the game, but did not pick up a hit until the seventh inning. Lowell singled, advanced on a single from Eddie Moreau and a ground-out by Zach Moran, and eventually scored on a hit from Tim Marsh.
Nick Lombardi got the start on the mound, tossing the first five innings and allowing six hits and five runs. Chris Welch pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits.
Revenge was sweet Monday afternoon as the Whalers went after Martha’s Vineyard to atone for one of only three losses this season. Since the opening-game loss, the Whalers have reeled off a 10-2 record while the Vineyard has fallen to 2-13.
At the request of captains Lowell and Welch, Molta took the mound for the rematch and tossed all seven innings, allowing only the one run in the seventh.
“My captains called me on Sunday and said, ‘coach we haven’t beat the Vineyard in four years and we want to beat them.’ So I set it up for that,” Duarte said.
The sophomore hurler found himself with runners on third in three straight innings with less than two outs but managed to escape each jam with strikeouts and good defensive plays in the field.
While Molta kept the Vineyard off the scoreboard, the top of the order jumped all over the Vineyard pitching. Welch and Lowell reached and scored on errors in the first inning. In the second, the bottom of the order came through as Tim Marsh singled and scored on a knock up the middle by Taylor Hughes. The Whalers kept the pressure on in the third and fourth innings as Molta doubled and scored on a single from Lowell, and Welch singled and scored on a hit by Molta. Nantucket had runners on in every inning.
The Whalers squeaked out a close victory at Mashpee Saturday. The Falcons scored twice in the seventh and had the tying run on third base before Nantucket recorded the win.
Lowell got the start on the hill and kept Mashpee off balance with the curveball, while hitting his spots effectively with the fastball. The senior captain also did the job with the bat, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, plating Welch and Molta for the win.
Pitching took center stage Friday as the Whalers played two against New Testament at the Mashpee middle school fields. Welch took the ball in game one and allowed only one hit while striking out 12 in the 1-0 victory. In game two, freshman Andrew Benson tossed a five-inning no hitter in his first varsity start to lead the Whalers to the 2-0 win.
In game one, Hunter Slade got the game-winning RBI in the fourth. Lombardi singled, moved to second on a sacrifice by Moran, was sacrificed to third by Marsh and scored on a single from Hunter Slade.
Nantucket scored early in game two as Lowell singled home Welch in the first inning. In the third, Welch was on base again and scored on a sacrifice fly from Lombardi.
The Whalers scored in every inning but the second Thursday in the 7-1 victory against Sturgis. Lowell had another solid day at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance and a triple, two singles and five RBI. Welch and Molta had two hits each. Molta got the start and tallied 15 strikeouts while allowing only three hits and three walks. Sturgis scored on an error in the fifth inning.
The Whalers drew 16 walks Wednesday at Provincetown en route to the easy 16-7 win. The game was close early, and tied 4-4 as late as the fourth inning. Nantucket broke it open with a big fifth inning highlighted by a bases-loaded triple from Lowell, who went 3-for-5 with six RBI in the game. Lombardi was 1-for-2 with three runs scored and three RBI. Molta walked five times and scored four runs.
Lowell got the start and tossed the first four innings, allowing three runs while striking out eight. Lombardi closed the door for the final three innings, allowing four runs on two hits.
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