Varsity Softball wraps up stellar season

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GALVIN Jess Guevera pitches in last week's game against Cohasset. The varsity softball team had four games left on the schedule at the beginning of last week, before heading off to the postseason. After blanking a hapless Chatham last Tuesday, 10-0, on the strength of senior Jessica Guevara's arm, who threw for 13-strikeouts without walking a batter, the team had to get through a doubleheader at home on Wednesday against Bishop Connolly. The Whalers split on the day, narrowly dropping the first game 4- 3, with Guevara getting the call again on no rest, before taking the second 8-6 with Kelly Reid taking the mound. Nantucket had a scare when, seemingly in control of the game leading 8-3 going into the fourth, Bishop Connolly brought in three runs.

The Lady Whalers ended on a high note on Saturday hosting Cohasset. Guevara capped off her high school pitching career by striking out 13, with no earned runs, and only giving up three hits to squeak by with a 3-2 victory. All eight seniors fittingly started on Senior Day. Also moving on in a few weeks are twins Morgan and Thayer Dugan, Angela Paterson, Grace-Anne Tornovish, Taylor Murphy, Sally Benson and Parinda Darden, who, along with Guevara, account for eight out of nine positions on the field. Nantucket finishes with a 16-4 season, almost assured of home field advantage and the best record of the 14 Cape and Islands teams. MIAA seedings were not known until yesterday afternoon, too late for press time.

Grace Anne Tornovish safe at 2nd in Tuesday's game against Cohasset. Varsity baseball runs out of gas to end regular season

Last Tuesday the varsity baseball team barely beat a tough Chatham team, 12- 11, only to end the regular season on a low note as the squad waits for its seeding assignment from the MIAA that was due out yesterday after press time. With a record of 12-6, Nantucket should earn a first round home game.

Nantucket's "home" game was played in Chatham, with the outcome being in doubt up until the bottom of the seventh, which found Nantucket down 11-10,after the Whalers had let a 9-2 lead slip away. With bases loaded and the teams tied 11-11, Mike Molta was patient at the plate and waited out the pitcher who ended up walking Molta and sending the winning run trotting across the plate. Eddie Morreau and Hunter Slade came through for Nantucket to put them in the position to win in the seventh.

Wednesday, Nantucket finished the regular season against a visiting Bishop Connolly. Nantucket let it get away when Bishop Connolly racked up seven runs in the fifth to build a lead and put the Whalers in such a hole that they could not dig themselves out. Eric Lowell was consistent as usual, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs. The team ends the regular season with a 12-6 record. Not to be outdone by the varsity softball team, Nantucket also finishes on top of the other 14 Cape and Islands teams.

Varsity boys lacrosse caps season by beating Vineyard

It was a slow week for the varsity boys lacrosse team with only one game on tap in 12 days leading up to tomorrow's East Division 3 first round home game at 5 p.m. as the fifth seed (out of 22 teams) against preliminary round winner of the Bourne (12) versus Cape Cod Academy (21) game. The 14-5 Nantucket Whalers will be faced with keeping the game tough due to the long layoff.

The regular season ended in fittingly dramatic style, reminiscent of the Island Cup duels between the Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard football teams each November. The two islands' lacrosse teams had their own version last Thursday.

It is never easy to travel between the two islands, but Nantucket shook off the plane ride to go stick to stick with the Vineyard on their turf, refusing to end the season with a loss. Knotted up 8-8 at the end of regulation, the teams battled through three overtime periods without any resolution.

With only 2:30 left in the fourth overtime period, Gavin Norton, poaching in front of the net, managed to snag a shot from Ray DeCosta, who had escaped behind the net, and fired in the winning goal for a 9-8 final score. Almost a half hour before that, Nantucket thought it had the game in hand and heading home while there was still daylight, when Jamison Viera netted at the end of regulation. After one of those frustratingly long striped shirt confabs at center field, Nantucket saw the erstwhile winning goal taken off the board, forcing the OT saga.

DeCosta had two goals and an assist and Norton ended up with three goals and an assist. However, Henry Farrell was high scorer for Nantucket with four goals and two assists. Keeper Joe Bopp repelled 14