Softball crushes Barnstable 21-7 to move above .500

( May 16, 2024 ) The softball team scored early and often in Tuesday’s 21-7 win on the road against Barnstable, with nine runs in the first two innings and eight in the fifth to run away with their third straight mercy-rule victory.

“That fifth inning seems to be our sweet spot now where we decide to really come alive,” coach Grace-Anne Tornovish said.

“The biggest thing is just getting our bats going. The first half of our season that was our weakest point. Just getting comfortable swinging the bat and not being afraid of striking out. We’ve done some things in practice to improve upon that, and it’s really showing these past three games.”

Sydney Ard, Lola Caron and Lil Wullschleger each scored three runs and had multi-hit games for the Whalers. Ard blasted a home run to center field in the third inning, plating three runs. Caron drove in three runs with a double during Nantucket’s fifth-inning offensive explosion.

The Whalers walked 16 times in the game, and Tornovish said their aggression on the basepaths put the pressure on the Red Hawks and allowed Nantucket to take advantage of some errors in the field.

Tornovish said the Whalers made a few errors of their own but did a good job of not letting it bother them and moving on to the next play.

Nantucket starting pitcher Seren Cristler struck out 10 batters, including all three outs in the bottom of the fifth inning to close out the victory.

The Whalers face a packed schedule to wrap up the regular season, starting with three straight home games today against Sturgis East, Friday against Rising Tide and Saturday against Atlantis Charter School.

Nantucket will then hit the road Monday to face Nauset, followed by home games Wednesday against Barnstable and next Friday against Mashpee, with the Whalers’ regular season finale next Saturday at Martha’s Vineyard.

Every game will be critical for the Whalers’ playoff push. Nantucket ranked 51st out of 58 schools in the latest MIAA Div. 4 power rankings, but the Whalers, now 5-4 on the season, can still qualify for the postseason by finishing at or above .500.