Sports Highlights
By Don Lyons - July 5, 2007
Men's softball
In a meeting of league leaders, Monday, the Brewhas jumped out to an 8-0 lead over the unbeaten Hurricanes in the first inning, powered by a three-run Dewey Green homer, followed by a solo shot by Tim Andrews.
The Brewhas scored five more in the third, taking what seemed an insurmountable 13-1 lead.
But the Hurricanes are not ones to concede anything. They held the Brewhas to a single run in the remaining time and scored eight of their own to make a game of it. Brewhas 12, 'Canes 9.
Also Monday, the Highlanders posted nine runs in the first inning with homers by Ryan Kurth and Eric Soikkeli and 12 more in the sixth when Ben Gunn blasted a 3-runner and Soikkeli his second good for two. The young Highlanders team was noticeably faster of foot than the Wildcats: Final score 23-11.
The most memorable game of the evening was the third one. The winless Boilers jumped off to a 4-2 lead in the first on a 3-run fence-clearer by Eric Wolfe. After a scoreless second Boiler Tony Moniz drove in three in the third with another round-tripper and after three innings the Boilers led, 9-6. The Boilers kept pushing runs across the plate, a total of 14 in seven innings. But the Cannons did too. In the sixth frame Wolfe hit his second four-bagger, matched by Jeremy Scheffer for the Cannons. At the end of regulation (7 innings) play the score was tied, 14-14. The Boilers went quietly in the top of the eighth. Keith Crossland drove in the winning run for the Cannons with a ground-rule double.
Everyone at the park, with the understandable exception of the Cannons, were rooting for the Boilers to post their first win in memory.
Close, but no cigar.
Jeremy does it again
Ten-year-old Jeremy Alley-Tarter of Oak Bluffs continues to out-pace the opposition at 1,500 meters. Two weeks ago he finished well ahead of the 10- to 12-year-old field in the New England Junior Olympics meet at Fitchburg State College, with a time of 5 minutes 10 seconds.
Running unattached, Jeremy again finished well ahead of the field in the Region One meet at Uniondale, New York, on Saturday. He was timed at 5:10.57. The second runner, Tate Knight, was 12 seconds behind.
Jeremy's next challenge is the National Junior Olympics at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California, July 24-29.
He is also challenged is to find the funds to make the trip. Interested persons may consult his aunt, Ocean Eversley, PO Box 763, Vineyard Haven, 02568.
Disc golf
Last Tuesday, at the MV Frisbee golf course off Barnes Road, Jake Gifford and J.C. Vermynck both shot a round of 61. Jake won the tie-breaking shootout, taking over first place in the Amateur 1 division.
Steve Butman shot 62 and took over second place in the standings. Dwight Kaeka dropped to third.
Benton Coulter jumped into the Amateur 2 division lead, shooting an impressive 62. At place and show were Dennis Kaeka and Reiner Fenske.
Babe Ruth on a tear
The Vineyard's team in the Cape Cod Senior Babe Ruth League has played seven games, winning five and losing two.
The season opener on June 12 was a barnburner at Bourne, resulting in a 6-5 loss.
Two weeks later M.V. posted its first win in a double-header with Lower Cape, 10-5. Nick Billingham went the distance on the mound with 10 Ks. Zack Coutinho reached four times in four trips to the plate and the Islanders collected 12 hits.
Lower Cape took the second half of the twin bill, 10-3.
Wednesday, the Islanders edged Yarmouth Dennis, 5-4, behind Joe Keaney's 9K pitching. Tara Vercruysse hit the team's first home run in the fourth inning.
Kendall Chaves was 2 for 3, including a triple. Nick Vogt reached three times and scored the winning run in the seventh.
Thursday, the Islanders won in a walk, dropping Sandwich here, 17-5. Among the many Vineyard base hits were home runs by Chaves, Vercruysse, and Nelson. Vercruysse was the winning pitcher, with seven Ks.
At Chatham, Sunday, M.V. crushed Lower Cape in the first of a double-header in five innings, 18-2. Ryan Brennan earned the win.
The second game was scoreless until the fourth when Nick Billingham's smash cleared the fence. In the same inning, Brennan drove in Nelson with a double. The last two runs rode home on a Lucas Landers homer.
Billingham pitched the shutout, backed by errorless play from his teammates.
Bourne visits for two games Saturday, July 7, at 11 am and 2 pm, at the old high school field.
The team is sponsored by the Bank of Martha's Vineyard, American Legion Post 257, Dukes County Savings Bank, Our Market, the Edgartown Patrolmen's Assn. and the MV Coop Bank.
Summer soccer
The Atlantic Football Club, aka the high school team, leads the Vineyard Football Assn. with a 2-0 record, most recently shutting out Coop de Ville, 2-0, late Thursday, on goals by Stephen Lampard and Torbelly Assis.
In the early game Broadway edged Shirley's Hardware, 1-0. Eduardo Da Silva did the scoring.
Wednesday it was MV Lath & Plaster over Shirley's Hardware, 2-1, and Atlantic FC over Sports Haven, 2-0.
Last night Coop de Ville went at it with Sports Haven and MV L & P took on Broadway.
Go Tony!
Tony Grillo of West Tisbury will compete as one of the nation's best Junior Golfers, aged 12-18, boys and girls, in the Fidelity Investments American Junior Golf Assn. (AJGA) Junior Classic at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, July 23-26. Players represent all 50 states and Canada. Alumni of the AJGA include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Clink, Davis Love III, Christie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, and Julieta Granada.
Demo day at the
Center
Michael Halisky, the head tennis pro at Vineyard Youth Tennis, bowed to Brian Hunter, the sales representative for Fischer Tennis on Saturday. The match was part of a Fischer Tennis Parent Child Drill and Demo day at the Center.
Hunter defeated Halisky, 6-4, 6-4 in the hard-hitting action.
Starring at Harvard
Tyler Hathaway, a recent graduate of MVRHS and a stalwart defender on the school's lacrosse team, played in the Massachusetts north-south all-star game at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge on Saturday.
Ice skating school
Three skaters of the newly formed Island Ice Skating School competed in the Ice Skating institute District I Championships at Pilgrim Arena, Hingham, June 22-24.
Six-year-old Hailey Meader won a gold medal in Artistic 2, and a gold with Alyssa Whitney in couples spotlight. She also silvered in Interpretive 2 and Spotlight 2.
Beside the gold with Hailey in doubles, Alyssa Whitney, 8, took the gold in Spotlight and bronze in Interpretive 2. She was fourth in Artistic 2.
Darci Whitney, 12, was 5th in footwork and won silver medals in Spotlight 3 and Interpretive 3.
Darci was awarded the Ice Skating Institute Good Sport Award, a coveted prize for making new friends, and cheering on other competitors.
Bridgeheads
Pearl and Stanley Kissel were top scorers at the Bridge Club of M.V., Saturday at the Vineyard Haven senior center.
Tillie Foster and Emily Robertson were second, followed by Ann Funn and Claudia Bowser. Six tables were in play.
