The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) boys baseball team inched closer to state tournament qualification with a 7-2 win at Rising Tide Charter School on Tuesday. The win capped off a busy stretch that included a 5-4 win at Sturgis East on Friday, and a 13-4 loss at home against Dennis-Yarmouth on Monday.
The boys now stand at 9-6 overall and 9-1 in the Cape & Islands League, needing just one win in their remaining five games to make the tournament.
The Sturgis game on Friday was a nail-biter. The Vineyard started fast with two runs in the first inning and two more in the second. In the bottom of the sixth, the Storm struck for three runs, and it was suddenly a one-run game. But the Vineyarders settled down and came away with a well-earned 5-4 win. Senior tri-captain Owen Bresnick pitched five strong innings and got the win. Sophomore Keaton Aliberti led the offense with two hits, one RBI, and a run scored.
Against Dennis-Yarmouth on Monday, MVRHS could not overcome a 5-0 first-inning deficit, losing 13-4 to the Dolphins at home. The visitors sent 10 men to the plate in the opening frame on a combination of two hits, three walks, and two Vineyard errors. The hosts rallied for two runs in the third and fifth innings before the Dolphins sealed the win with a four-run outburst in the final frame.
Junior Jared Regan and sophomore Keaton Aliberti led the Vineyard offense with two RBIs each. In the second inning, Jared lined a bases-loaded single to left, scoring Leo Neville and Sam Cranston. Two innings later, Keaton ripped a triple down the right field line that sent Cranston and Owen Bresnick scampering home. But it was not enough against the hard-hitting Dolphins.
The boys hooked up in another seat-squirmer on Tuesday, this time on the road against Rising Tide Charter School. This was a tight contest throughout, featuring fine pitching from both sides. Clinging to a slim 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh, the Vineyard exploded for four runs to put the game away. Senior Hollis Kelly pitched four innings and got the win, but had plenty of help from sophomore Isaac Richards, who threw three strong innings in relief. The offense collected nine hits on the day, one of them a home run by junior Jeremy Regan.
The Vineyarders host Monomoy Regional High School on Friday for a 3 pm game.
