Baseball and boys’ lacrosse advanced to the postseason this week, joining both tennis teams and girls’ lacrosse in the state tournament. Softball remains in the hunt for a tournament spot with two games yet to play.

Baseball

The team secured its first postseason berth in 10 years with a 9-1 win over Nantucket on Saturday. After a win over Chatham on Wednesday, they moved to an 11-7 (4-4 in the EAC) season record with one remaining game still scheduled for today.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Head Coach Gary Simmons said. “This is brand new for these guys.”

The postseason is also new for Simmons — the Vineyarders’ tourney berth is his first as coach of the team.

Expectations were high coming into this season. Despite last year’s 7-14 record, seven of those losses were by just one run. Additionally, only two players graduated in 2011, leaving the team with a strong core of rising seniors.

The Vineyarders’ doubleheader victories over Plymouth South in April proved the “turning point” of the season, Coach Simmons said.

The team has won three of its last four games, with matchups against Falmouth and Bourne scheduled for this weekend. Last Thursday, they took a 9-1 win over EAC opponent Bishop Feehan, with junior Jack Roberts stepping to the mound as a starter for the first time. Normally a relief pitcher, Roberts turned in seven innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six and walking two.

Although the Vineyarders fell 10-5 to visiting Somerset on Friday, they rebounded the next day for the win over Nantucket. Senior Will Stewart earned the win against the Whalers, going six innings and striking out eight while allowing no runs. Senior Noah Stobie came in for the final inning to preserve the game; Stobie also had three hits for the Vineyard.

On Wednesday, senior Andrew Williamson pitched five innings to pick up the win and was relieved by junior Alec Tattersall. Stobie went 2-for-3, adding two stolen bases. Roberts was 2-for-3 as well, while catcher Ramon Espino drew two walks and stole two bases. They played at Falmouth Thursday, but scores were not available at press time.

The Vineyarders play their final game of the regular season today at home against Bourne at 3:15 p.m.

Boys’ Lacrosse

The boys finished their season with a 9-9 record after three away wins in a row over Nantucket, Bishop Stang and Dennis-Yarmouth. On Saturday, the Vineyarders took down the Whalers 13-6, closing out the regular schedule with 9-8 and 10-9 wins over Stang and D-Y, respectively. Tournament seedings will be announced early next week.

Girls’ Tennis

Freshman Samantha Potter advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association Individuals Tournament this week, falling to number two seed Alana Prinos of Foxboro. Potter was the only freshman in the South Section to play in the quarterfinals.

Last week, the girls took a 4-1 win over Somerset to remain undefeated in the EAC and secure their second league championship in a row. Though forced to default the number three singles spot as a result of players being absent for AP tests, the Vineyarders swept every other contest. Potter took a 6-0, 6-2 win, as did junior Annie Burton at second singles. In doubles, junior Alyssa Adler and senior Wendy Wen defeated their opponents, while freshman Diamond Araujo and senior Celia Mercier went 6-4, 6-2.

Boys’ Tennis

After two sweeps of Somerset and Dover-Sherborn last week, the tennis team has just three matches standing in the way of an undefeated season. Two of the matches, however, come against perpetual rival Cape Cod Academy and more recent challenger Dover-Sherborn.

Although the Vineyard took home the sweep against D-S on Saturday, three of the matches went to three sets, keeping the overall outcome on the line throughout the morning. At first singles, junior co-captain Kent Leonard took a 6-3, 6-0 win, while junior Patrick McCarthy went 6-1, 6-1 against his opponent. Junior co-captain Justice Yennie took his first set against Russ Daly, 6-3, before dropping a close second set in the tie-breaker, 6-7 (4). Yennie rebounded in the third to take a 6-2 set and the win.

At first doubles, juniors Jackson McBride and Natty Schneider also won their first set 6-3 only to see the score reverse in the second set. The duo took the deciding set 6-4. On the second doubles court, juniors Justin Smith and Ryan Sawyer won two sets in a row, 6-3, 6-1, after dropping the opening set 1-6.

The previous day’s match against Somerset brought considerable lineup shuffling, with McCarthy moving into the number one singles spot and Schneider playing at number two singles, while Smith and McBride partnered on the doubles courts. Austin Stevenson and Mike Piland turned in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win to preserve the sweep.

Scores from Thursday’s Dover-Sherborn rematch were unavailable at press time. The team travels to Chatham today and Cape Cod Academy Saturday for its final two regular season matches.

Softball

The softball teams finds itself in a familiar spot as it enters the last weekend of the regular season — for the second year in a row, they are seeking the 1Oth win that will put them in the postseason.

The season “seems to be feast or famine this year,” head coach Donald Herman said. Fifteen of the team’s 18 games have been decided by the slaughter rule — with the Vineyarders falling on both sides of the win-loss spectrum.

After two league losses last week to Bishop Feehan and Somerset, the Vineyarders recovered by winning a home doubleheader against Advanced Math & Sciences Charter School.

“It’s nice to see the girls bounce back that way,” coach Herman said.

On Monday, the team picked up a 17-0 win over Randolph, and recovered from a three run deficit against Chatham Wednesday for a 17-5 victory. The Vineyard offense, led by senior Sarah Williston, juniors Emily Cimeno and Kendall Robinson, sophomore Miranda Tokarz and freshman Mariah Duarte, scored 10 runs in the fourth inning. Cimeno went 3-for-4 while earning the win on the mound; Williston was 2-for-3 and Tokarz 2-for-2 with two walks.

Girls’ Lacrosse

The girls split last week’s games against Scituate and Nantucket, falling 16-12 to the former while taking a 22-13 win over the Whalers.

On Sunday, the Vineyarders dropped their first league game of the season in a two-hour barnburner against Bishop Feehan, with Feehan taking the eventual 25-21 win. Junior Hannah Moore had her best game of the season, scoring 6 goals; junior Jennie Lindland also scored six while landing three assists (two on Moore goals). Junior Taylor Poggi scored five goals, while senior Madison Hughes and junior Alayna Hutchinson each had three goals and three assists. Senior April Hargy made 16 saves.

In Tuesday’s Senior Day rematch against Falmouth, the team went in hungry for a win over the Clippers, who had beaten them earlier in the season. The Vineyarders took a narrow two-goal lead at the half, finishing the game with a close 19-16 win. Seven different players contributed to scoring.

With the regular season now complete, the girls await their seedings in the MIAA tournament.

Track and Field

The team traveled to the EAC Championship meet last Saturday, with the boys placing second to league champion Bishop Feehan with 117 points (Feehan scored 81 points in three events alone) and the girls taking fourth place overall.

Five Vineyarders were named league champions in their respective events. Senior co-captain Rafael Maciel won the triple jump with a leap of 40’8.5”—taking the victory by “about two feet...which is unheard of [in that event],” head coach Joe Schroeder said. Sophomore Joe Turney picked up first place in the javelin with a throw of 158’2”, while sophomore Jeremy Alley-Tarter took a comfortable lead in the 800 metres to win his race. Junior Maggie Riseborough was a dual winner, taking victories in the shot put and discus, throwing a personal best of 93’11” in the latter.

Junior Jacob Lawrence placed among the top five in three events, the only Vineyarder to do so, taking second place in the 200 metres, fourth in the 100 metres, and fifth in the long jump.

Several athletes secured personal bests during the meet, with Maciel taking second in the 400-metre hurdles with a time of 58.8 seconds, freshman Julia Neville taking second in the 800 metres with a 2:29.3, and Maggie Lindland jumping 32’2” in the triple jump for another second-place finish. Other second-place finishers were senior Je’Vaughn Crooks in the high jump and the boys’ 4x400 relay team.

Third place finishers for the Vineyarder were junior Michael Schroeder in the mile (finishing with a personal best time of 4:36.3), senior Peter Keaney in the 400 metres (personal best time of 52.7 seconds), sophomore Marc Piland in the 200 (personal best of 24.7 seconds), Will Trapp in the javelin (144’3”) and the girls’ 4x100 relay team.

Sophomore Katherine Dorr placed seventh in the 400-metre run, but earned a qualifying time for the upcoming state meet in the process.

With the regular season now complete for track and field, the Vineyarders will next compete in the MIAA Division Four Championships this weekend, with the boys having qualified in every event except for the 2-mile run and the 100-metre hurdles, and the girls sending competitors in the shot put, discus, 400 metres, 800 metres, triple jump and the 4x400 relay.