BEVERLY — Show of hands for those of you who had the Beverly High softball team atop the Northeastern Conference softball standings on the eve of May.
Yeah, we didn’t think so.
But that pipe dream is a reality after the Panthers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday, scoring the game-winning run on a passed ball to defeat Peabody, 4-3, and give the Tanners their first league loss in almost five years.
“The only thing I now hope,” said Beverly head coach Megan Sudak, “is that this gives them the confidence to see themselves like I see them.”
The dramatic victory before a large crowd at Beverly High saw the Panthers improve to 6-0 in NEC play and 7-2 overall. It was also their first victory over Peabody since sweeping their season series with the Tanners in 2019.
The three-time NEC champion Tanners tasted defeat within the league for the first time since May 15, 2019, a span of 1,811 days.
“They were committed to not swinging and missing, and they put balls in play. That’s ultimately what beat us,” Peabody head coach Steve Lomasney said of the Panthers. “They put enough balls in play and got enough girls in place where one mistake at the end cost us.”
Senior captain Abby Bettencourt of Peabody, the Brown University- bound superstar hurler and three-time Salem News Player of the Year, had escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the bottom of the sixth inning by striking out the next two Panther hitters.
But in the bottom of the seventh, Gabby Wickeri (2-for-3 with a double) led off with a 4-pitch walk and took second on a sharp single to left-center by freshman cleanup hitter Athena McKenna (2-for-3). Another free pass to Jasmine Feliciano loaded the bases with none out.
Junior second baseman Elsa Reulet was subsequently hit by a pitch, forcing they tying run home. Bettencourt struck out the next hitter, but with Riley Michael at bat the abovementioned ball to the backstop allowed McKenna to scamper home with the game-winning run.
“Abby is absolutely unbelievable. I have the utmost respect for her; she’s just unreal,” Sudak said. “She’s obviously smart, is so talented athletically and is a really good person. I’ve always been impressed with her.
“What I told my girls is, ‘Abby’s going to bring the heat, and you can’t go up there thinking home run or anything like that. It’s about making good hard contact and putting the ball in play.”
Mixing her 65-mile-an-hour fastball and a killer offspeed among her offerings, Bettencourt threw a herculean 133 pitches on the day, 94 of those for strikes. She allowed eight hits and two earned runs, walking three and striking out 10.
“They deserve it,” said Lomasney. “They put the pressure on us, and that’s a good win for them.”
Lidia Miedema, Beverly’s freshman pitcher, also spun a complete game and scattered nine hits, walked one, hit a batter and fanned two. She went the distance throwing 98 pitches, of which 60 were strikes.
Peabody (5-2 overall) took a 1-0 lead after Abby Bettencourt (3-for-4, 2 runs scored) cracked a sharp single to left field and came home on sister Lizzy Bettencourt’s two-out single to center. The hosts responded with two of their own in the bottom of the fourth as Michael (2-for-3) hit a one-out single to left, scored on leadoff hitter Sophia Balducci’s double to center. The next hitter, Meredith Johnston, saw her ensuing shot to the outfield mishandled, allowing Balducci to cross the plate.
But the Tanners wasted little time taking the lead back by scoring twice more in the fifth. Abby Bettencourt again singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and came home on Lizzy Bettencourt’s (3-for-4 2 RBI) single into the hole at short. Logan Lomasney, who had walked before her and reached second on the wild pitch, came around to score on the same play with some heads-up baserunning.
It stayed that way until the decisive bottom of the seventh.
“You play Peabody, you know they’re going to come back and pound the ball,” said Sudak. “They played Peabody softball and came in ranked No. 4 in the state (in Division 1). But we were No. 14 and wanted to show what we were capable of, too. We took advantage of our opportunities.”
Reulet was excellent defensively for the Orange-and-Black, handling all nine of her chances flawlessly. They included a diving to snare a hot smash by Lomasney and throwing her out at first, and teaming with Feliciano at short to turn a 6-4-3 double play in the top the seventh.
Kaylee DiNicola, Jessica Steed and Jaelyn Emerson also hit safely for Peabody; so did No. 9 hitter Jane Foley for the hosts.
“It was a game of one or two plays,” Lomasney said. “A couple of calls went their way, a few didn’t go our way, and they made the last play of the game to win it.”