SWAMPSCOTT — The Tanners are back in the big dance.
A year after missing the Division 1 playoffs for just the second time in the last 30 years, Peabody didn’t waste a lot of time punching its ticket to this year’s tournament. A 3-0 win over Swampscott Friday afternoon at Frank DeFelice Diamond brought the Tanners to 10-2, extended their win steak to seven and kept the visitors at the top of the Northeastern Conference Lynch standings.
Freshman Dylan Cunningham posted his first career shutout, striking out 10 and scattering six hits with a pair of walks. Four weeks ago, he made his first career start against this same Swampscott team and took the loss; Friday, he evened the score with a fairly dominant fastball and a curveball that froze the Big Blue to the tune of six looking K’s.
“And he didn’t throw a single changeup,” Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt observed. “We stayed with two pitches the whole game and the way he was throwing he didn’t need that third pitch. The way he pitched shows that he’s maturing … and he’s doing it at a rapid pace.”
Swampscott (6-5) had a chance to do some damage in the second inning, loading the bases with one out. Cunningham bore down with with a strikeout and a fly out to escape and the Big Blue only put two men in scoring position the rest of the way.
“Dylan is doing a great job of keeping composure when things start to unravel,” Bettencourt said. “He doesn’t allow a big inning.”
Both teams flashed the leather and threw darts home in an impressive display of defense. Swampscott shortstop Nick Berube sprinted back into the outfield and laid out to rob Peabody of a hit on the first batter of the game and the Big Blue turned two double plays. The first was a 5-3 groundout that first baseman Jason Bouffard fired home to catcher Michael Collins to nab a runner trying to score from second; the next saw Bouffard lay out to catch a high bunt, then throw over to first (covered by second baseman Caden Ross) to catch a runner that didn’t get back in time.
“Defense has really been our calling card this year,” said Swampscott coach Joe Caponigro. “That and the pitching have been really solid.”
Starter Jami Ford (four innings) and Jack Spear (three innings) limited Peabody to one run in the first, third and seventh while working around nine Tanners hits. Five of those were doubles: Senior Reymi Andino clubbed two down the leftfield line for RBI in the third and seventh and senior Cam Connolly had a pair of two-baggers in his 3-for-4 day.
“Swampscott was really pounding the inside part of the plate, challenging in a way we haven’t seen all year,” said Bettencourt. “A lot of balls were fisted; you have to go down that line if you want to hit those.”
Junior outfielder Jayden Cunningham had a single and double for Peabody and younger brother Dylan singled once. Shortstop Jariel Tolentino also had a single and senior captain Josh Sigmon plated the first run with a sac fly.
A pair of Tanner double plays helped the younger Cunningham keep his shutout intact. Peabody turned a conventional 6-4-3 double play when the leadoff runner reached on an error in the third and a strikeout-throw out doubleplay ended the fourth when Sigmon gunned down a runner trying to take second.
In all, Swampscott stranded five (three in scoring position) with Ross, Bouffard, catcher Michael Collins and pinch-hitter Casey DeCamp singling in addition to Berube’s two hits.
“We just haven’t been able to come up with those clutch hits,” said Caponigro.