Peabody baseball still packs a powerful wallop

PEABODY – The Peabody High baseball team may have lost some big names from last year’s 19-3 team, but the Tanners are still packing a boatload of talent heading into their first season in the Northeastern Conference.Coach Mark Bettencourt won’t have two-time Greater Boston League Most Valuable Player Kyle Multner on the hill (he’s starting at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst), catcher Matt Sucharewicz (St. Anselm’s) behind the plate, Brad Linehan at third or Peter Ellison in the mix, but he won’t get too much sympathy considering the crew he does have coming back.Four-year starter Josh Band, who will be playing baseball at Rawlings College next spring, will be back at shortstop. Band was one of the top hitters in the GBL since he was a freshman.Kevin Skop, a senior lefty who will start the season as the Tanners’ No. 1 pitcher (he also plays right field), is back as is senior righty James Noftle. Noftle, who also plays first base, is coming off a big hockey season. Bettencourt said he’s hoping junior righty Marc Linehan will be able to step in as the third starter and fill the void in the rotation left by Multner.The Tanners also look strong in the bullpen. Junior Pat Dumas had seven saves and was a GBL All-Star as a sophomore. He and Linehan both made huge contributions on the mound.”We went undefeated in the GBL last year. That hadn’t been done since 1983. Pat had some big saves to make that happen. As a sophomore closer, to record seven saves in 19 win, that was a major facto in the season we had,” Bettencourt said.Senior second baseman Gary Girolamo is back. Girolamo played a huge role in the early going when he filled in at short for an injured Band the first nine games of the season. The Tanners went 8-1 during that stretch.”Gary really filled the void last year,” Bettencourt said.Senior Pat Yeo, who started in center field the last two years, is back in action. Dan Mello, who will play baseball at Bryant College next year, missed last season with a torn ACL after hitting .400 as a sophomore. He’s back and looking good at third base.”He looks phenomenal,” Bettencourt said.Bettencourt said the both the coaches and players are looking forward to playing in the Northeastern Conference.”I’m going to miss the GBL, but I think the coaches and kids are excited about getting back to their natural rivalries,” Bettencourt said.Bettencourt said the kids have been playing against the kids from teams like Salem, Lynn, Beverly, Danvers and Swampscott since their Little League and Babe Ruth days and now those rivalries will be renewed.”I think a lot more of those local rivalries are going to be sparked back up,” he said.This is Bettencourt’s fourth year as head coach and every year, the Tanners have gotten better. They won 15 games his first year, 17 his second and 19 games last year. Peabody’s ride through the tournament didn’t end until the Division 1 North final, where the Tanners lost to Lincoln-Sudbury, the eventual state champion.Bettencourt believes the way to get better is to play the best, prompting him to line up a fairly daunting non-league schedule that includes games against St. John’s Prep, Xaverian, Malden Catholic, Catholic Memorial, Brighton High School and Tewksbury High. Bettencourt said Tewksbury has a couple of pitchers who are Division 1 college prospects.”There are no breaks. We’ll have to come out and play hard every game. Whether it’s a conference game or a non-league, there’s always something at stake,” Bettencourt said.