Baseball: Classical falls to Peabody in pitcher’s duel

Classical pitcher Kyle Gauthier only allowed three hits Thursday, but unfortunately for the Rams, Peabody freshman pitcher Patrick Ruotolo was also spinning a gem and the result was a 3-1 win for Peabody at Peabody.The Tanners went up 1-0 in the first inning when Joe Gruntkowski scored on an error by the shortstop. Classical tied things up in the third when Wilfredo Feliz singled and came home on a hard-hit ball to right field by Eddie Terrero that went in and out of the fielder’s glove. Peabody added two runs in the fifth with Andrew Bucci knocking in the first run and the second coming on an outfield error. Classical threatened in the sixth inning, but the comeback fell short.Ruotolo, in his first varsity appearance, went six innings. He allowed two hits and struck out eight. Ryan McCarthy came on in the seventh for the save. Gauthier allowed three hits, fanned three and walked four.”When you put a freshman on the mound and come out with a win, that’s a positive thing,” Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt said. “But I give their pitcher credit. He was all about throwing strikes. He kept the ball away from us. He threw a very good game.”Gloucester 11, Swampscott 7At Swampscott, the Fishermen were able to take advantage of some wild Swampscott pitching to earn a victory. Swampscott walked numerous players, giving an already potent Gloucester lineup extra men on base.For Swampscott (0-2), Matt Barbuzzi and A.J. D’Agnese both went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.Mystic Valley 7, Tech 1At Malden, Mike Aybar scored the lone run for the Tigers. After Tech made an error, the host Eagles were able to capitalize and put together a big inning.Salem 10, Revere 0At Revere, Sean Linehan pitched a complete-game three-hitter to shut down the host Patriots. Linehan struck out 10 while allowing only three walks.”He had good command of his fastball today,” said Salem coach Jim Tgettis. “He went out there and dominated.”Offensively for the Witches (1-1, 1-0), Dario Medrano had a big game, going 4-for-5 with three RBI, and three runs scored. The big hit for Medrano came in the third inning when he bashed a two-run home run.Danvers 14, Saugus 2At Danvers, the Falcons steamrolled the visiting Sachems as their comeback season continues. After winning only four games last season, Danvers has started this season with three straight victories. For Danvers, Greg Ladd had a huge game on the mound and at the plate. Ladd pitched five innings of one-hit ball and struck out four, while at the plate he collected two hits and knocked in two runs.The biggest offensive day belonged to Greg Little, tallying a 4-for-4 day with two runs scored and two runs driven home.Saugus had a difficult time in the field as it was unable to make some early plays to keep itself in the game.