Baseball: Peabody outlasts Swampscott

Peabody’s baseball team entered the seventh inning against Swampscott with an 8-4 lead, and its best pitcher taking the hill in relief.”In the Northeastern Conference it’s never over until the last pitch,” Tanners coach Mark Bettencourt said. “This league is a lot of fun; there is no easy game.”Despite a valiant three-run effort by the Big Blue, Peabody managed to hold on for an 8-7 win.”Peabody is an excellent team,” Swampscott coach T.J. Baril said. “The guys really just showed a bunch of character sticking with them for seven innings.”Freshman Pat Ruotolo pitched a phenomenal game for the Tanners (7-2). He went six innings, allowing six hits, while striking out eight.Swampscott (2-7) had two-run home runs from Mike Walsh, Alex Patkin and Frank Legere. Joey Gruntkowski hit one for the Tanners.St. John’s 3, Xaverian 1At Danvers, the Eagles (6-5) kept their conference aspirations alive by defeating the first-place team. Nick Fabrizio allowed one run on six hits, while striking out one and walking one. Tyler Coppola, Kevin Davis and Alex Markakis each knocked in a run. Markakis and Justin Peluso both had strong defensive performances.Gloucester 9, English 7At Gloucester, the Bulldogs (5-2, 7-3 NEC) allowed all nine runs in the fifth inning. Dani Vincente and Roberto Reyes both had two-run home runs. Brandon Carritte hit a solo shot.Revere 8, Winthrop 5At Revere, Nick DiMare only needed 88 pitches to throw a complete game for the Patriots (3-5). Dale Paradise went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Paul Norton also knocked in a pair of runs.Danvers 6, Classical 1At Fraser Field in Lynn, the Rams (1-7) played perhaps their best game of the season but it wasn’t enough to overcome the brilliant pitching of Danvers (6-3) ace Greg Ladd. The senior struck out nine, walked one and allowed only four hits to get his fifth win of the season.Classical broke on top in the third when Steve Smith reached on an error and later scored on Joe Scuzzarella’s base hit. Danvers came right back in the fourth with a quartet of runs to assume the lead for good.Falcon shortstop Kyle Larson was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Scott Hovey was 2-for-3 with two RBI; Mike Harris and D.J. Yost each went 2-for-3. Classical freshman Kyle Devin was 2-for-3; Tyler Gauthier had the other Ram hit.Fenwick 11, Williams 7At Braintree, Mike Lachance bettered his personal record to 5-0 on the season. He went five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, while striking out six. Mike Davis and David Ruggiero both hit a home run. The Crusaders’ (7-4, 6-2 Catholic Central League) top hitter, Brian Church, went 2-for-4 with an RBI.Salem 7, Marblehead 6At Marblehead, Sean Linehan went 3-for-5 with a double, two singles and a sac fly that scored the game-winning run. Max Feeley went 3-for-4 with a triple and two stolen bases. Garrett Dube picked up the win in relief of Dan Dovrosielski.Beverly 14, Saugus 6At Saugus, the Panthers’ (7-2) Ethan Trowt picked up the win, going five innings, while hitting a home run and picking up three RBI. Austin Butler knocked in four runs on three hits, while Pat Wilson had a hit and three RBI.Triton 4, Lynnfield 3 (suspended game)At Byfield, the Pioneers finished the game from last Tuesday that needed to be stopped due to rain. Lynnfield stranded a runner at second in the ninth.