Solid pitching leads Peabody Babe Ruth over Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – Angelo McCullough led the way on the mound for Peabody, pitching 5 ? innings and giving up just one run on three hits in a 3-1 win over Swampscott in the 13-year-old District 1 Babe Ruth tournament Thursday at Forest Acres Field.
McCullough also went 1-for-3 at the plate in the winning effort.
?It was a solid all-around win for sure,” said Peabody coach Chip Guiney. “Good pitching, good hitting, and good baserunning was key.”
Peabody got the timely hits when it needed them. After going down in order in the first inning, the first two runners reached in the top of the second. After they advanced to second and third on a passed ball, Mike Sabino blooped an RBI single into short left field to give Peabody a 1-0 lead. Right fielder Joe Castrichini then knocked a single to score Sabino and put Peabody up by two.
McCullough continued his solid outing on the mound, retiring eight of the next 10 batters. The only trouble he faced came in the bottom of the fifth. After giving up a leadoff single and an error, runners stood on second and third with no outs. Up stepped Swampscott catcher Nick Reiser, who was 2-for-2 at that point in the game. He poked an infield single that made it 3-1.
McCullough got two more outs, but he was done after that. He handed the ball over to Jake Murphy, who finished the inning off by forcing a flyout.
Peabody grabbed an insurance run in the top of the sixth. After two quick groundouts, first baseman JC Espinal launched a double over the center fielder?s head. Next up was catcher Tatum Perez, and he lined an RBI single into the gap in left-center to give Peabody a 3-1 lead.
That was all Murphy needed, as he quickly worked through the order in the sixth and seventh to seal the win for Peabody.
?He did a great job in relief,” Guiney said of Murphy. “He came in in a tough spot and did the job for us.”
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.