LYNN — The No. 3 Lynn English baseball team opened up its 2021 state tournament in style Monday night, notching a 4-2 win over No. 14 Peabody in the Division 1 North quarterfinal under the lights at Fraser Field.
The Bulldogs have now won five straight games.
Mateo Rodriguez and Jeremies Brito led the English offense with an RBI each, while Clodys Prandys and Eldrian Bonilla each had a hit.
Manuel Taveras earned the complete-game victory on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
For Peabody, Brendan Smith had the lone RBI on the day. Giovani Guglielmo had two hits to lead the offense, while Juan Tolentino, Jacob Palharas and Mike Krause each had a hit.
Evan DeLillo took the loss in relief for the Tanners, tossing 1 2/3 innings and allowing two runs on one hit. Mike Geissler got the start and pitched 2 1/3 innings, while Dom Annese pitched the final two innings of the game.
The game was scoreless through the first two innings, but Peabody struck first in the top of the third. After two quick outs, Ryan Knight drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Guglielmo followed that up with a single, then Brendan Smith came through with an RBI single of his own to make it a 1-0 game.
But English answered right back in the bottom of the inning. The Bulldogs tied the game up after scoring on a wild pitch, then took the lead on a successful double steal by Brito and Bonilla.
In the bottom of the fifth, Brito and Rodriguez each drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded to give English a 4-1 lead.
The score remained there until the top of the seventh, when Peabody put together a rally and eventually put the go-ahead run on base. A single and two hit batters loaded the bases for Smith, who reached on an error to bring in a run and make it 4-2. With the bases still loaded and the pressure mounting, Taveras bared down and forced a groundout to end the game and give English the victory.
Peabody finishes the season at 9-9.
English (8-2) now moves on to face No. 6 Andover Wednesday afternoon (4) in the Division 1 North semifinal back at Fraser Field.
