PEABODY — Behind a strong pitching performance from Abby Bettencourt and offensive contributions up and down the lineup, the No. 2 Peabody softball team notched a 6-0 shutout win over No. 6 Andover in a Division 1 North semifinal game at Kiley School Field Thursday.
With the win, the still-undefeated Tanners punched their ticket to the Division 1 North Final.
Bettencourt dazzled on the mound once again. Just five days after throwing a perfect game against Haverhill in the first round, Bettencourt didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning of Thursday’s game. She went the distance, allowing no runs on four hits with five strikeouts.
“I’ve been saying it all year, between Abby Bettencourt and Avery Grieco on the mound, you can’t get any better than that,” said Peabody Coach Tawny Palmieri. “She was hitting her spots like crazy today, and you just can’t ask for anything more from a pitcher.”
Bettencourt also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Logan Lomasney went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI, while Kayla Bonfanti went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Avery Grieco (1-for-4, double), and Penny Spack (1-for-3, run scored) also had hits.
“Logan’s been like that all year for us, and she performs unbelievably well in that seven spot in the order,” said Palmieri. “The best part about this lineup is that if the top of the order isn’t hitting, the bottom of the order will pick them up, and vice versa. There really aren’t any weak spots in the lineup for us right now.”
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second, when Peabody got things going. It started with a one-out single from Spack, then Lomasney came up and smashed a two-run home run over the right field wall to make it 2-0.
That turned out to be all Peabody needed, but the Tanners added on anyway. In the bottom of the fourth, a double and a bunt single put two runners on base for Bettencourt, who helped her own cause with a two-run double to push the lead to 4-0. The Tanners pushed across two more runs thanks to a pair of Andover errors, taking a 6-0 lead into the fifth inning.
Bettencourt took over from there. Although Andover started to time the ball up and put the ball in play a bit more, the Peabody freshman never let a runner get past second base over the final three innings and sealed the victory.
Peabody (17-0) now moves on to the Division 1 North Final, where the Tanners will go up against No. 17 Billerica, a Cinderella team who knocked off the only other undefeated team in the bracket — No. 1 Woburn.
“I’ve said it to the girls a bunch of times already — at this point in the tournament, every team is good,” said Palmieri. “We know anything can happen out there, so we just have to keep playing our game and keep moving forward.”
Peabody and Billerica will throw the first pitch Saturday afternoon (1) back at Kiley School Field.
