It was a close, back-and-forth game from start to finish on Saturday afternoon, but in the end the No. 2 Peabody softball team came up just short and saw its undefeated season come to an end in a 3-1 upset loss to No. 17 Billerica in the Division 1 North Final at Kiley School Field.
The Tanners became the latest team to be upset by the cinderella Billerica squad, which beat three of the top 10 teams in Division 1 North — including No. 1 Woburn and the second-ranked Tanners — en route to the sectional title.
One of the main reasons the Tanners fell short was the stellar performance of Billerica relief pitcher Analise Grady, who entered the game in the second inning and didn’t allow a single hit while striking out eight batters and only walking two.
“We hadn’t seen a pitcher with a changeup like that all year,” Peabody coach Tawny Palmieri, who was a star on the last Peabody softball team to get to the North Final in 2006, said of Grady. “She was unbelievable, very hard to hit. We’ve been able to get big hits all year, but she came in and took the wind out of our sails.”
Abby Bettencourt took the loss on the mound in relief, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on three hits with seven strikeouts.
It was actually Peabody that struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Logan Lomasney reached first on a walk and then Penny Spack smacked an RBI single to put the Tanners ahead. The sequence forced a pitching change for Billerica, and Grady came in to shut the door the rest of the way.
But still, Peabody held onto the lead until the top of the fifth inning. Avery Grieco got the start on the mound, but Palmieri made the switch to freshman ace Bettencourt in the second inning after Billerica started threatening. Bettencourt pitched her way out of a bases-loaded jam in that inning to keep the Tanners ahead 1-0.
But in the top of the fifth, Billerica got a rally going when a single, a stolen base and a sacrifice bunt put a runner on third base. Samantha Gaona then laid down a bunt, allowing Kailey Roche to race home and slide under a tag to tie the score at 1-1. Two batters later, a bloop single brought home courtesy runner Molly Stanton to make it 2-1.
The score remained there until the top of the seventh, when Billerica’s Zaria Saint Pierre smashed a solo home run to make it 3-1.
There was a bit of controversy that arose after the homer, as Peabody coaches argued that Saint Pierre — who left the game in the fifth for courtesy runner Stanton — had not re-entered the game and should therefore be called out. After a long consultation with the rulebook, it was determined that the correct move was to issue a warning and keep the run on the board.
The Tanners still had some life after that, bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Grady once again shut the door and sealed the win for Billerica.
Peabody closes its season at 17-1 and has a host of young talent returning to the 2022 team.
