The season may not have ended the way that the Peabody softball team wanted, but the Tanners still have plenty to be proud of.
The softball all-stars for the Northeastern Conference have been released, and Peabody freshman Abby Bettencourt has taken home NEC Player of the Year honors after a stellar first season with the Tanners.
Bettencourt contributed all over the field for Peabody this year, but her main weapon was her pitching arm. The clear ace of the Tanners’ staff, Bettencourt only allowed a handful of runs over the course of the entire season and helped lead Peabody to the NEC North title. Her peak came in the opening round of the Division 1 North tournament, when she threw a perfect game in a 6-0 win over Haverhill. She also got the job done with the bat, becoming one of the Tanners’ most reliable hitters over the course of the year.
But Abby Bettencourt wasn’t the only Peabody player to be honored, as two of her teammates joined her on the All-Conference Team in her sister Isabel Bettencourt and junior Emma Bloom. The Tanners also boasted three NEC All-Stars in Avery Grieco, Logan Lomasney and Penny Spack.
Saugus also had a great season and was rewarded for it, as Sachems coach Steve Almquist was named NEC Coach of the Year. The Sachems went 9-4 in the regular season and won the NEC South, falling to eventual Division 2 North champion Danvers in the tournament after earning a first-round bye.
Sachems ace Leah Ventre was honored as the lone Saugus player on the All-Conference Team, while Lily Ventre, Cat Schena and Kirby Dalton were all named NEC All-Stars.
Marblehead, Danvers and Gloucester each boasted two All-Conference picks, with Jolie Quintana and Lauren Donovan representing the Magicians, Lily Eldridge and Brooke Grassia representing the Falcons and Jenna Hoofnagle and Ella Marshall representing the Fishermen. Swampscott’s Nicolette Fraser rounded out the All-Conference selections.
The rest of the NEC All-Star Team is made up of Swampscott’s Riley Scanlon, Winthrop’s Sofia Vitale and Izzy Mahoney, Salem’s Cassidi O’Leary, Marblehead’s Ashleigh Maude, Danvers’ Becky Zellin and Emily Goddard, Gloucester’s Natalie Aiello and Riley Thibodeau, Masconomet’s Eliza Reimold and Olivia Filmore and Beverly’s Noelle McLane.
