WINTHROP — The Peabody softball team got its offense going early and never looked back Friday afternoon, rolling to an 18-0 win in four innings over Winthrop in a Northeastern Conference bout on the road.
“It was great to jump ahead early and get a lot of players involved (Friday),” said Peabody coach Tawny Palmieri. “The starters came in and did their job, then our bench players came in and really hit the ball well too. It was a great all-around team effort and it was great to see.”
While the Peabody offense may have stolen the show, Tanners pitcher Avery Grieco pitched a great game in her own right. The sophomore — who along with fellow sophomore Abby Bettencourt makes up one of the best pitching duos in the state — pitched all four innings and allowed just one hit while striking out eight.
“She’s a great pitcher, and I really call Abby and her ‘1 and 1A’ because they both have the ability to be a No. 1 starter,” Palmieri said of Grieco. “You really need two pitchers to be successful in the long run, and it’s a huge boost that they’re both pitching well right now.”
Penelope Spack went 1-for-1 with a triple and three RBI to lead the Peabody offense, while Bettencourt (1-for-2), Grieco (1-for-2) and Logan Lomasney (0-for-2) each had two RBI. Gina Terrazzano, Elayna Capone, Alana Sweeney, Emma Bloom and Sarah Broughton each had one RBI in the victory.
Winthrop’s lone hit came from Summer Tallent (1-for-2), who lined a single up the middle in the bottom of the first.
The Tanners got started in the top of the first, as leadoff hitter Bettencourt drew a walk and quickly stole second base. After getting moved to third on a groundout, she came home on a passed ball to notch the first run of the game. Two more walks set the stage for Spack, who came up and launched a two-run triple to make it a 3-0 game.
Bettencourt notched an RBI groundout and Emma Bloom hit an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-0 in the top of the second, but things didn’t get out of hand until the top of the third.
It was there that the Tanners pushed across 11 runs, blowing the game open as Peabody ran through its lineup almost two full times. In all, Peabody got RBI hits from Grieco (two RBI), Bettencourt and Lomasney, while Spack, Terrazzano, Lomasney and Capone all drew RBI walks. The Tanners also picked up two runs on an errant throw, and when the dust settled the score was 16-0 Peabody.
The reserves came in from there, and after RBI hits from Broughton and Sweeney in the top of the fourth, Grieco came out and set the side down in order to finish the game and seal the victory.
Winthrop (2-5) travels to Wayland Saturday (10).
Peabody (6-1) now has a few days off before taking on Lynn Classical Tuesday (4:30).
“It’s always nice to get these small breaks, because we know as the season goes on we won’t get as many,” said Palmieri. “We just want to take advantage of the time off and then come back ready to go next week.”
