PEABODY — The Peabody softball team showed why it has one of the most potent lineups in the entire North Shore on Tuesday afternoon, riding an 11-run second inning all the way to a 15-6 win over Lynn Classical on a rainy day at Kiley Field.
Abby Bettencourt and Emma Bloom led the offensive attack for the Tanners, as Bettencourt went 4-for-4 with three doubles and four RBI and Bloom went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Logan Lomasney went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Isabel Bettencourt (2-for-3), Kiley Doolin (2-for-2), Gina Terrazzano (1-for-3) and Avery Grieco (0-for-1) each had one RBI.
Abby Bettencourt picked up the win in the circle for the tanners, going four innings and allowing two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts. Grieco tossed one-plus inning of relief, allowing four runs on one hit with three strikeouts.
Reese Brinkler had a great day at the plate for Classical despite the loss, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI. Manuela Lizardo went 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI to help the offensive attack, while the Rams grabbed their other three runs on heads up baserunning late in the game.
After Abby Bettencourt opened the game by retiring the side and order in the top of the first, she came up in the bottom of the first and led off with a double to get into scoring position. After stealing third base, Bloom hit a hard ground out to third base to drive in the run and put Peabody on the board.
But Classical answered back in the top of the second, as Brinkler smashed a one-out fastball deep over the center field wall to knot the score at 1-1
Then, in the bottom of the second, the Tanners got cooking.
A pair of singles and an error loaded the bases for Grieco, who drew an RBI to take the lead back for Peabody. Abby Bettencourt followed that with a two-run single, then Lomasney backed that up with an RBI single of her own. Emma Bloom then stepped in and launched a three-run home run to make it 7-1. Doolin added an RBI single and Terrazzano notched an RBI double to keep the inning alive for Abby Bettencourt to come up a second time, and this time she hit a two-run double to push the lead to 12-1 Tanners after two.
The Rams were able to get one back in the top of the fourth, and once again it was thanks to Brinkler. The senior captain notched an RBI double to knock home Izzy Faessler, who drew a walk to lead off the inning.
But the Tanners continued to add to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, getting RBI hits from Lomasney and Isabel Bettencourt and picking up another run on a passed ball to push the lead to 15-2.
Classical made a valiant comeback attempt in the top of the fifth, pushing four runs across thanks to an error, an RBI double from Lizardo and a pair of runs on a passed ball. But Peabody was able to work its way out of the inning, and the umpires called the game due to the increasing rainfall to give the Tanners the win.
Lynn Classical (6-3) will play its third game in as many days Wednesday (4) on the road at Revere.
Peabody (7-1) is off until Friday, when it hosts Danvers.
