SWAMPSCOTT — The Peabody softball team got the bats going early and kept them going all game long Wednesday, rolling to a 12-0 win in five innings over Swampscott in a Northeastern Conference bout at Forest Avenue Park.
Abby Bettencourt was the star of the day in the circle for the Tanners, tossing all five innings and allowing just one hit while striking out 12 batters. She only allowed only two runners all day, and neither of them made it further than first base.
Avery Grieco led the offensive attack for the Tanners, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. Gina Terrazzano went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Abby Bettencourt (2-for-4, double), Michaela Alperen (1-for-3, two runs scored), Isabel Bettencourt (1-for-3, run scored), Kiley Doolin (1-for-3, run scored) each had one RBI. Logan Lomasney went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
The lone hit in the loss for the Big Blue came from Meghan Holmes, who knocked a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning.
As far as the pitching was concerned, Jocelyn Spickard went all five innings and allowed 12 runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts in the loss for Swampscott.
The Tanners didn’t waste much time getting on the board in this one, as Abby Bettencourt led the inning off with a double before Bloom drew a walk. After Abby Bettencourt stole third, Isabel Bettencourt brought her home with an RBI groundout for the first run of the game. Bloom later came around to score on a wild pitch, giving the Tanners a 2-0 lead.
The scoring continued in the top of the second, as Lomasney knocked a double to lead off the inning and then came around to score on an error. Next up was Abby Bettencourt, who knocked an RBI single to make it a 4-0 game.
In the top of the fourth, Peabody really started to stretch things out. Lomasney led off with a single, then advanced to second on a passed ball. That set up Grieco, who ripped an RBI double to straightaway center field. Next up was Terrazzano, and she added to the lead when she launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to make it a 7-0 game. Grieco, Doolin and Alperen each added an RBI double apiece in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 10-0, while the Tanners rounded out their scoring with a pair of runs via Swampscott errors.
On the other side of things, Abby Bettencourt dominated in the circle. After allowing a runner to reach base with one out in the bottom of the first, the sophomore ace shut things down and retired the next 11 batters in a row before Holmes broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the fifth. But Abby Bettencourt once again turned up the heat from there, striking out the next two batters before forcing a groundout to end the game and seal the win for the Tanners.
Swampscott (6-11) travels to Hamilton-Wenham Friday (4).
Peabody (16-1) hosts Amesbury Thursday (4).
