PEABODY — There is no better word to describe Abby Bettencourt’s performance on Wednesday other than, well, perfect. The ace pitched a perfect game in Peabody’s 13-0 win against Swampscott.
Not only that, but everyone she faced struck out. With the 15 batters she faced, all of them went back to the dugout with a K next to their names on the stat-sheet.
“She had one other perfect game either last year, or the year before,” Peabody coach Tawny Palmieri said. “This was her first full-strikeout perfect game.”
When asked to describe Bettencourt’s performance, Palmieri was full of praise for the Tanner.
“Abby is always strong. Today, she was just hitting her spots over and over again, which made a huge difference between throwing extra balls or them getting to see her more. I think that was an awesome game by her,” Palmieri said.
Swampscott head coach Gary Moran was complimentary of her performance, too.
“We ran into a buzz saw. She was hitting her spots and absolutely dominated today,” Moran said.
Not only was Bettencourt unhittable – literally and figuratively – but also the leadoff hitter for the Tanners. On her first at-bat, she doubled to left field.
Logan Lomasney didn’t disappoint, either. Following Bettencourt, she waited for her pitch and crushed a deep ball to right field, clearing the fence for a two-run shot.
“As Logan has been getting older, her offense has been getting stronger,” Palmieri said. “Her approaches at the plate were even better today. She was more patient, knowing what she was looking for to hit. It shows her offense is getting better.”
The Tanners were up 3-0 going into the bottom of the second – that’s when déjà vu occurred.
Bettencourt, again, doubled to lead off. Lomasney then crushed another pitch – this time to center field for another two-run blast.
It was the start of a nine-run inning for the Tanners.
“I tell them all the time we can’t get complacent. It’s easy to get comfortable with what we’re doing, but we can’t allow that, so we keep challenging the kids to get better every day,” Palmieri said.
Although it wasn’t the result the Big Blue were looking for, Moran said there were some positives to take away, including the defensive performance from captain Olivia Barletta in center field.
“She tracks balls with the best of them. If it’s in the air, she’s going to get it. She made a couple of plays in left field and a couple of them in right field today. She gets to where she needs to be,” Moran said.
Moran said his team is young, but has a strong work ethic and focuses on “getting better every single day.”
Palmieri also believes her team can continue to improve.
“I think we can grow even more offensively,” Palmieri said. “Defensively, we have a couple of kids who are playing in positions they have never played before, so we need to continue to work.”
Peabody’s next game is Friday when it travels to Masco with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Swampscott looks to bounce back the same day when it hosts Salem at 4:30 p.m.
