PEABODY — There have been a lot of memorable moments when it comes to the cross-city traditional rivalry between the Bishop Fenwick and Peabody softball teams.
Friday afternoon’s game, hosted by the Crusaders, was simply more of the same.
It was a pitchers’ duel between Central Connecticut State-commit Jaleila Aupont (6 hits, 11 strikeouts, 2 walks) and Brown University-bound Abby Bettencourt (2 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks) in an ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’ game.
Aupont struck out eight of the first batters she faced. Bettencourt, after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, found her groove, setting down 15 of the next 17 batters she faced through the sixth inning – seven on punchouts.
Scoreless going into the bottom of the seventh, in the end, it all came down to a miscue: an infield error with two outs that allowed Fenwick pinch runner Elizabeth Dumas, running for Sofia Longo who smacked a leadoff single, to race home with the game-winning run and clinch a 1-0 win for the Crusaders (2-2).
“Elizabeth knows her role and works really hard at practice,” Fenwick head coach Brian Seabury said. “She’s into the game and she came into a spot where we needed her and it was nice to get her on and get that run. We knew it was going to be an error going back and forth, so it was good. We just wanted to put the ball in play. I told them, ‘We expect to win. It’s nice that we won, but at the same time, we thought we were going to win.’”
Peabody coach Steve Lomasney said the Tanners had plenty of opportunities throughout the game to put it in the win column.
“It was just one of those balls that stayed down,” he said. “That’s part of the game. We had opportunities earlier in the game and we didn’t get it done. For the most part, it was a well-played game on both sides, but it’s just little things. Everyone’s going to look at that last play, but it was not that last play. Collectively, it was the opportunities earlier in the game that we didn’t take advantage of. We have to learn from it and get better from it.”
Both teams had bases-loaded opportunities, but neither cashed in. An error and two walks loaded them up for the Crusaders in the bottom of the first, but Bettencourt buckled down and ended the threat with a strikeout.
The Tanners had the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, but came up empty when Aupont snagged a shot from Jess Steed and fired to first to end the inning. The Tanners looked to have the bases loaded earlier in the inning, only to have a runner picked off third base by Aupont after Kaylee DiNicola singled to right. Aupont took a relay and fired a strike to Longo to get the out.
“Gigi, who ran at her and got her in time, she’s so smart with the ball,” Seabury said. “We want everything to go through her. We worked on that yesterday – people being overly-aggressive on the bases and throwing behind runners, and that came into play.”
In the top of the seventh, Bettencourt (1-for-3) ripped a two-out triple to deep right field, but was stranded when Fenwick’s freshman shortstop, Sarah Shann, gunned down Steed (1-for-4) at first in a bang-bang play.
Longo (1-for-2) led off with a single to right to start the bottom of the inning. Pinch-hitter Lulu Dias, with two strikes, got down the bunt, advancing (pinch runner) Dumas to second. Bettencourt got the next batter looking, but Giuliana Micciche delivered the goods on the next play.
Aupont had the Crusaders’ only other hit, a single to left in the third, only to be caught stealing (DiNicola to Logan Lomasney).
Lizzy Bettencourt (2-for-3), Kiley Doolin (1-for-3), Avery Grieco (1-for-3) and DiNicola (1-for 3) had base hits for Peabody.
Fenwick is back in action Monday at Malden Catholic (4 p.m.), while Peabody is at home the same day against Archbishop Williams at the Kiley School (4 p.m.).
