PEABODY — Just call them the cardiac kids.
For five innings, the No. 29 Peabody baseball team had no answers for No. 36 Belmont sophomore southpaw Kyle Ksander, who held the Tanners to just two hits while striking out five.
Peabody starter and Northeastern Conference Most Valuable Player Cam Connolly (7 IP, 4 hits, 5 K) wasn’t too shabby, either, allowing just three hits and one unearned run over the first six innings.
But that all changed in the bottom of the sixth, and boy, did it happen in a hurry. Peabody sent nine men to the plate, four of whom scored to turn tables on the Marauders and carry a 4-1 lead into the top of the seventh. Belmont threatened and had runners on first and second with two outs, but shortstop Jariel Tolentino ended the game the same way he started it, with a defensive gem to snuff out the rally and send the Tanners into the Division 1 Round of 16.
“We had trouble barreling the ball up until the later innings. Normally, when we are not hitting, we are still hitting the ball hard, just at people,” said Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt, who received Coach of the Year honors in the NEC. “Today we weren’t hitting the ball hard. I think we may have lulled them to sleep because we weren’t hitting the ball hard, which brought their outfielders in and we were able to hit some deep balls over their heads and that timely hitting was the difference.”
Belmont capitalized on an infield error and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. The Marauders had runners at first and third with two outs. Casey Regan took off to steal second, drawing a throw with Ksander stealing home easily.
The score stayed that way until Peabody’s bats came alive in the sixth. Jariel Tolentino (run) got the party started with a walk. He stole second and third, setting up Connolly (1-for-3, RBI, run), who smashed a long shot over the right fielder’s head in right and legged it out for a triple to tie the game at 1-1. Reymi Andino (1-for-2, run, walk) followed with a hard single to third to bring Connolly home. One batter later, Noah Crocker (1-for-3, RBI) smacked a single up the middle to plate Andino with the Tanners’ third run.
But they weren’t done yet. Joey Smith, who made two highlight-reel catches in right field, hit a bomb over the center fielder’s head to the fence to score Crocker and make it a 4-1 game.
Bettencourt said the game typified the types of contributions that Connolly has made all year long.
“Cam is a competitor and we kind of knew who we had to stay away from. With Cam’s pitching, we know he can throw a 2-0 curveball and come back with a 3-1 change. He threw six 3-2 curve balls today. He has good control over his three pitches, so he can control the game. The best thing about Cam is he never gets rattled. I wonder at times if he has a pulse. He’s a pulseless wonder. We needed to scratch to win this game, so I was glad Cam was our guy today.”
Connolly credited the Tanners’ defense – and the coaches – for keeping them focused.
“The coaches kept saying we just can’t be done yet. We worked so hard to get here and we want to keep the train moving,” Connolly said. “And the defense really stepped up today. Jariel, Reymi, Joey in right all made some really good plays.”
The Tanners’ reward for their come-from-behind win? A road date Sunday at 6 p.m. with No. 4 Braintree at Veterans Stadium. Bettencourt said freshman Dylan Cunningham will get the start for the Tanners.
“We’re walking into the lions’ den,” Bettencourt said.
Connolly said while Braintree is a “powerhouse team,” he is confident the Tanners will give it their all.
“We know Braintree will come ready to play, but I have all the confidence in Dylan that he will throw strikes. We just need to make the plays behind him,” Connolly said.
