SALEM — The Peabody Little League 12-year-old All-Stars may have had only four hits, but made the most of a big first inning to capture the Section 4 championship Saturday at Stephen M. O’Grady Field. They defeated Danvers National, 4-0.
The win clinched a berth in the state championship tournament, to be played July 24-27 at Harry Ball Field in Beverly.
This one boiled down to great pitching and near-flawless defense, with neither team coming close to committing an error.
In terms of pitching, the game was a duel between Peabody’s Adam Grant (2 BB, HBP) and Danvers’ Kenny Blake (5 IP, 4 H, 5 K, BB).
In five innings, Grant struck out 13 batters, striking out the side in three innings and allowing just three hits with only two baserunners reaching third base before yielding to reliever Caleb Dube in the sixth.
Blake regrouped after the first inning, allowing only one base hit the rest of the way and retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.
“Unbelievable again – that good start,” said Peabody Manager John Hoffman. “Danvers is a very, very good team, so I was concerned about whether those four runs were going to be enough. They are a very solid team. Adam pitched unbelievably again. He’s been MVP of this entire tournament, doing such unbelievable pitching on the mound. He is the hardest 12-year-old and the hardest worker I have. He is an extremely hard worker and gets better and better every single year.
“I have two aces on this team. I have a 1 and 1A who are both very, very good. Declan (Peterson) pitched unbelievably last night to get us here. Our pitching has been the story this whole time.”
Danvers Manager Ross Graham said too many strikeouts sealed his team’s fate.
“We had good pitching, but it’s hard to come back from that,” Graham said. “Kenny only threw 75 pitches today. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough balls in play. Adam is a great pitcher, so not to take anything away from him, but we also had north of 12 strikeouts. We were hoping to get him out a little earlier, but some kids didn’t swing the bat. It was a team loss to be sure. It’s like football: When you throw five picks, you aren’t going to win.”
Peabody, on the other hand, came out swinging. Jack Houlihan got things started with a single through the left side. Jaxson Hoffman moved him along to second with a sharp single to left. Grant flared a single to right to bring Houlihan home with Jaxson Hoffman advancing to third and Grant taking second on the throw. Jaxson Hoffman scored on a dropped third strike to Wes Weed with Grant advancing to third. Grant scored on a wild pitch to bump Peabody’s lead to 3-0. Two batters later, Dube plated Weed with a ground out to short to make it a 4-0 game.
“That was a big first inning,” John Hoffman said. “That’s what I have been preaching about – to come out and set the tone right away to start and keep going.”
John Hoffman said swinging the bats aggressively was key.
“I’ve told them they can’t leave it in the umpire’s hands,” he said. “When you get two strikes, you have to battle the whole time, so that’s what we’ve been telling them.”
Both pitchers had a little help from their defenses, ones that made every play that came their way, combining for an errorless effort.
With Grant mowing down Danvers’ batters via punchouts, Peabody’s fielders didn’t have to make too many plays. But they did just that when they needed to, especially in the final inning when Danvers, down to its last three outs, was hoping to get back in the game with a rally.
MJ Smith led off with a lofted pop-up to no man’s land on the right side. Grant, who had just moved to short, made a running catch on the grass to snag the out. Parker Parente then singled up the middle and reached second on a passed ball. Ethan Graham followed with a fly ball to left fielder Tyler Garcia for the second out. Next up was Reece Goehlert, who hit a hard grounder down the line to Wes Weed at third. Weed made the long throw across the diamond to first baseman Lukas Downey, who, in a full, all-out split, picked the ball out of the dirt for the final out of the game.
“He’s (Downey) been doing that for this team for years,” John Hoffman said. “That was a great play and a great way to end the game.”
Graham said while his players were disappointed, he hopes they will appreciate what they accomplished this summer.
“Later, at the pool party, they’ll realize that, but right now, Little League is over, so it’s tough,” Graham said. “Good defense. Our infield was solid. Not much was hit to the outfield, but they were line-drives. We were proud to get this far and have gotten better each and every year. We’re just sad the year is over because this is where the kids part ways. That’s why the pool party is kind of important. One last hurrah”
Peabody opens the state tournament against District 11 champion Walpole at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The other semifinal features District 4’s Holden against District 9’s Braintree American at 4:30 p.m.
The last time a Peabody-based Little League team won a state championship was in 2021 when Peabody West took the title.
“We are right back to work this week,” John Hoffman said. “We need to get ready to start it again on Thursday. I don’t remember when Peabody Little League last made it this far. It’s been a while, but it’s absolutely worth the wait. We just want to keep it going.”
