PEABODY — The Peabody baseball team has already had two scrimmages and a week’s worth of practice as it tries to hit the ground running this season. Head coach Mark Bettencourt is back in the dugout and said this year is the first time there won’t be a freshman team.
“Our numbers are extremely low. For the first time ever, Peabody won’t have a freshman baseball team,” Bettencourt said. “I just don’t think kids are playing baseball as much as they used to. We also had a lot of kids go to different high schools, which impacts class numbers.”
Peabody was on the Cape this past weekend, scrimmaging Barnstable and Plymouth North.
“We played better Saturday than we did on Sunday. I think the weather played into that because it was a lot colder on Sunday,” Bettencourt said. “We played Barnstable tough, and they’re a pretty good team. On Sunday we played Plymouth North, who are a perennial powerhouse, and we played them tough. I was happy with the way we competed in both scrimmages.”
Peabody has a tough preseason schedule, something Bettencourt does every year to make sure his team is in good shape leading up to opening day.
“Traditionally, the last several years we have played Barnstable, Plymouth, North Andover and Lynnfield in preseason. All four have always been good teams to start the season,” Bettencourt said. “We added St. Mary’s this year. I couldn’t pass up Derek Dana’s offer to play because it’s at Fraser Field, and I love playing there.”
Despite losing some key seniors from last year’s team, the group will be led by senior captains Max Silvia, Ethan Waybret, Jacob Crocker and Luke Maglione.
“Max Silvia should be our top pitcher. He’ll be the ace, and he had a good year last year,” Bettencourt said. “Our catcher Ethan Waybret is returning and should have another good showing at the plate for us like he did last year. Jacob Crocker played third base last year, but with the loss of Jariel Tolentino, he’ll slide over to shortstop.”
“Max, Ethan and Jacob are three of our four captains this year. They are going to take the bulk of the load as what we expect from leadership and production,” Bettencourt said. “Our fourth captain was a huge loss for us in Luke Maglione, who had to get shoulder surgery and is out for the season. That’s a big loss for us both offensively and defensively. He’s been with us at every practice, and he’s still leading, he just can’t be on the field.”
Seniors Pedro Flores and Joey Kennelly are expected to be big contributors for the Tanners, according to Bettencourt, while the junior class also looks to play a big role.
“Pedro Flores has looked real good through our first two scrimmages, he’s swinging the bat real well. He’ll be one of our pitchers too; if not, he’ll start in right field. Joey Kennelly is another outfielder who can pitch too. He’s a lefty and will help us this season,” Bettencourt said. “In our junior class we have four players. Jack Smith is the jack-of-all-trades player for us, as he can play catcher, second base, pitcher. Matt Nazzaro is coming off a stress fracture, so he’s out until April 10, and looking forward to getting him back. Liam Smith is an infielder and pitcher, he’s another kid that is a baseball kid and looking forward to contributions from him. Jordalis Sosa is our fourth junior who plays outfield and had a really good summer. He’ll contribute offensively and defensively.”
Sophomores Ty Lomasney and Mark Bettencourt have impressed so far and will be on the team, competing for starting spots.
“We have two sophomores that will have immediate impact. The first being Ty Lomasney. Although he’s a sophomore, he had an impressive freshman year and will probably start in center field and might lead off for us,” Bettencourt said. “Then my son Mark Bettencourt will probably start at first base, and he swung the bat pretty well this weekend. Both showed that they deserve to be on varsity over the weekend.”
In the Northeastern Conference, there are no easy games, and Bettencourt knows both divisions have tough opponents.
“Baseball is about pitching, and if you have a big-time pitcher, they can carry momentum and pick you up. I think Danvers and Masconomet have two of the top pitchers in the league,” Bettencourt said. “Marblehead is always on the map. Both Marblehead and Beverly do a great job, both coaches are baseball guys who were great players and are now great coaches. Our half of the league is going to be very competitive. The other side of the conference, Swampscott, returned a good amount of players, so they should be strong. Salem and Saugus are always scrappy, and the front-runner will be Gloucester.”
Peabody will open the season with four straight road games at Danvers, Masconomet, Salem and Marblehead. Opening day is April 1 at 4 p.m.
