PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Peabody’s Caroline Kukas contributed with a trio of singles, a double and two runs scored in the two victories over Charlton-Webster in the state tournament.
By HAROLD RIVERA
Last weekend, the Peabody Senior Little League softball team swept Charlton-Webster to win the Massachusetts Little League Championship. This weekend, the team moves on to the East Regionals with a chance to appear in the World Series in Delaware.
After finishing the regular season undefeated and ousting Charlton-Webster, the Peabody squad is riding a wave of momentum as they ready to square-off against a group of tough opponents.
Team manager Keith LeBlanc said he feels optimistic about the team’s chances heading into the regional round.
“I think our chances are pretty good to make some noise there,” LeBlanc said. “I look at our team and we’ve had solid defense, we’re hitting really well and Mallory (LeBlanc)’s been pitching well.”
Last season, Peabody won District 16 but fell to Charlton-Webster for the opportunity to represent the state in the regional round. Back in 2014, the team eliminated Shrewsbury to win the state before falling in the quarterfinal round of the regional tournament.
LeBlanc said his players are excited to have a chance to get back to where they were two seasons ago.
“A lot of them have been to these tournaments,” LeBlanc said. “All of them have been to states this year but even last year I had some juniors that went to states. Two years ago we played in states and went to regionals. They’ve all played under that type of pressure and they’re excited about it.”
Despite the feeling of excitement, Peabody’s mindset is all-business as they recognize they have a second chance to play on the stage they reached in 2014.
LeBlanc mentioned that a number of his players are also facing their last shot at getting to the World Series at the little league level.
“This is the second chance for a number of them and also the last chance,” LeBlanc said. “Most of the girls probably won’t be playing little league next year so this is our last run. Our goal was to win states and then see where it goes.”
From a coach’s perspective, LeBlanc said his staff gained a good sense of familiarity with the regional tournament’s format from Peabody’s run in 2014.
“We have the same coaching staff (from 2014),” LeBlanc said, “so we’re very familiar with how the tournaments are run. I think we’re a little bit more prepared this time.”
On the mound, Peabody’s led by starting pitcher Mallory LeBlanc, who pitched complete games in both victories over Charlton-Webster last weekend.
“She’s focused,” LeBlanc said of his pitcher. “She really wanted to win states and get back to regionals. I think she showed that when she pitched two complete games in 90-degree weather at states.”
At the plate, the team is riding hot bats from Kelsie Blake, Jayme Callum, Amanda Crawford and Sydney Lowry. Each of the three drove in a run in last weekend’s action. Caroline Kukas also contributed with a trio of singles, a double and two runs scored in the two victories.
To advance, they’ll have to keep the bats hot in the regional tournament. LeBlanc said his team expects to face tough pitching in the upcoming games.
“From a hitting perspective the pitching gets much better once you get out of the district,” he said. “We’re going to run into better pitching than we’ve seen. Charlton-Webster had good pitching and our hit production was cut in half from what we were doing before that so that’s kind of an indication of how that works.”
Peabody draws Maine in their first game of the regional tournament on Sunday at 11:30 at Vernon Hill. Monday they’ll take on Connecticut at 12:30 and Tuesday they’ll play Rhode Island at 12:30, both games at Ty Cobb Field.