FILE PHOTO
Peabody coach Mark Bettencourt confers with Eric DeMayo during Wednesday’s game.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
DANVERS — Yesterday’s baseball game at Twi Field between Peabody and Danvers came down to one thing: timely hitting. The Tanners got it, but the Falcons, who stranded 12 runners on the basepaths, didn’t.
Toss in a sloppy first inning (in pouring rain) in which Danvers issued four straight walks, and it added up to a 6-1 Peabody win and the 200th career win for Peabody head coach Mark Bettencourt, who has been coaching the Tanners since 2005.
“It was a good win for us, we got great pitching again from (Jake) Zeuli and (Pat) Maguire and clutch hitting from Jake Doherty and Zeuli,” said Peabody (2-0) coach Bettencourt. “We took advantage of the chances we had for the most part and we made some big plays when we needed them. They beat us last year, so it was great to get this win early in the season knowing we don’t play them again.”
After the first out of the game, Dillon struggled to find the plate. He walked the bases loaded for Peabody starter Zeuli. Zeuli also walked, bringing home Anthony Iannuzzi with the first run of the game.
Doherty followed with a single, bringing home Nick Palma and Chris Gillen to make it a 3-0 game.
Danvers had its chances to get back in the game over the first three innings, but solid defense bailed out Zeuli when he needed it most. The Falcons had runners at first and third with two outs in the first, but Zeuli got Nick Raimo on a grounder to third to end the inning. In the second, they again had runners at first and third, but got out of the jam with a double play.
Both teams were in a charitable mood in the fifth inning. Peabody scratched out a run in the top of the inning to bump the Tanners’ lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the inning, two walks sandwiched around an infield error loaded the bases, and the Falcons were in business with only one out.
Maguire came on to relieve Zeuli, and got Jordan DeDonato on a fly ball to Zeuli in center field. He walked in a run, then got left fielder Max Paul on a grounder back to the mound to get out of the inning.
“We had our chances but we just could not get the hits we needed when we had runners in scoring position,” Danvers coach Fred Day said. “We get the walk in the fifth, then they make an error and we get another walk, but all game long it seemed when we did have chances, the best we could do was get a weak ground ball.”
The top of sixth hitting provided some breathing room for the Tanners. Iannuzzi blasted a double to center field and reached third on a fielder’s choice by Gillen. With two outs, Zeuli drove a double to right-center, scoring Iannuzzi from third and Gillen from first.
“We are so happy to have Jake Zeuli swinging the bat the way he is, we didn’t expect that from him at all,” Bettencourt said. “Tonight, it came down to a couple of big hits, the one from Jake at the end of the game, and Doherty’s in the first, and the pitching was solid from Jake and Pat just as it was in our win against St. John’s Prep. It helped to get those three runs in the first.”
Zeuli scattered seven hits in 4.1 innings and was tagged for one unearned run, while Maguire gave up just two hits and a walk in 2.2 innings of relief.
Peabody’s next game is Friday at home, depending on field conditions on Bezemes Field, against Saugus at 4.