SWAMPSCOTT — Behind a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning, the Beverly baseball team earned a tough win over Northeastern Conference foe Swampscott, 5-1, at Forest Ave. Park Thursday afternoon. Both teams grinded out at-bats all game long before Beverly finally broke it open in the seventh.
“I think both teams had opportunities throughout the game, but pitching really prevailed for the most part,” said Beverly coach Jon Cahill. “We were able to get things going in the seventh right away and then we just continued to execute.”
Eric DePiero earned the win on the mound for the Panthers, pitching two innings in relief and allowing just two hits with one walk. Nick McIntyre got the start on the mound and allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts in four innings of work, while Tyler Petrosino pitched the final inning.
On the offensive side, it was Conor Hanlon who led the way with a two-run double that would prove to be the game-winning hit. McIntyre (1-for-3), Colton Petrosino (2-for-3), Clayton McAlpine (1-for-2) each had one RBI.
For Swampscott, Dylan January (1-for-3) drove in the lone run. Jonathan Oriakhi (2-for-4), Zach Elwell (1-for-3) and Anthony Rakauskas (1-for-3) also had hits in the loss.
Max Pegnato pitched the entire game, allowing five runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
“We had chances out there, but we just couldn’t cash in and we also missed some signs at times,” said Swampscott coach Joe Caponigro. “Beverly’s a really good team, but I think we’re a really good team, too. Our pitcher competed all day, and we never quit. But in the end we just couldn’t execute and we couldn’t find that big hit.”
It was a scoreless game until the top of the third inning, when Beverly notched its first hit. Colton Petrosino singled and stole second base to get into scoring position for McAlpine, who slapped a RBI single into left field to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Big Blue answered right back in the bottom of the third, tying the score at 1-1 on a RBI double from January.
The score remained there until the top of the seventh, but it wasn’t for a lack of chances. Swampscott moved a man to second base with no outs in the fifth and had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth, but the Big Blue couldn’t push any runs across.
In the top of the seventh, Beverly found its groove. A pair of singles and two stolen bases put runners on second and third with no outs for Hanlon, who came through with a two-run double to right-center field to put Beverly up 3-1. Colton Petrosino followed that with a RBI single, then McIntyre capped off the scoring with a RBI sacrifice fly to put the Panthers up 5-1.
Swampscott still had some fight left in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with just one out. But, as was the case for the whole game, the Big Blue couldn’t find a way to get the big hit when it mattered and Tyler Petrosino was able to get the final two outs for a Beverly victory.
“Swampscott’s a good hitting team, and you don’t want to give them extra bases or extra outs,” said Cahill. “We walked more guys than we wanted to, but all three of our guys were able to work out of their respective jams and help us earn the win.”
Swampscott (1-3) plays next on Sunday against Snowden (11) at Boston English.
Beverly (5-1) takes on Gloucester Saturday (4).