The Peabody Champions took it as far as they could in the deciding Game 5 of the North Shore Baseball League finals Thursday night, but unfortunately they couldn’t quite get over the finish line.
Despite holding onto a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Champions allowed four runs in the fifth and ended up falling to the Kingston Night Owls, 4-1, to lose the series 3-2.
Much of the game was dominated by Peabody pitcher Tyler Leavitt, who had a no-hitter going through 3 1/3 innings. Despite taking the loss, Leavitt pitched a solid game after going 4 1/3 innings and allowing four runs on three hits with six strikeouts. Scott Weismann also saw time on the mound, tossing 1 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit with two strikeouts.
On the offensive end for the Champions, Chris Mansour (1-for-2) had the lone RBI for Peabody. Derek Lyons (2-for-3, double) had a multi-hit game, while Mark Shorey (1-for-3) and Michael Giardi (1-for-3) each added one hit in the loss.
Kingston’s game-breaking play came in the bottom of the fifth, when the Night Owls loaded the bases for Christian Allaire (1-for-3, three RBI) with one out. Allaire stepped in and came up big, smashing a three-run double to clear the bases and make it 3-1 Night Owls. An error by the Champions later in the inning brought Allaire home to round out the scoring.
Andrew Thibault (1-for-2) and Andrew O’Neill (1-for-3) also added hits in the victory.
On the mound for Kingston, Sean Callahan earned the win after a dazzling performance. Callahan went the distance, allowing one run on five hits with 12 strikeouts.
With the win, the Night Owls captured their fourth consecutive NSBL championship title, and their sixth title in the past seven seasons.