Tanners Fall to Lawrence to End Season

After an epic win on Saturday, the Peabody Tanners’ baseball club couldn’t keep the momentum going against Lawrence High on Monday night.

The Tanners fell to those Lancers, 14-4, in Peabody, ending the season with a 17-7 record in the quarterfinal round of the North Division I playoffs.

Senior Nick Allen wanted the the ball on the hill for Peabody after throwing four solid innings in the win on Saturday. He did not have the performance he was hoping, however, for in his final start as a Tanner.

“Lawrence made it tough for us to come back, hitting shots to the gaps and when they weren’t hitting gap shots the ground balls were finding holes and they kept adding on,” said head coach Mark Bettencourt, pointing out his club started the game with a depleted pitching staff after 13 innings on Saturday. “We had our opportunities, but when they put up three (an inning) and we put up one, that’s tough to come back from. They’re a good team.”

The Tanners gave up four runs in the first and battled back to get two of their own to make it 4-2, but that’s as close as it would get. Allen struggled, giving up a home run that added salt to the wound, as it rattled off the scoreboard in right field that now read 7-2 in favor of Lawrence.

Peabody’s right fielder and one of the Tanners’ biggest bats, Ramses Vitini, who just returned to the lineup after a hamstring pull two weeks ago, had to leave the game early after the nagging injury was re-aggravated as he chased down a high fly ball that he otherwise would have handled with ease.

Junior Tommy Burns took over on the hill after Allen’s shortest outing of the season, (two plus innings) but also struggled. The Tanners, however, still showed signs they weren’t going down without a fight. Steven Girolomo, the hero from Saturday night,  gunned down the would-be eighth run at the plate from short left field as the runner slid into Peabody’s catcher, Evan Gagnon, with his spikes a little high.

Girolomo, hit by a pitch in his first at bat, was put on base again later in the game as a 3-0 pitch would sail behind him in an otherwise tidy game thrown by the Lawrence pitcher.

In the sixth, sophomore Matt McIssac took over on the mound as Lawrence added on some runs and put the game out of reach at 14-3.

In the bottom of the sixth the Tanner bats made some noise. With two on and one out, Gagnon laid down his third sacrifice bunt of the tournament, moving both runners into scoring position. The Lancers’ right fielder, however, misjudged a line drive but made a last second leap as the ball tailed away to make a miracle catch to end the inning, any scoring threat from the Tanners and the season for Peabody.

In addition to Vitini, Genaro Cuilla suffered a shoulder injury this season. Bettencourt added praise for the players who stepped up to fill the injury-plagued positions.

“Brady Doyle in the outfield and Evan Gagnon behind the plate stepped up big and played huge. Most teams would have folded up,” he said.

The Tanners did finish the year as Northeast Conference champs for the fifth straight.

“Tonight, we ran into a buzz saw; they beat us. Tip your caps to Lawrence. Next year… We’ll be back!” Bettencourt promised.