NORTHEAST SENIOR BABE RUTH
PEABODY 5, CAPE ANN 3: Peabody didn't play its best, but took advantage of eight walks and five Cape Ann errors to take the rubber-match of their best-of-three Northeast Senior Babe Ruth series last night.
Stephen Girolomo started the game and went four innings, striking out four and limiting Cape-Ann to two runs. Nick Allen finished the night with three innings of relief, surrendering a run while striking out a batter.
Despite a steady wind and a hard surface, the pitchers were both helped out by tremendous defense. Bobby Batchelor in particular caught a variety of difficult balls in right field, including a spectacular play to end the game.
Batchelor also contributed with his bat, roping one of the teams' six scattered hits. Meanwhile, Tommy Ciulla hit an early two-run double to close the scoring gap and knot the teams at two. Brian Latorella, who has been arguably the hottest hitter during this series, continued the trend with two hits, while Jimmy Noftle added a double of his own.
Peabody advances to the next round of postseason play with the win, where they will meet Saugus.
Saugus 2, Hamilton-Wenham 0: Pat Hendrickson pitched seven strong innings and struck out eight for H-W (10-9), but his only mistake, allowing a two-run homer, made the difference. Ryan Ropes, Jim Love, and Tom Conville each had one hit apiece as H-W was eliminated from playoff competition. Jared Kefalas made a diving stop at short and threw out a baserunner from his knees in the seventh inning.
"I had a lot of fun with the kids this year," H-W head coach Dan Curran said. "To turn it around this year [after a one-win season last year] and get what we got was awesome."
NECBL
North Shore 3, New Bedford 1: Braxton Graven extended his hitting streak to 10 games and the Navigators (23-16) picked up a crucial win as the NECBL season winds down. Graven scored twice, Lynnfield's Jason Banos drove in two runs and Tyler Kuehl also picked up an RBI as North Shore kept pace with Newport, which swept a doubleheader with Laconia
Kevin Kyle picked up the win, striking out six over five shutout innings. Swamspcott's Hunter Gordon threw a scoreless inning of relief and Hunter Rivers picked up his fourth save. Former St. John's Prep standout Danny Haugh had a hit for New Bedford.
NSBL
Beverly 8, Swampscott 5: The Recs rallied to score five runs in the seventh, coming from behind to topple the Sox and remain in contention for a North Shore League playoff spot. Danny Mello (3 for 4, 2 RBI) and Pete O'Toole (2 for 4, 3 RBI, 2 runs) did the damage at the dish. Matt Mello earned the win with 2.2 innings of relief work and Jason Clucas nailed down the save to keep Beverly alive.
NORTH SHORE GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Beverly 1 squeaked by Wakefield, 24-23, thanks to nine points from Jen Ashton in an elimination playoff game. Beverly 2, meanwhile, got the better of Ipswich 37-26 as Ashton scored 15 in this one and Erin Silvestri chipped in eight. Julia Davis led the Tigers with nine points.
In a battle of playoff unbeatens, Danvers topped Bishop Fenwick 61-52 as Sara Palazola poured in 21 points and Kellie Macdonald added 14. Ashley Arnoldy chipped in 10 points while Fenwick was led by Amy Pelletier (14 points) and Sara James (12).
