A grand slam homer in the top of the seventh inning handed the Revere High baseball team a heartbreaking 9-7 defeat last Wednesday to Peabody.
“It was a good game, but in the end, Peabody had the final big inning,†said RHS head baseball coach Joe Ranno. Revere held the lead most of the way thanks to some timely hitting and a gutsy pitching effort by Jonathan Chiarelli who pitched well enough to win. Jonathan allowed only seven hits in the contest while throwing 130 pitches.
However, by the end of the game, the weather, which was not all that great to begin with, turned nasty, with a combination of rain, wind, and cold. A Revere error, a base hit, and a walk set the stage for Peabody’s game winning blast.
Paul Norton enjoyed a fine day at the plate for the Patriots with two hits, including a two run roundtripper in the fourth. Chris Adreani, Frank Colleran, and Brendan Mandell all contributed RBI base hits, while Jay Sasso and Norton both scored two runs apiece.
Two days later the Revere bats came alive against Gloucester with a 13 hit attack, but l1 Patriots were left stranded on the base paths. Adreani banged out three hits, with Bryan Robichaud, David Krassnoff, and Dale Paradise contributing two hits each, with the latter pair stroking doubles.
Joe DiVenuti got the nod for his first ever varsity start and encountered some control troubles which helped Gloucester push across seven runs in his three innings of work. Russ Goodwin came on in relief and pitched well, yielding just three runs over the final four frames.
Ranno and his crew face their busiest stretch of the season this week with five games in seven days which no doubt will sorely test the Revere pitching staff. The Patriots were scheduled to play Winthrop this past Monday; Malden (yesterday); and at Danvers this evening under the lights at 6:30.
The Pats then will participate in the East Boston High tournament this weekend, a tourney that Revere won last year. The Pats will face Newton South on Saturday at 3:00. The consolation game is on Sunday at 12:00 and the championship at 3:00 against the winner and loser of the other semifinal game between Eastie and Malden.
