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Central bows out in quarters

PEABODY — Pardon Brady Abraham for being just a little bit reluctant to leave the Peabody High diamond, wearing the Central Catholic uniform for the final time.

Abraham and the Raiders had just fallen in the Division 1 North quarters to the host Tanners, 9-5, and a dozen Central seniors had seen their careers abruptly halted.

But none of the other 11 fought the fight Abraham did to get here. And made the most of the opportunity like he did.

You couldn’t help, even in the loss, feeling the sense of satisfaction.

Two winters back, Abraham, bored in the winter months, attempted skiing.

On only his second trip to the hill, he broke his collarbone, which now is held together by a plate and a handful of screws.

His junior year, and potentially his entire career at Central, was shot.

“I owe it all to Coach P (Marc Pelletier). Without him, I’m not here,” said Abraham, one of only two Raiders with more than one hit in yesterday’s loss. “He didn’t have to keep me around. But he did, and I am very thankful for that.”

Abraham would dress but hardly see the field as he worked back into shape last spring.

“It was fine. I needed the time, and I was just happy to be around it,” he said.

But the Raider outfielder was totally ready this spring, and he made up for lost time.

His 2 for 4 yesterday pushed Abraham to .397 for the year. Entrenched in the 5-hole since opening day, he finished with 22 runs scored and 20 RBIs.

As coach Pelletier said, he was a huge part of “our team hanging another banner and reaching the great eight.”

“You could tell we had something special here, right from the beginning of the year,” said Abraham. “Everyone has always been together, as a group. And that’s been the key.”

Abraham will head to Northern Essex in the fall, where he’s not sure about baseball, but one thing is certain.

There’ll be no inquiries about the ski club.

PEABODY 9, CENTRAL CATHOLIC 5 Too much junk: Mark Bettencourt's many scouting reports on Central had the Raiders heavy with pull hitters, or in his eyes, fastball hitters. So instead of his No. 2 or 3 men, the Tanner boss went with David Apostolides on the hill, an off-speed specialist. It worked brilliant as the righty dished out six straight scoreless innings before the Raiders got to him for one run in the seventh and three more unearned runs in the eighth. By that time, the Tanners had already built a 9-0 lead. "That's a good lineup, and David got them to hit his pitches," said Bettencourt, whose starter mixed in a nasty changeup and curve with wicked movement on his fastball as well. Look, up in the sky: Every you looked, it seemed, Raider senior second baseman Anthony Licari was flying through the air to haul in a line drive. Three times, he played highway-robber, taking hits away. The second, he turned into a double-play and the last he changed his flight in mid-air as the bullet ricocheted off the glove of pitcher Kevin Regan. It was a night of web gems, too, as defense early kept Central in the game. In the second, Peabody tested left fielder Aaron Hall's arm, and the junior responded with a dart home to gun down one runner. In the third, it was a Kevin Regan to Cam Devanney to Evan Becht relay from right-center that nailed Jorge Tsunis' as he attempted to stretch a double into a triple. Gallant effort: Junior lefty Pat Silk gave the Raiders all he could on the hill in the losing effort. In fact, it was only when the Central defense let him down in the 8-run sixth did the southpaw finally give in. On the night, Silk went 6.2 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on eight hits. Offensively speaking: Aaron Hall and Brady Abraham each had a pair of hits for Central, which only had 10 in the nine innings. The Raiders put up four runs in the eighth, slicing a 9-1 game to 9-5. In the ninth, the Raiders had two on, but couldn't bring the potential tying run to the plate. Closing strong: The Raiders finished the year at 16-7, tying for the MVC large division title with Chelmsford, a 9-0 loser at St. John's Prep yesterday. Bright future: The Raiders can bank another big year in 2014, what with the return of MVC division 1 MVP Cam Devanney (still just a sophomore) and a solid junior group including regulars Pat Silk, Kevin Regan, Aaron Hall and Evan Becht.