DARTMOUTH, Mass. – One of the things that has made Taunton a perennial state title contender is its depth. There are no weak links. Even when you shut down the stars, the players that regularly steal the headlines, someone else is there to deliver the big hit or make the big play in the field.
That was on display again Thursday afternoon at UMass Dartmouth. Facing its biggest rival, in a state semifinal, Taunton’s ability to get contributions throughout the lineup proved decisive.
Hayley Krockta and Brooke Aldrich delivered the run-scoring hits, Sam Lincoln continued her stellar season in the circle, and freshman Mia Torres and eighth grader Bella Bourque made timely plays in the field, as Taunton pulled out a 2-0 win against King Philip (23-3) that decided the season series between the Kelley-Rex co-champs and sends Taunton to its third straight state title game.
“All our players are producing,” said Taunton coach Michelle Raposo. “Kids deeper in the lineup have produced a lot for us offensively. It means a lot that these kids, one through nine in the batting order, fight for each other. That’s what makes a team so great, the camaraderie here. I’m just so proud of this team.”
It’s not unusual for this rivalry to extend beyond the league campaign and the regular season. These teams have established themselves as among the most consistent programs in the state and produce teams and games worthy of a state title game, not just a semifinal.
“They’re my favorite game of the year,” said Krockta. “It’s probably the best softball we see in Massachusetts. It’s amazing to play them every year.”
KP coach Kate Fallon Comeau said, “This was a definitely a state title battle. Arguably two of the best teams in the state going head-to-head for the third time this season.”
Freshman McCoy Walsh got off to a shaky start in the top of the first. Having allowed only one run in the postseason so far, Walsh started the game with a strikeout but then walked Bourque and Ava Venturelli. Bourque attempted to steal third and appeared to beat Maddie Paschke’s throw only for Ava Kelley to stay with the eighth grader as she slid just past the bag. It was a big second out and Walsh escaped unscathed on a pop up wide of first.
Lincoln also had a tough start to the game. Sarah Cullen led off by lining a single into left. A one-out walk to Libby Walsh put two on, but Lincoln followed with her first strikeout of the day and then got a grounder to Bourque at third to end the inning.
The pitchers settled in after that first frame, turning the game into the expected low-scoring duel. Walsh fanned a pair of batters in the second and Lincoln struck out one and got a pair of grounders. Walsh was even better in the third, striking out the side. Lincoln got the first batter of the third looking and then induced a pair of grounders to second baseman Mia Fernandes to make it eight straight batters retired.
With one out in the fourth, Venturelli drew her second walk of the game. The Louisville-commit hit a pair of homers in the first meeting between the teams and missed the second, so it was no surprise to see the Warriors pitch carefully to the Taunton slugger.
Kaysie DeMoura, who was the hero with two homers in last year’s state semifinal against Methuen, dropped down a sac bunt, which Walsh showed great agility to field and turn into an out, moving the runner into scoring position with two outs. Krockta delivered. She looped a ball into shallow left that Charlotte Raymond nearly snagged on the slide but it dropped just in front for a hit.
“That’s all I was looking for,” Krockta said about her game-winning hit. “The first at-bat she had been working me in and out, so I wanted to drive that outside [pitch] but when she came on the inside I wanted it and just put the barrel on it as best I could and it thankfully fell in.”
The ball got away from Raymond, allowing Krockta to advance to second. Aldrich followed with a bloop hit of her own, finding space in shallow center. Krockta slid in just ahead of Cullen’s throw for a 2-0 advantage.
Lincoln made quick work of KP in the bottom half of the inning, helped by a nifty backhand stab by Fernandes at second.
“Sam’s really, really, really good,” Krockta said. “I love Sam in the circle, but also it’s the defense behind her. They had to help a lot too, so that’s always good to have. Being up 2-0 we just want to limit their base runners.”
Taunton had an opportunity to put the game away in the fifth. Case transfer Morgan Fitzgerald lined a leadoff single to center. Torres dropped down a perfect sac bunt and reached on a throwing error, which allowed both runners to get into scoring position with no outs. This was the chance to break things open, but Walsh locked in. The rookie struck out the next three batters to get out of the jam and keep KP within two.
Momentum was short-lived, as Lincoln struck out the side in the bottom of the inning. Aldrich smacked a two-out double off the wall in left in the sixth but Walsh came back with a strikeout.
“We gave up two kind of bloop singles and the hardest hit ball of the day didn’t result in anything,” Fallon Comeau said about Walsh. “It’s a tough pill to swallow. She threw a great game, just feel bad that we weren’t able to get any runs to back up that wonderful performance she had.”
Jordan Bennett gave KP life to start the sixth. She beat out an infield hit to leadoff the inning. Liv Petrillo dropped down a sac bunt to move Bennett into scoring position. After a strikeout, Libby Walsh lined a single to center. The throw to the plate forced Bennett to hold and allowed Walsh to advance to second. Not getting a run home was costly, as Lincoln struck out the next batter to keep the shutout.
The Tigers nearly added an insurance run in the seventh. Fitzgerald had her second hit of the game, a single into right, and moved to second on a Torres bunt. Kyleah Plumb also dropped down a bunt and McCoy Walsh hesitated allowing both runners to be safe.
Bourque hit a fly ball out to left, which looked like it might be deep enough to score the run. Raymond threw a dart to home and Fitzgerald’s slide took her past not only the tag, but also the plate. Paschke stayed with the runner and secured the out.
KP needed base runners and Kelley nearly provided one but Torres came flying in and made a nice grab on the sinking liner for the first out. A grounder to Bourque put the Tigers on the brink and Lincoln closed out the game with her 10th strikeout, sending Taunton flying off the bench and on its way back to Amherst for the state title game.
“For the whole season we stuck with the ‘take it one game at a time, one pitch, one inning’ and we just wanted to continue that for the entire season,” Krockta explained. “Ultimately, our goal was to get back to the state final, but we wanted to stay humble and stay with it the entire way.”
Raposo added, “Just because we’ve been there doesn’t mean we don’t want it again. I think we want it more having been there and knowing what it feels like. To be able to go back for a third time in a row is uncommon, so they need to realize that we’ve had a lot of success so far, but we need to produce for one more game.”
Taunton (23-1) will face No. 1 Central Catholic at UMass Amherst’s Sortino Field on Sunday at 12:00.
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