TAUNTON, Mass. – King Philip and Taunton have split the last eight Kelley-Rex titles, with the Warriors winning five and the Tigers winning four (they shared the crown in 2014). Over that same period, Taunton has won three state titles (in the past four seasons) and the Warriors took home one (in 2016). Coming into Wednesday night’s showdown at Jack Tripp Field, the teams were a combined 19-0 this season and had outscored opponents by a combined 227 runs.
It was no surprise that the first meeting of the season between two of the state’s preeminent programs would come down to the final inning with the result still in doubt.
Trailing by three runs, KP loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and got the tying run to second base, but Taunton pulled out a 3-1 win behind solid defense, a strong outing from pitcher Sam Lincoln, and a pair of long home runs from Ava Ventruelli.
“The kids came energized, ready to play,” said first-year Taunton coach Michelle Raposo. “When they’re up, they play well as a team, they pick each other up. Today was a true, entire team overall win. Defensively, offensively, I think they all did great.”
She added, “It was a big win for us, especially against a great, competitive, never-ending KP team that doesn’t give up very easily.”
KP was down 3-0 heading to the seventh and had only one hit in the game and no runners past first, but the Warriors continued to work long at bats and put the ball in play against the Taunton ace. After Liv Petrillo’s sharp grounder down the first base line was knocked down and gathered by Hayley Krockta for the first out, Ava Kelley ripped a single up the middle to bring the visiting bench to life.
Charlotte Raymond followed by driving a double to right center and Taylor Regan took an inside pitch off the elbow to load the bases. For the first time in the game, and first time in several weeks, Lincoln needed to make big pitches in tight games. Maddie Paschke grounded one to short and Brooke Aldrich’s throw was a little high, but Krockta leaped to pull it in, landing on the bag for the second out.
With two outs and the tying run in scoring position, Lincoln came through with several big pitches to record her ninth strikeout and seal the win.
Raposo said, “We buckled down. We need to be in these game situations. Bases loaded, let’s see what we can do. Let’s make sure that our defense is solid and we can come out of these innings. I love how they pick each other up.”
The Tigers wasted no time taking the lead. Kyleah Plumb drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first. Eighth grader Bella Bourque ripped a double that one-hopped the fence in right. Freshman Ali Gill got to the ball quickly and fired a strike to third base to get Plumb for the first out. Momentum was short-lived however, as Venturelli promptly deposited a pitch well past the fence in center to make it 2-0.
Freshman starter McCoy Walsh could’ve let the game slip away against a deep, talented lineup that had scored 129 runs coming into Wednesday. Instead, she settled down, allowing only two more hits (one an infield single) over the next five innings and striking out 10 total.
“Taunton just has a formidable lineup,” KP coach Kate Fallon-Comeau explained. “They’re one through nine and there are probably three on the bench who can come in anytime and hit. I think she settled in nicely as the game went on. She gained momentum as the game went on, she gained confidence.”
Unfortunately for Walsh, the only other Taunton hit was another homer for Venturelli. Bourque started the third with a sinking liner that Sarah Cullen hauled in with a nice sliding grab. Venturelli stepped up and, on a pitch that seemed well out of the zone, crushed a solo shot high up into the trees beyond the left field fence for a three-run advantage.
Fallon-Comeau said, “I don’t think we handled Venturelli’s first at bat, as far as pitch sequence goes, but I got to hand it to that kid because she can hit. I mean, even if we called a pitch four feet over her head she still hit it out.”
Lincoln was making that lead hold up. She struck out the side in the second. Paschke, who reached base all three times, singled to start the third but courtesy runner Olivia Ali was caught stealing by catcher Kaysie DeMoura (and a nice tag by Aldrich). Lincoln ended the inning with a strikeout and a foul pop to DeMoura right in front of the Taunton dugout.
KP wasn’t able to put together any type of rally. Petrillo got hit by a pitch with two outs in the fourth but a groundout ended the inning. After Paschke reached on an error with two outs in the fifth, Lincoln got the strikeout to end the threat. Taunton’s defense was also making every play. Bourque charged a bunt and Mia Fernandes made back-to-back plays to set KP down in order in the sixth.
Walsh was only getting stronger as the game went on. She struck out Venturelli to start the sixth on a close call on the outside edge. After DeMoura drew a walk, reached second on a passed ball, and stole third, Walsh struck out a pair to get out of the jam and keep it a three-run game.
Although the Warriors couldn’t complete the comeback in the seventh, Fallon-Comeau was proud of her team’s resiliency.
“I just love it,” she explained. “I wish every game was tight, 3-1, 3-2, 4-3, tight game where you’re going up against a solid pitcher, one through nine in the lineup, it’s softball. It’s just nice to have these games. The kids need this competition.”
Raposo was similarly impressed by the level of play that the KP rivalry brought out of her team. She said, “Any time we play KP it’s a great game and, at the end of the day, when the score is on our side it’s a great win. This is one of our biggest competitions of the year, but the kids are just taking it one game at a time. We’re focusing on the little things we need to work on.”
Taunton (10-0) will travel to another D1 title contender, Bishop Feehan, on Saturday morning. King Philip (10-1) will host Foxboro on Friday afternoon.
- Taunton Cousins Dominate in the Circle and at the Plate - 06/19/2023
- Softball Photos: Taunton vs. Central Catholic - 06/19/2023
- Dynasty Continues, Taunton Wins Third Straight D1 Title - 06/19/2023