AMHERST, Mass. – Taunton senior outfielder and junior pitcher Sam Lincoln have experienced a lot together on the softball field. They play together on the same travel team and both have impressed on the diamond enough that both will be playing Div. I college softball as well (Lincoln at Texas Tech and Venturelli at Louisville).
On Sunday afternoon at UMass Amherst’s Sortino Field, the cousins shared a new experience, winning a state title together.
“Even though we’re family and we’ve played for Taunton since we were younger, it’s our first time ever playing together, which is really special,” Venturelli said. “She’s one of my best friends, and family, so it’s just awesome to be able to play with her and do this with her and she’s going to kill it again next year. I’m so excited to see what she does.”
Lincoln added, “It’s so fun. We’re on the same travel team as well, so we’ve played a lot of softball together and experienced a lot of the same stuff. We’ve never experienced this together, first time, so it was fun.”
In the final, both players made their mark. Venturelli stepped up with two runners on and one out in the third inning. Taunton led just 1-0 at the time. Generally teams look to pitch around but this time she got a 3-2 pitch out over the plate and she didn’t miss, sending the ball flying over the fence in straightaway center to put the Tigers up four.
That turned out to be the winning hit, as Taunton, which didn’t allow more then two runs in a game all season, allowed Lincoln to pitch with a cushion.
It wasn’t a typical performance from Taunton’s ace. She didn’t strike anyone out until the third and had seven for the game, which is low for someone that is usually in double digits. She walked a couple of batters and hit four. But, through it all she only allowed one hit and one run and never really allowed top-seeded Central Catholic to get comfortable.
“I was getting really squeezed today, so I didn’t know where to go up or down,” Lincoln explained. “One time she would call it up, one time she would call it down, so I was relying on my drop ball a lot to produce ground outs. I had the ball in play a lot, but my defense made the plays.”
Taunton coach Michelle Raposo added, “That was the biggest thing was keep the ball in the park. I knew they had some power hitters, so we worked around them. We worked around where their power zone was and Sam did an impeccable job.”
For Venturelli and Lincoln, it hasn’t been a standard four-year high school career.
Venturelli played as an eighth grader but sat out two years before returning last spring as a junior. She has now won back-to-back state titles. Lincoln saw some time during the regular season as a freshman but played travel ball during her sophomore year. She also returned as a junior, college commitment in hand, and won the D1 championship.
“It’s so awesome,” Venturelli said about winning it all. “It never gets old really, knowing that you’re the best and you did it with some of your best friends. I think was extra special this year because I’m a senior now so this is kind of a last hurrah and I was with some of my best friends who I’ve played with since I was eight years old.”
Asked about what the Taunton program has meant to her as a player, Venturelli added, “It’s brought me everything. It’s made me the person I am and the player I am. Since I played at TGSL (Taunton Girls Softball League) when I was five years old until this year, I’ll always be a Tauntonian and, especially going so far away for college, I’m really attached to my roots and where I’m from so no matter where I go I’ll always be a Taunton Tiger.”
Being able to share this experience with Lincoln added a different dimension to this season’s success. Venturelli wasn’t surprised to see her cousin step into the circle and perform like she has this year (Taunton allowed only 17 runs in 25 games) and she was excited to add another important component to a program already brimming with talent.
“We have a great pitching staff without her but to put that over the edge with her,” Venturelli said. “Sam coming in was amazing and really helped us out just to know we have the support of such a great pitcher who has such great composure no matter the situation.”
Lincoln was thankful for the support of her teammates this year, especially her cousin. While her teammates were celebrating what, for many of them, was a second or a third straight title, Lincoln was soaking in her first chance to lift the trophy.
“It feels good,” she said. “It’s really fun and exciting.”
There will be only one cousin on the field next spring, as Venturelli will be plying her trade ACC next season, but Lincoln and the Tigers will be hoping that fun never ends.
