WESTFIELD – The four-time defending Division 1 champion Taunton High School softball team had a blast in the Whip City but it came at the expense of the Westfield Bombers.
Taunton blasted five home runs on a cool, blustery afternoon Monday at Westfield High to defeat the Bombers, 12-4 and remain unbeaten at 8-0. Tigers pitcher Cate Larson and second baseman Maddie Crowley, the team’s No. 9 batter, each had two dingers.
“They’re a good team,” Westfield High School softball coach Tyson James said, regarding their southeastern Massachusetts foe. “The reason that we played them last year and we’ve played them this this year is to give ourselves something to compare ourselves to. They’re a really good team, they’re well-coached, they can obviously hit the ball really well, and they play great defense. The reason we play them is to set a bar and see where we’re at.”
Westfield matched up evenly with Taunton for a good portion of Monday’s game.
Westfield senior pitcher Shea Hurley came out firing, striking out the first three Taunton batters of the game. The Bombers offense managed to get two baserunners on against the Tigers fireballer in the home half of the first inning. Adyson Rowell hit a one-out double and Sophie Svantesson singled through the left side, but catcher Aniyah Bailey tagged out the runner at home plate as the two collided to end the inning.
The Westfield coaching staff questioned the call, asking for an obstruction ruling with the catcher coming forward to catch the ball, blocking the plate in the process, but the home plate umpire stuck to the initial ruling of “out.”
Hurley retired her fourth and fifth straight batters consecutively by inducing fly-outs to begin the second inning. She was not as fortunate with the next batter though. Larson lofted a ball over the left center field fence for a 1-0 lead.
Jaylianie Santiago got things started for Westfield in the bottom of the second with a single to right field. Larson was unphased though, striking out three straight batters to end the inning.
Taunton homered for the second straight inning with Crowley’s solo shot, sending a ball over the field fence for a 2-0 advantage.
Westfield stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Katie Bouchard drilled a line drive single up the middle. Rowell followed with a single to right field, just beyond the reach of a diving outfielder. The outfielder got up and attempted to throw the ball to third base, but the ball sailed wide of the third baseman and out of play, allowing a run to score. Sydney LaPanne tied the game up in the next at-bat, pushing a run across with a ground out to second base. The next batter, Sophie Svantesson, doubled to right center. Santiago beat out a ball to the shortstop, allowing the go-ahead run to score. The Bombers led 3-2.
Westfield’s defense provided solid support around Hurley for much of the game.
In the second inning, Westfield second baseman Bouchard robbed Bailey of a base hit with a leaping grab while drifting back toward center field. In the fourth inning with the stakes even higher, Bombers center fielder Hayley Krupienski made a leaping catch at the center field fence to rob Brooke Aldrich of a likely home run.
Westfield could not stop Taunton’s No. 9 batter though as Crowley hammered another home run, her second of the game with a blast to center field. The game was tied 3-3.
In the sixth inning, Taunton surged ahead. Bella Bourque hit a lead-off double. Bailey drove her home with a single through the left side. Aldrich followed with a base hit to center field. The throw from the outfielder went awry on Aldrich’s hit, allowing another run to score. The next batter, Larson, hit a thunderous home run – her second – to left field for a 7-3 lead.
Westfield trimmed its deficit to three runs with a run in the sixth inning, but Taunton put the game away in the seventh inning with a three-run homer from Bailey. Larson tacked on a run with an RBI double and Gracie Oliviera added a run-scoring single.
Larson finished with seven strikeouts on the mound for Taunton. Hurley also had seven K’s for Westfield, including her career 800th.
“12-4 doesn’t tell the story of the game,” coach James said. “I was really happy with how we played. We put the ball in play today off a really good pitcher. We weren’t taking pitches; we weren’t watching called strike threes like we had been doing. We haven’t had enough games in a row up to this point. We haven’t seen enough live pitching. Now we’re starting to see it more and it’s showing. The work we’re doing in practice is starting to show a little bit. I’m really happy with the way we played today. Obviously, I would have liked a better result.”
“Even though it obviously got away from us at the end,” he added, “it was a really good game through six innings. We took a lot of good stuff away from that game; we can play with them for that long. We’re still trying to bring this team together and get better throughout the next four weeks before we hit the tournament. That’s what it’s all about – getting ready for the tournament.”
Westfield is currently 4-2 this season with their only other loss having come against perennial favorite Hampshire Regional, who entered the week unbeaten at 7-0.
“We just have to tighten some things up on our defense,” James said. “We still have a lot of players that are learning how to play together.”
Westfield lost 10 players to graduation last spring.
“It’s going to take them so time to learn how to play together. All I’m looking for is for them to get better,” he said. “When you play teams like this, you see where your weaknesses are and that’s what we’re going to build on.”
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