MIAA Softball State Championships: Silver Lake Finally Breaks Through ... Repeats for Taunton, Dighton-Rehoboth, Joseph Case, Turners Falls

The MIAA Softball Championships were played Saturday, June 14, with four games at Worcester State College and another at Sortino Field (UMass) in Amherst. There were two one-run games, including an extra-inning walkoff thriller, and four repeat champions among the winners.

Here is a look at the action: 

Division 1

Taunton High School made it five consecutive state championships, but it didn’t come without a battle for the No. 1 seed.

The Tigers finally took the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth inning, then broke it open with five more in the sixth and completed an unbeaten season with a 10-4 victory over Wachusett Regional High School.

Cate Larson drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout, then her two-out double was the highlight of the big sixth inning. The senior finished with four RBI, including a solo home run, and also pitched the complete game in the circle.

But No. 2 seed Wachusett didn’t make it easy. The Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead in the first as junior Cassie Wilkins singled, scored on an error, and senior McKenzie Caron delivered an RBI triple.

Senior Brooke Aldrich also had three RBI for Taunton, which is 11-0 all-time in championship games.

Senior Tiegan Walsh and junior Morgan Lucas also drove in runs for Wachusett. Sophomore Maddie Crowley and junior Mia Torres had RBI for Taunton.

Division 2

Delaney Moquin did it both at the plate and in the circle to deliver a first MIAA Softball Championship for Silver Lake Regional High School, as the top-seeded Lakers blanked Bedford High School, 4-0.

Moquin’s two-run home run in the first inning set the tone for the Lakers, and the senior made sure it would stand the rest of the way. She allowed only four hits to the Buccaneers and struck out 12 as Silver Lake finally broke through. Its only previous title game appearance came in 2015.

SIlver Lake scored its final two runs on an error in the sixth inning.

Senior Alyx Rossi closed her standout career with 14 strikeouts for the No. 3 seed Buccaneers, who were seeking their first state championship since winning Division 3 in 1990.

Division 3

In a battle of South Coast Conference rivals, Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School continued to reign supreme as the No. 1 seed Falcons denied Greater New Bedford Vo-Tech with a resounding 7-0 victory.

The Falcons followed up their 2024 title with an exclamation point, making it three MIAA Softball Championships in program history.

After sweeping the regular-season series between the teams, D-R again rode the left arm of sophomore Edy Latour, who scattered four hits and struck out five.

The Falcons scored runs in each of the second through sixth innings, punctuated by a two-run home run from senior Emma Horrocks (4 for 4) to close the scoring. Senior Izzy Moss also doubled and scored on a single from senior Haleigh Kelley, who was still aboard for Horrocks’ blast. Junior Sara Marsella also had a pair of hits for D-R.

For the No. 10 seed Bears, freshman Akiira’ley Vazquez struck out six and also had a hit at the plate. Seniors Jesenia Villanueva and Alexia Tsonis also added hits.

Division 4

The rematch of the 2024 state final was more of a high scoring affair, but it ended the same way – another championship for Joseph Case High School. The No. 4 seed Cardinals broke out the bats and held on to beat No. 3 seed Tyngsborough High School, 7-6.

Freshman Alyana DeJesus hit a home run to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Cardinals held on for their third straight championship and seventh overall. Brenna Fontes also doubled and scored a key insurance run on a fly ball in the sixth, as Tyngsborough tried to rally on a two-out RBI from freshman Adrianna Arsenault in the seventh.

Sophomore Lila Alvarez struck out 12 for Case. Junior Kiley Hogan went the distance for the Tigers, who dropped a 1-0 battle to Case in last year’s final.

Junior Kaelyn DiMento had a two-run single to give the early lead to Tyngsborough, seeking its first title since 2021. Sophomore Carly Smith added a home run in the fourth to make it 3-2, but Case responded on a two-run single from Fontes and an RBI double by junior Meghan Pereira.

Arsenault’s two-run double in the fifth tied the game again, 5-5.

Division 5

The only final played at UMass featured two neighboring teams from just up the Pioneer Valley and with plenty of familiarity. In the end, it was senior Marilyn Abarua who delivered the walkoff single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give No. 1 seed Turners Falls High School the thrilling 2-1 win over Greenfield High School at UMass.

Senior Madi Liimatainen walked with two out and stole second to set the stage for Abarua, who delivered a back-to-back championship for the Thunder and an MIAA record 12th softball title in all.

Liimatainen also went the distance in the circle, striking out 11 in 10 innings. Her counterpart, senior MacKenzie Paulin, also struck out 11 for the Green Wave.

Junior Sophia Rotkeiwicz gave Greenfield the lead with an RBI single in the fourth inning, before Turners Falls tied it in the sixth on an RBI double from junior Janelle Massey.

Abarua finished with three hits and freshman Ameliya Galbraith a pair for Turners Falls. Paulin, freshman Olivia Lemay and eighth-grader Carson Farrell had two hits apiece for the Green Wave.