Kelley-Rex Queens: Taunton softball beats KP for first outright Hock title in three years
TAUNTON — Taunton (17-0, 15-0 Hockomock League) may be the back-to-back-to-back Division 1 state champions, but it had been three years since the Tigers were able to call themselves the outright winners of Hockomock Kelley-Rex.
That was until Monday night.
Led by a sixth straight shutout in the circle from senior Sam Lincoln, who tossed all seven innings giving up just a hit and a walk while striking out seven, Taunton took down rivals King Philip 4-0 to take sole possession of the Kelley-Rex crown. With the win, the Tigers, who split the regular season series and league title with the Warriors last year, have the title all to themselves for the first time since 2021.
"King Philip is also tough competition for us, so to come out on top just solidifies that the girls are working hard and keep pushing," Taunton coach Michelle Raposo said. "They never let things get them down or bother them."
The game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Lincoln bunted and advanced to first on a throwing error by KP senior pitcher Jordan Bennett (4⅓ IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 7 K), allowing junior shortstop Brooke Aldrich to score.
An inning later, freshman catcher Aniyah Bailey ripped a double deep down the left field line, driving in sophomore right fielder Mia Torres and freshman third baseman Bella Bourque to make it 3-0. The next at bat, Aldrich, who finished the game 3-for-3 with a run and RBI, drove in Bailey from second off an RBI double.
From there, Lincoln and the Tigers locked down the Warriors and held their usually potent offense scoreless for only the second time this spring.
"We didn't quite have the bats today," KP coach Kate Fallon-Comeau said. "You've got to score to win (and) we just couldn't capitalize or get things done."
Fallon-Comeau praised the efforts of Bennett, who left the game in the bottom of the fifth after trying to play through the pain of taking a fastball off her hand earlier in the evening. In her place, sophomore McCoy Walsh tossed the final 1 ⅔ innings giving up two runs on a pair of hits while striking out three.
The lone Warrior hit came from senior first baseman Taylor Regan, who hit an infield single in the top of the first.
More: Kings of the Kelley-Rex: Top Greater Taunton H.S. sports performers for May 13-19
While the Tigers were happy to earn the title, their focus remains on lifting the Division 1 trophy for the fourth straight season next month in Amherst.
"It's cool and it's exciting, but the goal is the end goal," Raposo said. "Clinching the Hock is awesome, but it's just one step to the next step. We need to keep going and keep climbing."
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton softball tops King Philip for Hockomock Kelley-Rex title
