In D1, King Philip vs. Taunton
KP wins in 10th vs. Wachusett
At 11:20 tuesday night, king Philip sophomore mccoy walsh danced out to the circle in the bottom of the 10th, three outs away from a state title berth with the heart of wachusett’s order due up. She slammed the door shut.
when king Philip needed them the most, their best players were their best players.
Senior taylor Regan plated senior Ava kelley with a screamer of a single past the third baseman and king Philip, the 21st seed, prevailed over No. 1 wachusett, 2-1, in a Division 1 semifinal at worcester State. the warriors (17-9) advance to their first state final since 2016, taking on Hockomock League kelley-Rex rival, No. 3 taunton, at Umass Amherst (tBD).
Regan, who battled back from an injury that derailed the start of her season, provided her signature moment.
“we were all on her, we were all hitting her, it was just that moment, that breakthrough,” said Regan. “It could have been any one of us.”
walsh dazzled, fanning 14 on three hits without allowing an earned run and walking four, rising to the occasion.
Junior catcher tiegan walsh, who led off the fourth inning with a walk, came around to score on an error for the mountaineers (21-3).
Sophomore Ali Gill barrelled a solo home run in the top of the fifth for the warriors, sending the ball cascading into the night
sky well beyond the first row of fans in right-center field.
Taunton 1, central catholic 0 — Senior lefty Sam Lincoln spun a gem, striking out 14 in a one-hit shutout as the third-seeded tigers (24-0) edged No. 2 central catholic in the first D1 semifinal at worcester State.
the tigers did all of their damage in the top of the first with two outs. Freshman catcher Aniyah Bailey absolutely crushed a line drive down the left-field line for a double. Junior shortstop Brooke Aldrich (2 for 2) singled her home with a crack up the middle.
Division 2 State Walpole 1, bedford 0 — In a battle of elite arms at River View Field, junior Sharlotte Stazinski was just a shade better, firing an 11-strikeout, three-hitter as the second-seeded timberwolves earned a grueling win over No. 7 Bedford in a semifinal in Lowell.
the timberwolves (21-1) made a single run in the second inning stand up against Bedford junior lefty Alyx Rossi (nine strikeouts) to advance to the final against westfield (20-3).
Senior captain Ariana kreuzer drilled a two-out single to right field in the second inning, plating junior caroline Daley from second.
Westfield 3, marblehead 2 — Sophie Svantesson had taken a third strike looking as a pinchhitter in the seventh inning. the westfield junior made sure that wouldn’t happen again.
In the bottom of the eighth, Svantesson lined a screamer over the head of the right fielder, scoring senior Allie Rehor from second and senior marlow murphy from first as the fourthseeded Bombers rallied past No. 9 marblehead.
Division 5
Georgetown 4, Tahanto 2 — maddie Grant willed the fourthseeded Royals (15-6) to the state final with her two-way effort against No. 8 tahanto at Umass Lowell’s River View Field.
the sophomore tossed seven strong innings, striking out eight, and also picked up four singles and drove in a run.