A mid-postseason pitching change sends Taunton to sixth straight Division 1 softball final
DARTMOUTH — Entering the postseason, the biggest question looming over five-time defending state champion Taunton was its pitching.
In their last two playoff games, the Tigers have found the answer in junior Grace Simmons.
Simmons gave up four hits and two runs in a complete-game effort and junior Aniyah Bailey led the offense with three hits and five RBIs as the top-seeded Tigers rolled past No. 4 Shrewsbury, 9-2, in Wednesday’s Division 1 semifinal at UMass-Dartmouth.
The win propelled Taunton (23-1) back to the Division 1 title game, where it will face No. 3 Attleboro in a matchup of Hockomock League rivals. Taunton has won 79 consecutive games against an MIAA competition dating back to May 2023.
“We knew this would be a tougher run this year without dominant pitching,” said Taunton coach Michelle Raposo. “Grace did a heck of a job on the mound today … she just took command out there.”
The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with Bailey driving in a pair with a single and junior Ashlyn Herbert adding an RBI single.
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Taunton added three runs in the fourth on senior Mia Torres’ RBI infield single and Bailey’s two-RBI double, and put the game out of reach in the sixth with senior Bella Bourque’s two-RBI triple and Bailey’s RBI double.
“We do really well with passing the bat, never letting anyone down,” said Bailey. “Someone gets a hit, and we all follow along.”
Simmons gave up one hit across the first five frames, before the Colonials (19-5) tallied two runs in the sixth respective RBI groundouts from junior Riley Masters and senior Aaesha Mahurkar.
Simmons, who did not pitch in the Tigers’ first two postseason games, has tossed a combined 12 innings across the quaterfinal — a 12-2 win over Newton North — and semifinal, giving up three runs and seven hits.
“I worked all winter for this,” said Simmons. “And just knowing we also have really good pitchers as well, we know we all have each other’s backs.”
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