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NORTH DIGHTON— As the seventh inning came to a close Saturday, it hit Dighton-Rehoboth senior right fielder and captain Skye Harrison that this could be her last ever time playing softball.
The defending champion No. 1 Falcons had scored back in the bottom of the first, courtesy of senior catcher Emma Horrocks tagging up on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Cam Cloonan, but their potent offense had been held in check by No. 8 Gloucester and their freshman pitcher Abby Noble (7⅓ innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts).
While sophomore pitcher Edy Latour (8 innings, 6 hits, run, 9 strikeouts) was also dealing on her end, the Fishermen eventually broke through in the top of the seventh. Senior right fielder Kaiya Mineo singled to start the inning, then advanced to second before junior first baseman Emma Carrapichosa drove her in on an infield single that ricocheted between short and third to draw them even.
As she prepared to go up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, with sophomore first baseman Mia Ribeiro doubling to start off the inning and end Noble’s no-hitter, Harrison knew exactly what she had to do.
“I told myself ‘I’m going to do this for me, but also for my teammates and this whole program in general,” Harrison said.
A firm believer in hitting being contagious, and jolted by the energy of Ribeiro before her, the senior captain followed suit with a double of her own to center, allowing sophomore Haley Roy, pinch running for Ribeiro, to score from second to give the Falcons the 2-1 win and book their spot in the Final Four for the fourth time in five years.
“I’m so proud of Skye,” D-R coach Katie Catarius-Holmes said. “She’s had a rough season and it doesn’t really show, so for her to come through and hit that ball and have that moment, I literally have goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Before Harrison came up to bat, Catarius-Holmes told her that while she’s not a home-run hitter, that’s not what her team needed her to be.
SCOREBOARD: Follow all of the Greater Taunton area high school postseason action here
“I need you to do what you can do and put the ball in play,” Catarius-Holmes said. “That’s just what she did, and it worked.”
While Catarius-Holmes was excited for Harrison to get the walk-off, she knew that the resilience and dedication to each other shown by her and her teammates is the reputation which the Falcons have developed over the past few years and an expectation to succeed they’ve set for each other, so falling in a no-hitter was not an option.
“They weren’t going down without a fight,” Catarius-Holmes said. “(Noble) had us off balance and did a great job, but this team is not going down without a fight.”
D-R now heads back to the Division 3 Final Four to face the winner of No. 4 Tantasqua and No. 5 Nipmuc at a date, time and location to be determined. While Catarius-Holmes said her and the Falcons aren’t really familiar with the two programs, she knows they need to work on adjusting to unfamiliar pitchers and getting back to business at the plate.
She also hopes they can keep their defensive prowess up, praising the efforts in particular of Horrocks, who caught a season-high six Gloucester runners stealing from behind the plate.
“That’s an unreal stat,” Catarius-Holmes said, praising the senior captain and Holy Cross commit.
As for one of her fellow senior co-captains in Harrison, who along with the rest of the D-R Class of 2025 graduated Friday night, she’s cherishing every last moment.
“(Being part of this program) has been the most special thing in the world,” Harrison said. “Winning the state title last year and then going far again in this tournament, hopefully we win another one.”
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Skye Harrison's walk-off double sends D-R softball to D3 Final Four
Continue reading...
The defending champion No. 1 Falcons had scored back in the bottom of the first, courtesy of senior catcher Emma Horrocks tagging up on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Cam Cloonan, but their potent offense had been held in check by No. 8 Gloucester and their freshman pitcher Abby Noble (7⅓ innings, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts).
While sophomore pitcher Edy Latour (8 innings, 6 hits, run, 9 strikeouts) was also dealing on her end, the Fishermen eventually broke through in the top of the seventh. Senior right fielder Kaiya Mineo singled to start the inning, then advanced to second before junior first baseman Emma Carrapichosa drove her in on an infield single that ricocheted between short and third to draw them even.
As she prepared to go up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, with sophomore first baseman Mia Ribeiro doubling to start off the inning and end Noble’s no-hitter, Harrison knew exactly what she had to do.
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“I told myself ‘I’m going to do this for me, but also for my teammates and this whole program in general,” Harrison said.
A firm believer in hitting being contagious, and jolted by the energy of Ribeiro before her, the senior captain followed suit with a double of her own to center, allowing sophomore Haley Roy, pinch running for Ribeiro, to score from second to give the Falcons the 2-1 win and book their spot in the Final Four for the fourth time in five years.
“I’m so proud of Skye,” D-R coach Katie Catarius-Holmes said. “She’s had a rough season and it doesn’t really show, so for her to come through and hit that ball and have that moment, I literally have goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Before Harrison came up to bat, Catarius-Holmes told her that while she’s not a home-run hitter, that’s not what her team needed her to be.
SCOREBOARD: Follow all of the Greater Taunton area high school postseason action here
“I need you to do what you can do and put the ball in play,” Catarius-Holmes said. “That’s just what she did, and it worked.”
While Catarius-Holmes was excited for Harrison to get the walk-off, she knew that the resilience and dedication to each other shown by her and her teammates is the reputation which the Falcons have developed over the past few years and an expectation to succeed they’ve set for each other, so falling in a no-hitter was not an option.
“They weren’t going down without a fight,” Catarius-Holmes said. “(Noble) had us off balance and did a great job, but this team is not going down without a fight.”
D-R now heads back to the Division 3 Final Four to face the winner of No. 4 Tantasqua and No. 5 Nipmuc at a date, time and location to be determined. While Catarius-Holmes said her and the Falcons aren’t really familiar with the two programs, she knows they need to work on adjusting to unfamiliar pitchers and getting back to business at the plate.
You must be registered for see images
She also hopes they can keep their defensive prowess up, praising the efforts in particular of Horrocks, who caught a season-high six Gloucester runners stealing from behind the plate.
“That’s an unreal stat,” Catarius-Holmes said, praising the senior captain and Holy Cross commit.
As for one of her fellow senior co-captains in Harrison, who along with the rest of the D-R Class of 2025 graduated Friday night, she’s cherishing every last moment.
“(Being part of this program) has been the most special thing in the world,” Harrison said. “Winning the state title last year and then going far again in this tournament, hopefully we win another one.”
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Skye Harrison's walk-off double sends D-R softball to D3 Final Four
Continue reading...
