If it’s June, then it has to be Taunton softball time.
The Tigers enter the Division 1 state tournament looking for a fourth consecutive state title. Their last postseason loss came back on June 14, 2019 when they lost 3-1 to Bishop Feehan in a Div. 1 South Sectional semifinal.
While we are going with the theory that we’re riding the Taunton Train until someone can knock them off their lofty perch, the road to the state finals isn’t going to be an easy one for the Tigers. Two teams from the Merrimack Valley Conference, Central Catholic and North Andover, reside on their half of the draw and are talented squads.
On the other side of the bracket, King Philip was forced to forfeit six games due to an MIAA rules infraction regarding usage of electronic equipment, dropping them from a possible top five seed to 21. As a result, they could be looking at an early-round contest against a very good Peabody team.
Lincoln-Sudbury turned in an excellent season in the Dual County League, while Bridgewater-Raynham looms as a sleeper type.
In Div. 2, the words South Coast Conference will be very prominent in this preview as several of the teams are going to be around for a while. One of them is Somerset Berkley, which is good enough to make a run at the state title. Walpole and Bedford have relied on good pitching to do well in their leagues, while Tewksbury can hit.
A youthful Silver Lake team turned in another big season and could very well get to the state finals. Charlie Drane did a terrific job in leading Milton to one its best regular seasons in school history. Marblehead, defending Div. 3 champion Middleboro and Westwood are solid teams.
There is the potential for a South Coast Conference showdown in the Div. 3 final as highly-regarded Dighton-Rehoboth and Apponequet are on opposite sides of the bracket and will be favored in most of their games. The two split their regular-season meetings, each winning by a run.
Apponequet will be looking at a pair of dangerous teams out of the Cape Ann League on its side of the bracket in Triton and North Reading. As for Dighton-Rehoboth, its side of the draw is loaded with Catholic Central League teams such as St. Mary’s, Arlington Catholic and Archbishop Williams, all of whom can make a serious run.
Case is looking to defend its Div. 4 state title and the Cardinals turned in another terrific season, its only loss coming to Apponequet. Case enters the tournament on a 13-game winning streak, allowing just 13 runs. If you are looking for a team which can match up with Case on its side of the draw, Abington has the potential to give the Cardinals a run for their money.
On the other side of the bracket, Tyngsboro looks to be the team to beat there, although a dangerous early-round contest against Amesbury lurks.
Top-seed Greenfield won the Div. 5 state title last year, cruising past five opponents with relative ease, so it’s apparent the Green Wave enters the tournament as the prohibitive favorite. Perennial contender Turners Falls lost in the state final last year and has the capability of getting back to the finals.
If you are looking at Eastern Mass. teams in the Div. 5 field, Millis benefits from playing a tougher schedule against bigger teams in the Tri-Valley League. The same can be said for CAL squads Georgetown and Rockport, while Wareham has shown the ability to score plenty of runs.
PREDICTIONS
Division 1
State championship: Taunton over King Philip
Sleeper: Franklin
Best first-round game: Andover at Needham
Potential upset: Franklin over St. Paul Diocesan
Division 2
State championship: Somerset Berkley over Silver Lake
Sleeper: Middleboro
Best first-round game: Notre Dame (Hingham) at Middleboro
Potential upset: Norwood over Doherty
Division 3
State championship: Dighton-Rehoboth over Apponequet
Sleeper: Medway
Best first-round game: Ursuline at Norwell
Potential upset: Auburn over Blackstone Valley
Division 4
State championship: Case over Tyngsboro
Sleeper: Easthampton
Best first-round game: Millbury at Lynnfield
Potential upset: Bourne over Lunenburg
Division 5
State championship: Greenfield over Turners Falls
Sleeper: Millis
Best first-round game: Norfolk Aggie at Mt. Greylock
Potential upset: Wareham over McCann
