Taunton team wins national title

LEESBURG, Va.— Last month, Taunton High softball took home its fourth straight state title . Now a Taunton club team has brought home a national title.

The Mass Dynamites 14U team (18-8-2) captured the USA Softball Class-B Eastern 14-Under Fast Pitch National Championship Sunday, beating the Olney (Md.) Cougars Pomeroy 13U, 5-4, in the title game at the Philip A. Bolen Memorial Regional Park in Leesburg, Va. A walk to shortstop and 2024 Taunton Daily Gazette Softball All-Scholastic Madison Crowley with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh saw the Dynamites clinch the walk-off win.

"I am overwhelmed by the effort and tenacity that these young women showed throughout the week," Dynamites manager Tom Hoye said. "They never let up once, which win, lose or draw is what championship teams are made of and I could not be prouder of this group."

Over the course of four days at fields across Loudon County, the Dynamites went 7-1-1, with their only loss in the double-elimination tournament coming to the Cougars in the first of two matchups Sunday. The Dynamites opened up the tournament with a 6-1 win over Southern Maryland Velocity- Legge 14U Thursday before tying the Fastpitch Factory Lady Rebels 14U (Gettysburg, Pa.), 5-5. On Friday, the Dynamites scored a pair of one run wins, beating the Lady Renegades 14U Dover (Hagerstown, Md.), 11-10, and the Ashburn (Va.) Shooting Stars 2029 Slaght, 5-4.

On Saturday, the Dynamites scored wins over the Cougars (1-0) and Velocity (9-3) to go into the final day as one of two undefeated teams. The Dynamites started off Sunday by handing the only other undefeated team, Coatesville (Pa.) Lady Steel 14U Lonas, its first loss with a 13-5 semifinal win. After the Cougars handed the Lady Steel another loss to send them home, the two clubs met for a second time with the Maryland-based team taking down the Dynamites, 10-9, to force a rematch that the team from Taunton took for the title.

"It is no easy task for a team from Massachusetts to come down here and not only win, but to compete," Hoye said.

Grace Simmons led the way in the circle for the Dynamites, going 3-1 tossing a combined 33⅓ innings giving up 18 runs (nine earned) on 39 hits and six walks while striking out 21 and went 8-for-24 (.333) with four runs and nine RBIs at the plate.

Fellow pitcher Marianna Pina went 2-0-1 tossing a combined 23⅔ innings giving up 19 runs (10 earned) on 32 hits and no walks while striking out 12 and went 8-for-25 (.320) with five runs and five RBIs at the plate. Maddie Simonds also earned a win while going a combined three innings giving up five runs (four earned) and striking out two in two outings.

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Leading the way at the plate for the Dynamites were Crowley, going 15-for-29 (.517) with three triples, 15 runs and six RBIs, and center fielder Kaylee Lopes, who went 13-for-24 (.562) with a home run, nine runs and 12 RBIs. Catcher Kennedy MacEachern went 5-for-17 (.294) with a pair of runs and six RBIs, including a crucial sixth inning grand slam to help propel the comeback against the Lady Renegades.

Hoye also praised first baseman Katelyn O'Sullivan and outfielder Maddy Roscoe for their defensive efforts and said everyone on the team made at least one key contribution over the nine games in Virginia.

The members of the Mass Dynamites 14U are Addison Bairos, Jo Jo Corpus, Simmons, Hanna Cardoso, Lilah Hoye, Lopes, MacEachern, O’Sullivan, Roscoe, Paige Danner, Simonds, Crowley, and Pina. The team is managed by Tom Hoye and assistant coaches Brandon Lopes, Julio Pina and Amy Donnelly.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton team wins national title