While the path to the title was filled with great games, including the lone loss of the season in 10 innings against North Attleboro, all that mattered for the Hawks was winning the last game. Milford allowed only three runs all season, none in the playoffs, and rolled to its second consecutive state title.
The path to the title was almost ended abruptly by one Milford's new conference rivals. In the second round (far too early for most observers), the Hawks battled King Philip and the game went to nine innings before senior Rachel Levine singled in the winning run.
Jared Keene of the Milford Daily News described the scene, in what was to be Milford's closest game of the tournament:
It’s only fitting that three of the Milford softball team’s five seniors came through when it counted the most against their biggest rival in the final home game of their careers.
After all, the team’s seniors have experienced quite a bit against King Philip over the years — everything from getting crushed by the Warriors in the 2010 state final, to ending KP’s nearly two-year win streak last season.
Tuesday afternoon, the two state powerhouses met in a Division 1 South quarterfinal in the latest chapter of the rivalry.
And what a chapter it was.
Shannon Smith battled to twirl a three-hitter, Lauren Hanna reached base at a key time, and Rachel Levine delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to give the second-seeded Scarlet Hawks a thrilling 1-0 victory over the seventh-seeded Warriors.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, senior Lauren Hanna bunted for a base hit. Senior pitcher Shannon Smith followed with a single to left off of KP starter Anna O’Neill, who had retired 11 in a row prior to Hanna reaching. The next pitch bounced away from catcher Jordan Shaffer opening up first base and Warriors head coach Norm Beauchemin decided to give Fairbanks the free pass.
Milford head coach Brian Macchi noted that Levine is a player he has come to count on, but that this was the biggest moment in her four years.
“She’s come up big for us in the past but that right there is the biggest hit of her career by far,” said Macchi. “Being a senior and it being her last game on this field … that’s going to be a memory that sticks with her forever.”
There was a huge crowd lining the field at Milford High knowing that this was a matchup of not only the top two teams in the Hockomock League but also the programs responsible for the last three D1 state titles. The game did not disappoint.
Jim Fenton wrote about the sectional final for the Enterprise News:
The run of perfection began back on the first Wednesday of April and continued for more than nine weeks.
The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High softball team put together a remarkable 23-game winning streak, starting with an opening-day 6-0 victory over Durfee High as the Trojans were simply unbeatable through the spring.
B-R’s long stretch of perfection, however, came to an end on Sunday night in the championship game of the Div. 1 South tournament at Jack Tripp Field.
The Trojans were finally stopped by defending state champion Milford High and its sensational pitcher, Shannon Smith, preventing B-R from winning a second straight sectional title.
The Scarlet Hawks defeated the top-seeded Trojans, 7-0, giving B-R its first loss since it fell in nine innings to Malden in the state semifinal round a year ago this week.
For the second year in a row, the Milford Hawks are the Division 1 state champions and, also for the second year in row, it was a freshman that delivered the winning hit.
Jill Powers’ sixth-inning double plated Allie Piergustavo with the game’s lone run, as Milford (25-1) took home the trophy with a 1-0 win over Agawam (18-7) on Saturday night at Rockwood Field on the campus of Worcester State University.
Heading into the sixth inning, Milford had already managed six hits off of Brownies starter Allison Wheeler, but had left seven runners on base. With two outs, Piergustavo drew a walk to reach base for the third time in the game. Powers came up next and wasted no time, drilling the first pitch on a line to the fence in left center and head coach Brian Macchi did not hesitate to wave Piergustavo home from first.
Macchi noted that his freshman shortstop had made an adjustment ahead of that crucial at bat, which paid off with the game-winning hit.
“Jill Powers has worked hard all season and it was funny that the inning before we were talking about staying back and thinking about driving the ball up the middle,” Macchi said. “She did it at the right time and it’s the biggest hit of her life to this point.”
Ryan Lanigan talked about the end of Smith's high school career for HockomockSports.com:
There aren’t many high school athletes who can say they had a perfect ending to their career.
But Shannon Smith – the state’s all time leading strikeout leader – finished her illustrious high school journey by striking out the side in the top of the seventh to win the Division I State Championship for the second straight year, this time a 1-0 decision over Agawam.
“Winning one is great, and winning two is better,” said Smith. “But finishing my high school career with a state championship win that’s probably the best possible situation you could have.”
Smith finished with over 1,200 strikeouts and two state championships in four years in the Milford circle.
"It's been an outstanding career for her," Milford coach Brian Macchi said. "To watch her work day in and day out and for these four years, she wanted to cap it off with a win today. It just cements her legacy as a part of Milford High athletics. She's been an outstanding student-athlete to coach, it's been an honor to watch her play, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do at the next level at Kentucky."
For a group of seniors that have experienced all sorts of emotions in the postseason, this was the ideal way to put an end to their high school careers.
"Winning back-to-back state championships is probably the best feeling ever," Hanna said. "Especially because for us five seniors, this is our last high school game ever and we're all moving on.
"We achieved the highest goals that we had, so I feel pretty successful and I know the team does, too."
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