The stars almost aligned perfectly for the Middleboro High softball team last spring.
Shaking off a 1-3 start, the Sachems caught fire and made it all the way to the Division 3 state final. They came up just short, losing 8-5 to Greater New Bedford Voke, but they finished 21-5 and could take solace in the fact that many of their best players would be back for another title chase this year.
No surprise then that Middleboro starts out on top in our first Top 10 list of the 2023 campaign. The Sachems are joined by a few familiar faces but also a sprinkling of newcomers who have gotten off to fast starts.
There are also teams lurking just outside the top 10 — Cardinal Spellman, Abington, Plymouth North, to name just a few — that figure to make an impact before all is said and done.
More: Not 2nd best here: State runner-up Middleboro is No. 1 in our final Top 10 softball ranking
Here’s a look at our first top 10 ranking of the season.
Record as of Wednesday morning and last year’s final ranking in parenthesis.
1. Middleboro (6-0, 1)
The Sachems have picked up right where they left off last spring. Already they’ve scored wins over Bishop Feehan (the No. 1 seed in last year’s Div. 1 playoffs), Abington (Div. 4 quarterfinalist last year), East Bridgewater (off to a fine 5-2 start this season) and Dighton-Rehoboth (off to a 7-3 start; scored 20-plus runs four times). That’s an impressive resume for late April, and Middleboro appears to just be getting warmed up. “Our team is way stronger than we were last year,” senior pitcher Cassidy Machado noted after the Abington win, in which the Sachems struck for six first-inning runs.
Middleboro had very little turnover from 2022 — catcher Lexi Bouldry was the big graduation loss — and the Sachems boast a number of three-year starters. That includes the devastating meat-of-the-order punch of No. 3 hitter Alex Welch and cleanup hitter Mel Rees. Welch hit .461 last spring with 6 homers and 45 RBIs while Rees had 3 homers and 40 RBIs. The Sachems have two must-see showdowns with Silver Lake (home on May 12, away on May 24).
More: In battle of South Shore League titans, Middleboro softball out-slugs Abington
2. Bridgewater-Raynham (7-1, 6)
The Trojans were a deceptive 11-11 last season, but they played a demanding schedule and put a scare into eventual Div. 1 state champ Taunton in the Round of 16. That’s why we had them No. 6 in our final 2022 ranking. It looks like they’re headed for a better won-loss mark this spring, having scored quality wins over Bishop Feehan (No. 1 seed in last year’s Div. 1 field), Marshfield and defending Div. 2 state champ Greater New Bedford Voke. Their only loss was to King Philip, last year’s No. 2 seed in Div. 1.
Senior pitcher Lily Welch will try to build on a fine junior campaign in which she went 10-10 but boasted a 2.16 ERA. She threw a 17-strikeout no-hitter in a season-opening 2-1 win over Braintree. Outfielder/leadoff hitter Riain Keefe (.383, 14 RBIs, 31 runs) has graduated, but sophomore catcher Taylor Reid is back after hitting .400 with a team-best 22 RBIs last year. B-R has plenty of big games left, including two matchups with Brockton and rematches against Feehan, Greater New Bedford Voke and King Philip.
More: Ace Lily Welch returns to lead the Bridgewater-Raynham softball team’s new cast
3. Silver Lake (7-1, 5)
The Lakers were 19-3 and finished fifth in last year’s final Top 10 ranking; they would have been higher if not for two losses to Plymouth North, including one in the Div. 2 Round of 16. With North retooling, the Lakers might be the top squad in the Patriot League. Losing star pitcher Caroline Peterson (15-2, 1.69 ERA last season) to graduation hurts, but senior Brianna Ghilardi and sophomore Delaney Moquin have been sharp in the circle, and sophomore first baseman Madyson Bryan continues to rake. She clubbed a single-season-record 9 homers as a freshman and already is closing in on the program’s career mark of 20.
In a recent high-profile win over Hingham, Bryan, hitting third, and Moquin, in the cleanup spot, combined to go 8-for-10 with 3 runs and 5 RBIs. “Those two girls in the 3-4 spot — Maggie and Delaney — if we’re getting them with runners on, we have the potential to have big innings,” said coach Tony Pina, whose team recently avenged its lone loss by beating Apponequet in a rematch.
More: Another Bryan blast leads Silver Lake softball past Hingham in Patriot League showdown
4. Hingham (6-1, 8)
The Harborwomen made a loud statement early last season, beating Silver Lake for perhaps the first time in the program’s history en route to a breakthrough 14-7 campaign. Hingham dropped this year’s first meeting against the Lakers, 12-5, but coach Chuck Green’s squad still looks like a Div. 1 contender, especially with Sarah Holler off to a scalding start. She had a big day vs. Silver Lake (3-for-4, run, 4 RBIs) and appears primed to anchor the Harborwomen’s lineup from the cleanup spot. Hingham already has scored quality wins over Marshfield and new-look Plymouth North and will be a force in the Patriot League.
More: Another Bryan blast leads Silver Lake softball past Hingham in Patriot League showdown
5. Marshfield (6-2, NR)
The Rams’ only losses so far are to fellow Top 10 teams Hingham and Bridgewater-Raynham, by a combined total of 5 runs, and they just hung a 15-3 loss on previously unbeaten Hanover. Marshfield returns its three big stars from 2022 — senior center fielder Jess Morrison, senior shortstop Sam Bongiolatti and junior Haylie McPhee. Morrison was an All-Scholastic pick last year, batting .500 with 4 homers, 38 RBIs and 36 runs and recording nine outfield assists. The all-freshman battery of pitcher Sofia Blanco and catcher Sarah McIntyre have provided a big boost. The Rams haven’t won a playoff game since 2019. This could be the year that drought ends.
More: Marshfield softball is leaning on 2 freshmen to win. They’re coming through for the Rams.
6. Archbishop Williams (7-3, 4)
The Bishops returned eight starters from last year’s team that went 16-8 and lost in the Div. 4 Elite 8. Included in that group are 2022 All-Scholastics Shelby Parr, Alyssa Burke and Jill Ondrick. Parr (4-2, 2.67 ERA, 57 strikeouts in 34 innings) and Ondrick (3-1, 2.66 ERA, 43 strikeouts in 21 innings) are a dynamic 1-2 punch in the circle, while Burke (.452, 2 homers, 9 RBIs), Ondrick (.724, 3 homers, 22 RBIs) and Regan Parr (.575, 15 runs, 12 RBIs) are all swinging hot bats. Archies has scored 12-plus runs in all but one of its wins; the exception was a 9-6 victory over Abington. Tuesday’s 16-2 win over fellow Top 10 club Cardinal Spellman made a big statement.
More: Archbishop Williams softball team has treated itself to a series of landslide wins so far
7. Cohasset (6-2, NR)
The Skippers are on their own this spring, no longer part of a co-op with Hull. So far, so good, as they already have bettered their win total from all of last season (5-11). “It was great being with Hull to meet some new girls, but it’s awesome being on our own because we’re able to support our own program,” junior shortstop/pitcher Taylor Soderberg said. “With the new coaching staff we’re really putting the work in and we’re liking what we have seen.” New coach Andy Simms has a background in club (Bay State Thunder) and the town program. The Skippers have a legit power hitter in junior Catherine Toomey and could make noise in the Div. 4 tournament.
More: Independence day: No longer a co-op, Cohasset softball improves to 4-0 by beating Quincy
8. Hanover (4-2, 10)
Graduation … meant nothing to the Hawks, who didn’t count a single senior on the 2022 roster. They still went 13-8 and qualified for the Div. 3 playoffs, which should provide a solid platform to build on this spring. Junior third baseman McKenzie Foley was an All-Scholastic last year when she hit ,.472 with 20 RBIs, and she’s batting .438 so far this season while playing her usual sparkling defense. Classmate Kaelyn Chase, a center fielder, was hitting .611 out of the leadoff spot through the first five games, and sophomore shortstop Noey Giardina (.450, 13 RBIs) and sophomore catcher Abby Hanna (.632, 9 RBIs) are off to hot starts as well. The Hawks have had a challenging week with losses to fellow Top 10ers Marshfield and Silver Lake, but there’s plenty to like here.
9. Notre Dame Academy (3-2, NR)
The Cougars kept Archbishop Williams’ big hitters in check in a 6-4 home win on April 12. NDA had a long layoff after that and just got back into the win column on Tuesday with a 9-8 walk-off victory over Rockland. Junior Shannon MacLeod delivered the winning hit in that one and is 2-0 in the circle with 34 strikeouts. She’s also hitting .432 after checking in at an even .500 last spring. Center fielder Pipe Levin is hitting .563 and already has 14 RBIs, while Ava O’Donahue is at .615. NDA graduated five starters off last year’s 12-6 team that lost to eventual Div. 2 semifinalist Billerica in the playoffs.
10. East Bridgewater (5-2, NR)
The Vikings raced out to a 5-0 start and even the two losses that have followed were quality, coming against fellow Top 10 teams in Hanover (4-2 score) and Middleboro (7-3). EB is impossibly young — in a recent 5-1 win over Bristol-Plymouth, the lineup featured two eighth-graders and three freshmen. Eighth-grader Emily McNaught had 2 hits and 3 RBIs in the that one, and freshman pitcher Maggie Schlossberg was dominant with 9 strikeouts. Schlossberg fanned 13 against both Pembroke and Southeastern and had 12 Ks vs. Hanover. EB, which has turned a triple play already, has showdowns upcoming against Cardinal Spellman, Cohasset and Abington.
More: East Bridgewater High softball team has a bright future and a promising present
On the bubble: Cardinal Spellman (6-3), Abington (3-3), Brockton (5-2), Southeastern (5-2), Plymouth North (3-3), Pembroke (4-3), Braintree (3-4), Milton (2-2), Holbrook (4-2), South Shore Tech (4-3)
