Top 49 Greater Fall River area softball players to watch this spring
FALL RIVER — Softball is finally here and ready to go in 2023.
Bishop Connolly and Durfee will kick things off today in a non-league matchup between the two Fall River schools.
Division IV state finalist Case looks to make another deep run in the state tournament.
Three other Greater Fall River teams — Diman, Somerset Berkley, and Westport — are looking to punch their ticket to the Big Dance in May.
Here's a look at 47 players to watch for Greater Fall River softball teams:
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Atlantis Charter Tritons
Head coach: Stacey Martin-Diogo
2022 regular season: N/A
League: Independent
Atlantis Charter will conduct its first varsity season in program's history in 2023.
One of the players to watch for the Tritons is senior Gracie Cohill, who is the best overall player on Atlantis Charter and top hitter at the plate.
Eighth grader Ava Cartin is the top pitcher for the team, and was lights out as a JV player last year.
Bishop Connolly Cougars
Head coach: Chris Pabst
2022 regular season: 7-15
League: Mayflower Athletic Conference Comprehensive
The Cougars will have their last hurrah in a Bishop Connolly uniform in 2023.
“The girls are fired up,” Connolly head coach Chris Pabst said. “We’re going to try and make a playoff run. We should be in the 11-to-12-win category.”
Leading the way for the Cougars is senior pitcher Sam O’Leary, who collected all of Connolly’ wins in the circle in 2022. Senior shortstop Maggie Pabst is back this year after missing all last season. Juniors Morgan Diogo and Samantha Bouchard will patrol catcher and outfield, respectively.
Third baseman Bella Simmons is the lone senior for the Cougars. Sophomore Lainey Vanvoorhis plays either outfielder or shortstop. Sophomore Katie Medeiros handles first base or outfielder. Averey Bettencourt is the second baseman.
Case Cardinals
Head coach: Shannon Silva
2022 Regular season: 15-5
League: South Coast Conference Gold Division
The Division IV state finalist Cardinals look to reload and make another deep run in the state tournament.
Case, under the direction of Shannon Silva, returns most of its starters, including two-time Herald News Player of the Year and senior catcher Olivia Silva. Silva batted .537 last year with three home runs and 38 runs batted in. She also finished with a .993 field percentage, threw out 11 runners and picked off six base runners.
Senior pitcher Hailey Berube takes the mound for the final time. She finished with an earned run average of 1.65 with 153 strikeouts to just 26 walks.
Senior Brooke Orton plays the hot corner at third base and is a three-year starter. Seniors Lexi Yost and Jamie Moniz will split some time between second and the outfield. Junior center fielder Megan Smith is the catalyst to the offense, hitting from the lead-off spot. She had an on base percentage last season of .475 with 15 stolen bases.
Junior Lily Picard handles the duty at shortstop for the Cardinals and was one of the leaders on defense. Junior Brooke Perron and sophomore Bree Fontes combined for a .300 batting average and had 32 hits between the both. Sophomore Skye Dupre played solidly in left field last year and will take on a leadership role in the outfield this season.
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Diman Bengals
Head coach: Cathie Noversa
2022 Regular season: 14-6
League: Mayflower Athletic Conference Large Division
The Bengals want to duplicate this season from last year's team. Diman, under the direction of head coach Cathie Noversa, nearly captured a league title in 2022.
They will have to do it playing games away from home all season. The Bengals’ home game will be at the Swansea YMCA in 2023.
Senior Hannah Martin is the captain for Diman and will play third base in her final season. Junior Nadia Ponte and freshman Ashley Carvalho will handle the pitching duties.
Junior Courtney Boies plays first base and junior Alyvia Moniz will patrol one of the outfield spots. Sophomores Kacie Lynch can play either catcher or shortstop while Nya Martinez handles second base.
Outfielder Alexah Pedder and catcher Danielle Mello round out the Bengals group.
Durfee Hilltoppers
Head coach: John Ferreira
2022 Regular season: 3-17
League: Southeast Conference
The Hilltoppers start the 2023 season on a winning streak, having won their final game last season.
Head coach John Ferreira is expecting bigger and better results from his Durfee squad.
Leading the way for the Hilltoppers are Herald News first team all-stars junior shortstop Nia Jacob and junior catcher Niyah Boone. Jacob had one error all year and batted over .300. Boone had a breakout season in 2022, batting a team-high .360 with 10 runs scored and 15 RBI.
Brooke Silvia is the lone senior and will pitch and play second base.
Sophomore Rachael Silva plays centerfield and junior Emily Curran handles the pitching duties in the circle. Eighth grader Julia Rumsey is very versatile and can play either second base or outfield.
Older sister sophomore Katerina Rumsey will play first base. Freshman Kaitlyn Coutu will see time in the outfield while freshman Ava Amaral plays the hot corner at third base.
Somerset Berkley Raiders
Head coach: Sally McKinnon
2022 Regular season: 15-5
League: South Coast Conference Blue Division
The Raiders look to make another run to the Elite 8 in the Division II state tournament in 2023.
SBR head coach Sally McKinnon returns some big-name players, including Herald News All-Scholastic senior catcher Jordan Theriault and junior pitcher/shortstop Gabriella Nugent.
Theriault batted .333 with 25 hits and drove in 12 runs. Nugent batted .397 at the plate with three home runs, scored 17 runs and had a team-leading 26 RBI. She also was a perfect 3-0 on the hill.
Other returning starters are junior outfield/catcher Makenzie Jacob and junior outfield/pitcher Sydney Bednarz.
Junior Victoria Dematteo-Dekroon plays either second, shortstop and pitches.
Westport Wildcats
Head coach: Monique Jones
2022 Regular season: 5-13
League: Mayflower Athletic Conference Comprehensive
The Wildcats look to rebound after a rebuilding season in 2022. Head coach Monique Jones hopes her team received experience from a season ago and take the learning to new heights.
Leading the way is senior captain and Herald News All-Scholastic Peyton Mahjoory, who will be the starting third baseman. Mahjoory is a force not only at the plate but is also an aggressive runner on the base path.
Sophomore Mackenzy Ponte will be the starting pitcher for Jones and has improved each season since the eighth grade.
Sophomore Tess Silvia had a great season in 2022, batting .461 and drove in 18 runs. She also stole 20 bases and scored a team-best 25 runs. Silvia will bat third in the line-up. Sophomore Jayda Pequita will be the starting shortstop and bat in the lead-off spot
Eighth grader Makayla Grace starts in center fielder and is the back-up pitcher. Eighth grader Morgan Pacheco will be the starting second baseman after a season at the JV level in 2022. Pacheco is not afraid to get in front of the ball.
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: State finalist Case looks to make another deep run in playoffs
