NORTH DIGHTON — For the past few years, Dighton-Rehoboth softball has been used to being among the top teams in the state, but seemed to always fall just short of the ultimate goal.With consistently powerful lineups and strong pitching, the Falcons made it to the 2021 MIAA Division 2 final but succumbed by just a run to Tyngsborough. Appearances in the Division 3 Final Four and Elite Eight followed in 2022 and 2023, also ending in heartbreak.
Then, last spring, it finally happened.A juggernaut all year, D-R went into the 2024 MIAA Division 3 tournament as the top seed and came out the top dog, taking down Hudson in walk-off fashion to secure the program's second-ever state title and first since 1990.For Falcons senior shortstop and co-captain Haleigh Kelley, who scored the winning run on an RBI triple by outfielder and 2024 graduate Lucy Latour, it is a moment forever engrained in her consciousness.
"That moment was so special for many of us who never thought it was going to happen," Kelley said. "We want everyone to experience that same high again."That's the energy which the defending champion Falcons are carrying into this season.
While Latour and several other key players may have graduated, D-R retains a large and talented core of players, including last year's breakout rookie and sophomore pitcher Edy Latour, that are battle-tested and ready to live up to lofty expectations."People are looking at us, people are watching us," Falcons coach Katie Catarius-Holmes said. "It.