TAUNTON >> A balanced hitting attack and a complete game from Catherine Larson led Taunton to a 8-2 softball victory over Bishop Feehan.

The non-league matchup was the final of the regular season for both programs. The Tigers’ victory secured an undefeated regular season at 20-0 and improved the team’s winning streak to 44 games.

“They go into it just to play every game their hardest,” Tigers coach Michelle Raposo said. “They hope at the end of the regular season that they are undefeated but that’s not at their forefront. The next part of the season, the postseason, is what’s at their forefront.”

The Shamrocks put some pressure on Taunton early. They rallied in the opening inning and pushed two runs across to jump out to a multi-run lead.

While this could have shaken Larson, Raposo said that the senior’s poise and the team’s proven ability to come from behind made the situation easier to handle.

“She’s really great with that,” Raposo said of Larson’s composure. “The girls do a good job coming back, they don’t let a deficit define them.”

The start of the comeback came in the bottom of the inning when Aniyah Bailey singled in Bella Bourque. Larson then went back out to the mound and the Tigers started to quiet the Shamrocks offense.

“Everybody on the team has a lot of dedication,” Larson said. “In and out of school practices we work really hard.”|

The score remained 2-1 until the third inning when Taunton scored four runs to jump out to a 5-2 lead. This included RBI singles from Victoria Corrao, Bourque and Brooke Aldrich.

As the Tiger offense roared, the Shamrocks returned fire and loaded the bases in the next innings. However, the defenders locked in and were able to avoid further runs from Bishop Feehan.

“It’s important to us to give Cate that reassurance that we have her back,” Aldrich said. “She can just do her thing and not try to do too much because she knows we have her back.”

The Tigers added more insurance in the fifth, plating three with two coming from a double by Larson.

“I was really focused on hand-to-pitch contact,” Larson said. “If we do that it will go somewhere.”

The Tigers will now look to add a fifth straight Division 1 state championship and continue the undefeated season. As they approach the playoffs, Aldrich said the team has no interest in stepping off of the gas.

“All guns ahead, blaze it,” Aldrich said. “We need to go for it, finish strong and give it everything we have.”