Tornadoes 12U Buffington join in local softball success with Shockwave Summer Classic win

HANOVER— The girls at Taunton High and Dighton-Rehoboth weren't the only Greater Taunton area softball players to take home silverware this past weekend.

The Taunton Tornadoes 12U Buffington (25-4) squad secured its second tournament win of the season Sunday, going 6-0 while outscoring opponents 66-25 on their way to being crowned champions of the New England Shockwave 12U Summer Classic at the Forge Park Pond Complex in Hanover.

"We got great pitching and solid overall team defense (this weekend)," Tornadoes coach Peter Buffington said. "It was great to see them swing the bats the way we did, hitting almost .500 for the weekend.  They continue to do all the little things right.  Great to see them come from behind twice in the final game.  Truly a great weekend with all 11 players contributing in multiple ways."

Taunton kicked off the tournament with a 7-3 win over Rox Softball Walsh 12U before truly breaking out at the plate with a 9-1 win over the Bay State Thunder and a 16-1 win over Frozen Ropes Softball 12U to end the day. On Sunday, the Tornadoes continued their prowess at the plate with a 14-2 win over South Shore Chaos Sullivan 12U then beat the Rox 11-3 in a rematch in the semi-finals before downing the Thunder 9-5 in the back-and-forth title game.

Leading the way for the Tornadoes was Ella Parece, who went a combined 11-for-18 at the plate with eight runs and nine RBIs while also going 2-0 in the circle giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and seven walks while striking out 12 in 11 innings of work. Fellow pitcher Molly Buffington also looked strong at the plate and in the circle, going 7-for-17 with six runs and seven RBIs as well as going 4-0 giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on 21 hits and three walks while striking out 30 in 21 innings of work.

Other notable performers for Taunton include Emma Stanton (11-for-15, 11 runs, five RBIs, three doubles, two triples), Zoey Harris (10-for-18, six runs, eight RBIs), Kyleigh Machado (9-for-22, eight runs, two RBIs) and Gisele Chitas (6-for-12, three runs, five RBIs). Bridget Thurston (2-for-11, five runs, RBI) and Maya Coute (6-for-10, six runs, four RBIs) each had a home run against Frozen Ropes Softball 12U.

The members of the Tornadoes 12U Buffington squad are Thurston, Chloe Callanan, Ella Kunicki, Parece, Emersyn Rafferty, Stanton, Chitas, Machado, Coute, Molly Buffington and Harris.