WORCESTER — Since the inception of the new statewide tournament format, Joseph Case has been a thorn in Hampshire Regional’s side. The Cardinals knocked off the Raiders in the 2023 state championship game, and again defeated them in last season’s quarterfinal matchup en route to a second-straight MIAA Division 4 crown.

On Thursday, top-seeded Hampshire attempted to flip the script on No. 4 Case in the Final Four with a trip to the state final on the line. The Cardinals looked every bit the part of a two-time reigning champ, as they scored a pair of runs in the first inning, held the Raiders to just two hits and recorded a whopping nine two-out hits to run away with a 13-0 victory at Worcester State University’s Rockwood Field.

For the third straight year, Hampshire (23-2) bowed out of the state tournament via a loss to Case – which will take on No. 6 Tyngsborough in the finals on Saturday back at Worcester State.

“It was obviously tough, and there were a lot of tears,” Raider head coach Brian McGan said of his team’s postgame huddle. “I took the heat on it. I’m the one that’s supposed to prepare them for this, I’m the one that’s supposed to make sure they’re ready to play this game. We weren’t ready to play today, for some reason. I don’t know what it was. But we got down early quick and never got going. I should have prepared them better during practice. We got hit by a tsunami today. And sometimes when a tsunami comes and you’re not ready for it, you’re going to be in trouble. That’s what happened.”

Senior CC Thayer recorded both of Hampshire’s hits on Thursday, the first coming on a bloop single to lead off the bottom of the fourth to break up Cardinals pitcher Lila Alvarez’s no-hit bid. She then cracked a one-out double that rolled to the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the sixth. The Raiders failed to string any more hits together each time.

Such was the case for the entire afternoon for Hampshire. Alvarez walked Lucy Trombley in the second but never moved her over from first as Alvarez fanned three Raiders batters to end the inning. Chelsea Vanasse drew a walk with one out in the fifth – however a strikeout and ground out put to rest any threat in that frame.

Alvarez struck out a total of 11 Raider hitters in her complete-game shutout of one of the most potent offensive attacks in the state.

“I watched film, and I knew she liked to keep the ball away from us,” McGan said of Alvarez. “We practiced it the last two days, but we weren’t attacking it the right way. We were trying to hit the ball too hard. All we had to do was take a little bit off our swing and push the ball to right field… It wasn’t coming in as fast as maybe they thought. We just didn’t make the adjustment today.”

With Joseph Case ahead 2-0 through two innings, the Cardinals came to bat in the top of the third and Hampshire ace Ryanne Dubay recorded two quick outs. A hit batter and walk put runners on first and second for Case’s Nicole Rebelo, who hit a single to bring home another run and make it 3-0.

Dubay got the next hitter to fly out to get out of the jam, but that two-out hit was a sign of things to come.

After a scoreless Raider bottom of the frame, Dubay again quickly recorded two outs. Back-to-back singles put runners on second and third, and Olivia Williams connected for a single to plate a run. Two batters later, following a walk, Dubay forced another fly ball. Hampshire’s Ally St. Pierre settled under it, but it bounced off her glove as two more Case runs scored. A groundout back to Dubay ended the frame, but not before the Cardinals took a 6-0 advantage into the bottom of the fourth.

The fifth and sixth innings played out eerily similar, as Dubay continued to mow through the first two hitters she faced in each frame. Yet in both cases, the Cardinals continued to reach base with a pair of outs. They brought home two more in the fifth and one in the sixth – putting them in the driver’s seat ahead 9-0.

“We didn’t make a play a couple times when we should’ve, and it gave them a few extra chances,” McGan said. “You can’t do that against a good team. They’re better than a four seed, and we didn’t play as a one [seed].

“The unfortunate part is somebody has to lose,” McGan added. “I always tell them that if you give it your best effort and your best shot, and you walk off the field knowing the other team beat you, you tip your cap. But today didn’t feel like our best effort. Even though they beat us, we definitely beat ourselves.”

Thayer and Teagan Charles played in their final games on Thursday, as the team’s two seniors said goodbye to high school softball. During their time with the Raiders, they won three western Massachusetts championships and made it to the Elite Eight twice, a Final Four and a state title game.

McGan and the Hampshire coaching staff shared an emotional embrace with Thayer and Charles following the game.

“It’s always sad when your seniors play in their last game,” McGan said. “I told them I was proud of them – that I loved them. They had tremendous careers. I hope they enjoy their college careers and lives going forward and come back and visit us. Hopefully they come back to see us. I’m sure they will. They were great leaders and they kept the team together. It sucks to see them go.”