DIGHTON – With defending Div. 2 state champion Walpole coming to town, defending Div. 3 state champion Dighton-Rehoboth rose to the occasion from the get-go.

With three early runs – coupled with some timely pitching – the Falcons mustered a 5-0 softball victory over nonleague opponent Walpole on Friday.

“We like to put tough teams on our schedule,” said Dighton-Rehoboth coach Katie Catarius-Holmes. “We knew teams were going to challenge us and we were really excited to play Walpole this year. They’ve got a great reputation. They’re well coached. They have really good skill and their pitcher is great. It was nice to play teams we know that are going to be a challenge and then go out there and win.”

After not allowing a run in the first, Dighton-Rehoboth (4-1) came up to the plate with an attack mentality. Isabella Moss laced a double to right with one down and came around to score on a Mia Ribeiro RBI single to put the Falcons up 1-0.

Dighton-Rehoboth’s Emma Horrocks swings at the ball during a softball game. The hosts were a 5-0 winner over Walpole. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Kylie Smith came up to the dish four batters later with the bases loaded and two down and laced a two-run double into left-center to push the lead to 3-0 after one.

“One of our goals every game is to strike first,” Catarius-Holmes said about the early offensive production. “It kind of sets the tone for us and if we kind of falter a little bit or not have the inning that we want, it’s nice to be able to lay back on that.”

Walpole (3-3) responded by getting the first two runners on in the top of the second, but sophomore Edy LaTour buckled down and got the final three outs to go on a run of retiring 12 of 13 between the second and fifth innings.

“I praise her for her consistency and her calm,” said Catarius-Holmes about LaTour’s ability to get out of trouble. “She is great in those situations. A lot of times we get a lot of recognition for our offense, but I don’t think we get enough recognition for our defense.”

Walpole’s Sharlotte Stazinski swings at the ball during a softball game at Dighton-Rehoboth on Friday. Walpole fell, 5-0. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

The Falcons added onto their lead in the fifth as senior captain Emma Horrocks crushed a 1-2 pitch over the right field fence. This came after she struck out her first two plate appearances.

LaTour faced another two runners on with nobody out jam in the sixth and wiggled free after a pair of strikeouts and a flyout to right. In the seventh, she sandwiched a couple strikeouts to get up to nine before getting a groundout to third with another two runs stranded on base to end the contest.