WESTFIELD — The Hampshire Regional softball team is back where it belongs.

After falling in the Western Massachusetts Class B title game a season ago, snapping a streak of three-straight sectional crowns, the No. 1 Raiders were back in the championship on Tuesday afternoon at Westfield State University – this time taking on No. 3 South Hadley.

Everyone in attendance knew a pitchers’ duel was in the cards with aces Ryanne Dubay and Ella Schaeffer stepping on the rubber – it was just a matter of which team could muster enough offense to raise the trophy after seven innings. Dubay ripped a single in the bottom of the first to bring home CC Thayer and put Hampshire ahead 1-0, and that would be the only run scored by either team the rest of the way.

Dubay’s dozen strikeouts and the Raiders’ strong defense kept the Tigers off the board. Her 12th and final whiff clinched Hampshire’s 1-0 victory and its fourth Western Mass. title in the last five years.

“It never gets old,” Hampshire head coach Brian McGan said. “This team, expectations weren’t probably as high as being 20-1, but these kids play together. They stick together, they fight together, they play together, and that’s the key to a really good team. It doesn’t get old, for sure.”

Hampshire started the day with a 1-2-3 first inning, all three plays made by shortstop Lucy Trombley. The Raiders grabbed their bats and went to work. Thayer drew a walk and Raegan Dubay was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with two outs. Ryanne Dubay dug in and ripped a ball into the right-center gap to score Thayer.

Schaeffer ended the frame with a strikeout, stranding both runners on second and third and limiting the damage.

Ryanne Dubay’s big hit sparked a stellar outing in the circle. She surrendered just three hits, didn’t walk a single batter and recorded the aforementioned 12 Ks in a complete-game shutout. Earlier on Tuesday, Dubay said she didn’t feel any nerves as she went about her school day. But as soon as she hopped on the bus to head to Westfield, butterflies formed in her stomach.

They didn’t seem to faze her one bit.

“We worked so hard for this, I mean I’m shocked,” she said. “I’m so happy to be here again. I’m so happy to win again. This feels like home playing here and truly I love the girls I just played with. We truly deserved this… I wasn’t nervous at school, but the minute I got on the bus I started to feel the nerves. I stepped on this field and it all went away. I knew that I had my team to back me up.”

South Hadley (13-8) head coach Arianna Williams applauded her team’s effort, going toe-to-toe with one of the best teams across the state of Massachusetts. Hampshire scored double-digit runs in more than half (11) of its games and only played in one one-run game this season prior to Tuesday’s final.

The Tigers out-hit the Raiders, slashing three to Hampshire’s two, and held them to a season-low one run. Schaeffer, who recorded her 1,000th career strikeout earlier this month, struck out six and walked two in her six innings of work. McGan praised Schaeffer postgame, saying she’s one of the best pitchers he’s seen during his time at Hampshire.

Ryley McMahon, Samantha LaFlesh and Grace Matyszewski tallied the hits for South Hadley.

“This is huge for us,” Williams said. “I’ve been trying to tell the girls to enjoy this experience, because to be here is absolutely insane. They’ve each put in their share and sacrifices, and it shows this time of year… Overall we played really well as a team and group, and I think this is the hardest I’ve ever seen these girls play communication-wise, physically and mentally. The fact that they kept up with Hampshire Regional is amazing. We competed with them, and not a lot of teams can say that.”

With how Hampshire was fielding and how Dubay was dealing, McGan felt that the one run in the bottom of the first frame could be enough to get the job done. He had hoped his offense would put up more to give the team some breathing room, and the Raiders had the chance to with the bases loaded in the third. But Schaeffer again slammed the door, forcing Trombley – who recorded one of Hampshire’s two hits on the day – to pop up to third.

At one point, the Raiders went four innings without recording a hit while Dubay retired nine Tigers in a row before giving up back-to-back singles. Following that, she fanned seven of the next eight batters to end the game.

A pitchers’ duel was expected, and that’s exactly what was had.

“I’ve been [coaching] this game a long time, and I’ve always said good pitching shuts down good hitting,” McGan said. “Today that was proven on both sides. Ella is a very good pitcher and we knew that. I looked at their losses and how much the margin was, and it wasn’t a lot, and she [pitched] against some really good teams. We knew if we got one or two [runs], you’ve got a pretty good chance… At this point in the season, one is enough as long as you get the W.”

Both teams await their seeding in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament. And who knows, another postseason meeting may be on the horizon.