MIDDLEBORO — She just signed her name on the dotted line to signify her commitment to play softball for the Nichols College Bison, but Cassidy Machado has unfinished business at Middleboro High School.

Family, friends, coaches, and teammates gathered in the Middleboro High School cafeteria on Thursday, Jan. 12 to celebrate Machado’s commitment and her accomplishments both on and off local softball fields.

Machado, a pitcher, will major in hospitality management at Nichols with the goal of starting an event-planning business after college.

After touring the school’s facilities and speaking with Nichols Softball Head Coach Caitlin Hitchcock, Machado decided the school in Dudley was the place for her.

“From walking through the campus and talking to the coach, I knew it was the right place for me,” Machado said. “I loved the coach’s philosophy of how they work and how they play. When I toured the facility after speaking with her, I fell in love with it.”

Before Machado dons a green-and-black uniform for her first collegiate game, she and her teammates still have their eyes set on the ultimate goal.

“I’m really looking forward to not having the stress of recruiting and getting to play for fun,” Machado said. 

Last year, Middleboro Softball reached the state championship game and made the trip to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to face Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School in the final.

The Middleboro Sachems lost the game 8-5.

“We made it so far last year in states and I’m hoping we can go even further and come home with the championship,” Machado said. “That’s what I’ve been working towards this whole winter season and preseason.”