The first full week of spring sports action was memorable for many reasons. Here’s why:

Baseball

While the Cape Elizabeth baseball team remained unbeaten after its revenge win over Greely earlier in the week (please see story), Scarborough and South Portland remain firmly in the hunt in Western Class A.

The Red Storm lost their opener at Windham, bounced back with a home victory over Bonny Eagle, then improved to 2-1 last Thursday after a 13-4 romp at Noble. In that one, senior Blake Brubach homered twice, while sophomore Joe Cronin earned the win on the hill and added three hits. Scarborough was supposed to host Sanford Tuesday, but that game was rained out and moved to Wednesday. Thursday, the Red Storm visited Westbrook. Saturday, they go to Biddeford and next Tuesday, they play at Massabesic.

The Red Riots opened with a 9-0 win over Gorham, but fell, 7-1, at home to Thornton Academy last Thursday. Saturday, South Portland improved to 2-1 with a 3-1 victory at Sanford behind senior Ryan Curit’s clutch, two-run hit. Seniors Jon Medici and Matt Lee combined to earn the win. The Red Riots were supposed to host Marshwood Tuesday, but the game was pushed back 24 hours by rain. Thursday, South Portland went to Biddeford. Saturday, the Red Riots are at Kennebunk and Tuesday, they visit Noble.

Softball

Turning to softball, Scarborough and South Portland continue to set the pace.

The defending Class A champion Red Storm have yet to be tested in their five games. After opening with wins over Westbrook and Windham (by a combined 24-1 margin), Scarborough blanked host Noble, 9-0, won 15-5 at home over Marshwood, then cruised to a 14-3 triumph at Gorham. Against the Knights, senior Melissa DellaTorre struck out 11, while allowing just two hits, senior Heather Carrier homered twice and junior Alana Peoples drove in four runs. In the win over the Hawks, senior Jenn Colpitts cracked four hits, sophomore Mo Hannan had three hits and three runs driven in and sophomore Abby Rutt homered. Hannan was even more deadly against the Rams, hitting four doubles, a triple, scoring four times and driving in four. Carrier scored four times and had three hits, including a pair of doubles. The Red Storm (who have outscored the opposition, 62-9, so far) hosted Massabesic Wednesday and went to Thornton Academy Thursday, then are idle until Wednesday of next week when they welcome rival Biddeford.

The Red Riots are also 5-0 and are pretty prolific as well. After winning 4-1 at Sanford and 16-1 (in five innings) over visiting Kennebunk to start the year, South Portland has enjoyed recent victories over Deering (9-3, in five innings) Westbrook (11-0) and Windham (16-9). Against the Rams, junior Katlin Norton had three hits and classmate Stephanie McDonough earned the win. In the victory over the Blue Blazes, junior Alexis Bogdanovich was once again sterling on the hill, allowing just one hit, while fanning 11. Norton had a two-run triple and senior Kalie Swiger rapped two hits. Against the Eagles, Norton and junior Danielle DiBiase both hit a pair of home runs and Bogdanovich also went deep. Freshman Erin Bogdanovich earned the victory. The Red Riots were home with Noble Wednesday, go to Marshwood Friday and host Gorham Monday. In case you’re wondering, South Portland goes to Scarborough on May 17.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth is still seeking its first victory. The Capers fell, 13-8, to Falmouth in their first game, then lost to two-time defending state champion Fryeburg (6-4), Gray-New Gloucester (8-3) and Greely (14-6) in recent action. Senior Gabe Donahue had two hits against the Patriots. The bats began to come around against the Rangers as sophomore Alexis Cantara and freshman Ellen Best both homered. Cape Elizabeth was at Lake Region Wednesday, goes to Poland Friday and visits Wells Monday.

Boys’ lacrosse

South Portland’s boys’ lacrosse team is still unbeaten. The Red Riots, after knocking off local rivals Scarborough, Cheverus and Deering, improved to 5-0 in recent action with victories over visiting Massabesic (13-5) and host Westbrook (13-2). Against the Mustangs, senior Garret Reuscher scored five times. Junior Harrison Keithly had seven goals against the Blue Blazes. South Portland (sixth in the latest coaches’ poll) hosts Camden Saturday and Windham Tuesday.

Scarborough’s up-and-down season continued last week. The Red Storm began the year by losing to South Portland in overtime (8-7), then beat Cheverus in OT by the same score. Last Wednesday, Scarborough had no trouble at Noble, winning 18-4, behind senior Matt Mayo’s five goals. Two nights later, however, the Red Storm dug an early 5-0 deficit at home against talented Kennebunk, rallied to tie the game at 6-6, but could never take the lead. Despite three goals from freshman John Wheeler, the Red Storm fell to 2-2 with a 13-11 loss. After playing at Thornton Academy Wednesday, Scarborough (eighth in the coaches’ poll) is at Falmouth Saturday and returns home Wednesday of next week against Bonny Eagle.

Cape Elizabeth is also 2-2. The Capers who opened with an 11-4 home loss to Falmouth, won 10-7 at Freeport, then handled visiting North Yarmouth Academy, 12-2, Friday. In that one, senior Tom Foden scored seven times. Monday, Cape Elizabeth went to two-time defending Class B champion Yarmouth, the team which has beaten them in each of the past two state games. The Capers led 2-1 after one quarter and were down 5-2 at halftime and 6-2 early in third, but didn’t buckle, shutting down the potent Clippers’ attack for over 16 minutes while pulling to within 6-4 on a pair of goals from junior Teddy Smith. Yarmouth finally got some breathing room midway through the fourth and scored twice in just over three minutes to put it away, 8-4, but Cape Elizabeth’s effort was promising.

“We definitely played better tonight than we did against Falmouth,” Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond said. “We were much more prepared tonight. We made some mistakes. They made some mistakes. It wasn’t a typical clean game you’re used to seeing when it’s us against them. It was 6-4 for a long time. We spent a lot of time in the penalty box. It hurt us because we didn’t have the ball. That’s another piece that wasn’t consistent. We didn’t make good decisions, but we don’t have to be perfect today.”

Capers junior goalie Jack Roos made 14 saves, several of them superb. Senior Ben Brewster won the majority of faceoffs and also picked up 11 ground balls.

“(Ben and Jack) played really well,” Raymond said. “Teddy Smith played really well. The midfielders in general did a very good job possessing the ball.”

Cape Elizabeth (fourth in the coaches’ poll) goes to longtime rival Kennebunk Saturday and hosts Greely Tuesday.

Girls’ lacrosse

Scarborough’s girls’ lacrosse team is the latest at the school that appears title-worthy (please see story), but the Red Storm aren’t the only team of note in the coverage area.

Cape Elizabeth is 2-2 on the year. After opening with a 17-2 win at Fryeburg, the Capers played at Falmouth last Thursday and lost an overtime heartbreaker. Cape Elizabeth trailed 5-0 early and 6-2 at halftime, but behind junior Karyn Barrett and freshman Talley Perkins to lead late, 8-7. The Yachtsmen managed to tie the score and force overtime, where they scored the only three goals of the two three-minute sessions to win, 11-8.

Barrett had a game-high five goals. Perkins added a pair. Sophomore Elin Sonesson made 12 saves.

“Overtime’s short and once they scored goals, we got on our heels a little bit,” lamented Capers coach Kurt Chapin. “It’s a young team. This was a good test of where we stand. It’s going to be a growing season. We’re taking it one game a time and learning from it.”

Cape Elizabeth bounced back Friday with a 15-7 home win over Wells (Barrett sored five times and Perkins added four), but lost, 18-8, at Yarmouth Monday. In that one, the Capers only trailed 6-4 at the half, but the Clippers erupted for eight straight goals to seize control. Perkins led Cape Elizabeth with three goals in defeat. The Capers are home with Marshwood Friday and have a huge home test against two-time defending Class B champion Waynflete Monday night.

South Portland dropped its first game, 12-6, at Gorham Friday. The Red Riots hoped to earn their first victory Tuesday at McAuley, but the contest was postponed by rain and moved to Wednesday, at South Portland. The Red Riots hosted Noble Thursday, play at Lincoln Academy Saturday and go to Sanford Tuesday.

Track

The outdoor track season is underway. Cape Elizabeth hosted a six-team meet last Friday where the boys came in second and the girls third. The Capers were supposed to join North Yarmouth Academy and South Portland in Scarborough Tuesday for a rare, joint Western Maine Conference-Southern Maine Activities Association meet, but rain pushed it to Wednesday. Friday, Cape Elizabeth (with Greely and Traip) goes to Wells.

Both Scarborough teams won their initial meet, over Deering, Marshwood and Thornton Academy. The Red Storm boys compete in the Westbrook Relays Friday, while the girls host the Scarborough Relays.

South Portland’s girls (along with Massabesic and Sanford) went to Windham for their first meet last week and placed third. The Red Riots compete at the Scarborough Relays Friday, while the boys’ team will take part in the Westbrook Relays the same day.

Tennis

Local tennis teams have gotten off to promising starts.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth’s boys took a 2-1 mark into a Wednesday showdown at Falmouth. The Capers beat Fryeburg and Freeport by 5-0 scores in recent matches. The girls’ squad was 3-1 entering Wednesday’s match with defending champion Falmouth. Cape Elizabeth was a 3-2 winner at York Friday and captured 4-1 decisions over Fryeburg and Freeport.

In Western A, Scarborough’s boys bounced back from an opening loss to Windham and are 2-1 after downing Thornton Academy (4-1) and Bonny Eagle (4-1). The Red Storm girls are 2-1 with 5-0 victories over Sanford and Massabesic.

South Portland’s boys’ team is 1-3 after recent losses to Windham (5-0), Massabesic (3-2) and Kennebunk (5-0). The Red Riots girls improved to 2-1 with recent wins over Windham (3-2) and Kennebunk (4-1).

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net

Cape Elizabeth junior goalie Jack Roos makes one of his several saves during Monday night’s game at Yarmouth. The Capers hung tough against the two-time defending Class B champions, but lost, 8-4.

Cape Elizabeth junior Casey O’Donovan does battle with Yarmouth senior Steven Petrovek Monday. The Capers fell to 2-2 on the year after an 8-4 loss.