Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team celebrates its third consecutive overtime victory Monday night, 8-7, over defending champion Thornton Academy in a rematch of last year’s Class A South Final.

As April gives way to May, the weather continues to pose a challenge, but local spring sports teams are hopeful of seeing more consistent action in the days to come.

There have been some positive signs in the early going this spring and that figures to continue.

Here’s a glimpse.

Baseball

South Portland’s baseball team opened with three victories, 8-0 at Windham, 10-0 at Sanford and 6-3 at Noble. Hunter Owen threw a three-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts against the Eagles. Caden Horton and Gus Lappin added two hits apiece. In the win over the Spartans, Garen Kelley threw 5.2 shutout innings, while Owen had a two-run double and Anthony Poole had two hits. Against the Knights, Noah Lewis earned the victory and drove in three runs, Poole had three hits and Horton had two hits and scored twice. The Red Riots were at Scarborough Thursday (see theforecaster.net for game story), host Massabesic Saturday and Falmouth Monday, then play at defending Class A South champion Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Scarborough won its first two games, 9-6 at Bonny Eagle in eight-innings and 9-0 at Gorham. Nick Thompson gave up just two hits over six innings, fanning 14 against the Rams. After hosting Windham Wednesday and South Portland Thursday, the Red Storm go to Noble Saturday, host Deering Tuesday and welcome Sanford Wednesday of next week.

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Cape Elizabeth started with home losses to Lake Region (3-2) and Greely (8-0), then fell to 0-3 last Thursday with a 2-1 setback at Fryeburg Academy. Jameson Bakke was the hard-luck loser, as he struck out nine and had two hits. Ryan Oberholtzer hit an RBI double. The Capers went to York Wednesday, host Freeport Friday, go to Freeport Monday and welcome Yarmouth Wednesday of next week.

Softball

Scarborough’s two-time defending Class A state champion softball team started the year 4-0, extending its win streak to 44 games and its regular season streak to 93. The Red Storm beat host Bonny Eagle, 13-3, to start, then blanked host Gorham (14-0), beat host Deering (17-2, in six-innings), then won Monday at Marshwood (14-1, in six-innings). Against Gorham, ace Bella Dickinson threw a four-hit shutout and at the plate, she doubled and hit a home run. Mollie Verreault had two singles and a double and Courtney Brochu and Ariella Swett added two hits apiece. In the win over Deering, Verreault had four hits and three RBI, Swett added three hits  and four RBI, Brochu contributed three hits and Caitlin Noiles hit a two-run home run. Mia Kelley gave up three hits and struck out eight to earn the victory. In the win over the Hawks, Dickinson earned the victory and had four hits, including a double and a home run, scored four runs and drove in three. Brochu also had two hits. Scarborough finally played its home opener Wednesday versus Kennebunk, welcomed Falmouth in a makeup game Thursday, visits Noble in a key test Friday, then hosts Cheverus Tuesday and visits Sanford Wednesday of next week.

South Portland opened with an 8-1 loss at Biddeford, then defeated host Falmouth (14-2), lost at Cheverus (5-1) and downed host Kennebunk (5-0) for a 2-2 start. Against the Rams, Chloe Grant hit a three-run double and Kaylee Whitten added a two-run double. The Red Riots hosted Gorham Wednesday, go to Massabesic Friday, welcome Marshwood Monday and Deering Tuesday, then play at Portland in a playoff rematch Wednesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth started with home wins over Lake Region (7-6, in nine-innings) and Greely (11-1), but last Friday, the Capers fell to 2-1 with a 2-0 loss at Fryeburg Academy. Jessie Robicheaw had a strong outing, allowing just three hits, but she was the hard-luck loser. Cape Elizabeth was at York Wednesday, hosts Freeport Friday, travels to Freeport Monday, then hosts Yarmouth Wednesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team continues to live a charmed life. The Capers opened with a 17-6 home win over Waynflete, then edged Scarborough in overtime (7-6) and rallied last Tuesday for a dramatic 8-7 overtime victory over visiting Yarmouth. Friday, Cape Elizabeth hosted defending Class A champion Thornton Academy in a rematch of last year’s regional final and what ensued over a 72-hour span was yet another scintillating victory. The teams were only able to play 11 minutes of the first quarter before the contest was delayed to Monday by lightning. The game resumed with the Golden Trojans leading, 1-0. The teams went back and forth and the Capers led, 7-6, with time winding down before the Golden Trojans scored to force yet another overtime. There, after Devon Lathrop won his 14th faceoff in 17 opportunities, Sam Dresser set up Phil Tarling for the dramatic game-winner and Cape Elizabeth prevailed, 8-7.

“I was just focusing on the next faceoff,” Lathrop said. “That’s my one job, to win faceoffs. Last season motivated me. I was motivated to beat these guys.”

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“It’s not hard to get up for TA,” Tarling said. “They pushed us really hard last year and we remembered that. We needed a big win against a team like this.”

“We’d been focused on pumping the ball into the crease and (Sam) found Phil in there and Phil caught and finished,” Capers coach Ben Raymond added. “He does a great job in pressure situations, no matter what sport it is.

Tuesday, Cape Elizabeth improved to 5-0 with a more routine 16-3 win at Freeport. Nick Martin had four goals and Colin Campbell, Archie McEvoy and Shep Smith each added two.

“It was good to have a more comfortable win and get everyone on the field,” said Raymond.

The Capers have another key home test Friday versus rival Falmouth (see theforecaster.net for game story), then go to Greely Tuesday of next week.

Scarborough was 2-3 at press time. The Red Storm started with a 7-6 overtime loss at Cape Elizabeth, then fell, 14-9, at Falmouth. After blanking visiting Sanford (20-0) and winning at Cheverus (20-3), Scarborough lost at home to Falmouth Monday, 14-10. In the first loss to the Yachtsmen, Ethan Kavanagh and Jared Quintiliani each scored twice and the Red Storm scored six times in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

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“We struggled to get the ball,” said Scarborough coach Zach Barrett. “We played a lot of defense and when you play that much defense, you’ll make mistakes.”

In the shutout win over the Spartans, Quintiliani and Jeremiah Park both scored three goals. Andrew Granzier and Aidan Joyce had three goals apiece against the Stags. In the second Falmouth loss, Granzier and Quintiliani had three goals each. The Red Storm host defending Class B state champion Brunswick Friday and travel to reigning Class A champion Thornton Academy Wednesday of next week.

South Portland opened with 17-1 wins at Deering and at home over Cheverus. Against the Stags, Alex Stevens had five goals and David Fiorini added three. The Red Riots have a key stretch upcoming, as they host Class B powerhouse Yarmouth Friday and welcome Falmouth Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, defending Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth opened with a 12-4 victory at York and after falling, 5-3, at Kennebunk Monday, improved to 2-1 Tuesday with an 18-1 home win over Fryeburg Academy. In the win over the Wildcats, Tori McGrath had four goals, while Karli Chapin and Julia Thoreck each added three. Against the Rams, Chapin, Thoreck and Brooke Harvey had the goals. In the win over the Raiders, McGrath scored four times, while Chapin and Harvey had three goals apiece. The Capers hosted Messalonskee Thursday and play at Yarmouth next Wednesday in a rematch of last year’s Class B state final.

South Portland started with a 17-6 win at Deering, then fell at Marshwood (15-9) and at Portland (15-9) to start 1-2. Zoe Baker had three goals, while Jena Leckie added a pair, including her 100th career goal, in the loss to the Bulldogs. The Red Riots visit Mt. Ararat Saturday and play at defending Class A South champion Massabesic Wednesday of next week.

Scarborough started with a 14-7 home loss to Cheverus (Leah Manfra scored three times for the Red Storm). Tuesday, Scarborough fell to 0-2 after an 8-7 home loss to Thornton Academy. Erin Stolz had four goals. The Red Storm went to Marshwood Thursday, play at Waynflete Saturday and visit defending Class A champion Falmouth Wednesday of next week.

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Outdoor track

Scarborough’s boys’ outdoor track team opened the season by placing first at a five-team meet in Falmouth. The Red Storm girls placed third behind Noble and Cheverus.

South Portland’s boys hosted a five-team meet and placed fourth (Thornton Academy was first). The Red Riots girls opened with a second-place finish behind Thornton Academy in a five-team meet at Massabesic.

Cape Elizabeth hosted a five-team meet to start the season and the Capers boys and girls each placed first.

Tuesday, Scarborough and South Portland joined Kennebunk at Windham. The Red Storm boys placed first and the Red Riots finished fourth. In the girls’ meet, won by Windham, Scarborough was runner-up and South Portland placed third.

Tennis

Cape Elizabeth’s defending Class B South girls’ tennis team was 2-1 at press time, sandwiching 5-0 wins at NYA and Yarmouth around a 3-2 home loss to Greely in a playoff rematch. The Capers get another crack at the Rangers Wednesday of next week in Cumberland.

The Cape Elizabeth boys started with losses to visiting NYA (3-2), host Greely (4-1) and visiting Yarmouth (4-1). The Capers go to reigning Class B South champion Freeport for a playoff rematch Friday.

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Scarborough’s girls started with a 4-1 home loss to defending Class A champion Falmouth, then beat visiting Sanford (5-0) to improve to 1-1.

Scarborough’s boys dropped their first two matches by 5-0 scores, at defending Class A champion Falmouth and at home to Thornton Academy, then downed host Sanford, 3-2, Monday to improve to 1-2.

The South Portland boys started with a 5-0 home loss to Falmouth, then defeated host Kennebunk, 3-2, to even their record at 1-1.

The Red Riots girls opened with a 5-0 loss at Falmouth and a 4-1 home setback to Kennebunk.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.


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