(Ed. Note: For the complete Portland-Yarmouth boys’ lacrosse and Cheverus-Scarborough, Cheverus-Waynflete and Waynflete-Greely girls’ lacrosse game stories, with box scores and photos, please visit theforecaster.net)

While Mother Nature has been the undisputed champion the past couple weeks, local athletes have managed to make the most of their opportunities.

While tennis is hitting its home stretch (please see story), baseball, softball, lacrosse and track are also winding down. Here’s a glimpse at where things stand and what’s to come:

Baseball-Deering hits its stride

The most storied baseball program in the state is coming to life.

Deering, which lost five of its first six games, defeated host Bonny Eagle (2-1) and Sanford (9-5) last week to improve to 3-5 (10th in the Western Class A Heal Points standings). Against the Scots, ace Nick DiBiase threw a six-hitter and Kenny Sweet stole home for the decisive run. In the win at Sanford, the Rams rallied from a 5-0 deficit, Sweet again scored the winning run and Jared Bell had a pair of hits and earned the victory in relief. Deering was home with Biddeford Monday and at top-ranked Marshwood Tuesday, hosts No. 3 Scarborough Thursday, is at Kennebunk Saturday and welcomes defending Class A champion Cheverus Tuesday of next week.

The Stags struggled last week, falling in their first game in eight days, 10-2, at Kennebunk Thursday, then dropping a tough 2-0 decision at Scarborough Saturday. Ryan Casale had three hits against the Rams. Harry Ridge was the tough-luck losing pitcher against the Red Storm, allowing just two hits, but one was a two-run home run by Scarborough ace Ben Wessel, who held Cheverus to three hits. The Stags (5-3 and fifth in Western A) hosted Biddeford Tuesday, welcome Portland Wednesday and South Portland Thursday, go to Westbrook Saturday and Deering next Tuesday.

Portland began the week 2-6 after a 5-4 loss at Massabesic last Wednesday. Kyle Reichert had two hits and two RBI and Nate Smart, who took the loss, also drove in two runs. The Bulldogs (15th in Western A) hosted Windham Monday, go to Cheverus Wednesday, welcome Bonny Eagle Thursday, visit Thornton Academy Saturday and South Portland Tuesday of next week.

In Western C, Waynflete started the week ninth in the Heals with a 5-2 mark. The Flyers held off visiting Sacopee, 7-6, last Monday, then extended their win streak to three Wednesday with a 9-4 home victory over Old Orchard Beach. Against the Hawks, Waynflete scored the winning run on an error. Mitch Newlin had two hits,  four steals and scored twice. Andrew Butler doubled and earned the win in relief. The Flyers then scored six times in the sixth to beat the Seagulls. Isaac Scher drove in the winner. Joey Schnier got the victory on the mound. Waynflete was home with Traip Monday, plays at Sacopee Wednesday, then hosts defending Western B champion Greely. The Flyers are at Traip Monday.

Softball-Cheverus wins a pair

Cheverus’ softball team improved to 4-6 with wins in three of their past four games. Last Monday, the Stags scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to edge Westbrook, 3-2. Kelsey Dulac drove in Casey Simpson to tie it and Mollie Thibodeau drove in Katie Roy for the victory. Brittany Bell earned the win with a six-hitter. After a 7-3 loss at Biddeford (Thibodeau had a pair of hits), Cheverus took care of visiting Portland, 13-1 in five innings and eked out a 4-3 win at Windham. Against the Bulldogs, a 10-run third inning blew it open. Bell and Roy both had three hits. Staci Swallow had two RBI. Thibodeau and Dulac both tripled. A three-run fifth spelled the difference against the Eagles. Bell got the win, Swallow had a game-tying double, then scored the winner, driven in by Roy.

“We’re having fun and are happy with the past week,” said Cheverus first-year coach Maureen Curran. “Before our game against Westbrook, we’d been missing players with illness and injury and then on vacation. Westbrook was the first chance we had to see our full lineup and we spent last week tweaking positions and batting order. The girls have been diligent all season about improving their individual skills and have persistently utilized constructive criticism to advance. As a result of their work ethic, we’re making concrete progress and the girls saw first-hand the dividends of that work last week.”

After playing at South Portland Monday, the Stags (14th in the Western A Heals) are home with Gorham Wednesday, visit Bonny Eagle Friday and welcome defending Class A champion Scarborough Monday of next week.

McAuley sandwiched home losses to South Portland (8-3) and Bonny Eagle (5-1) around a 4-0 victory at Gorham last week. The Lions got three hits from Molly Mack and a pair from Taylor Whaley in the loss to the Red Riots. Whaley struck out 12, but took the loss against the Scots. In the win, Whaley got the victory with a five-hitter, while Shelby Bryant and Sam Libby both had multiple hits. McAuley (10th in Western A) was at Scarborough Monday and Portland Tuesday, hosts Thornton Academy Wednesday, plays at Noble Friday and welcomes Sanford Monday of next week.

Portland began the week 1-7 and 16th in the Heals after falling 14-0 in five innings at Kennebunk and 13-1 in five innings at Cheverus last week. Tara O’Neal had multiple hits against the Stags. The Bulldogs hosted Windham Monday and McAuley Tuesday, go to Westbrook Wednesday, welcome Marshwood Thursday and play host to Biddeford Friday.

Deering fell to 0-9 and 17th in the region after recent losses to visiting Gorham (8-2), host Bonny Eagle (13-1, in five innings) and visiting Scarborough (18-1, in five innings). The Rams were at Thornton Academy Monday, host Noble Wednesday, go to South Portland Thursday and Sanford Friday and welcome Massabesic Monday of next week

Boys’ lacrosse-Rams, Stags vie for top spot 

Cheverus and Deering’s boys’ lacrosse teams are both chasing Brunswick for the top spot in the Eastern Class A Heals.

The Stags made it six straight wins last Wednesday with a 13-5 home win over Westbrook as Spencer Amberson had four goals, Thomas Lawson added three and Nick Schleh and Jack Sutton both scored twice. Colm Pusey made 16 saves. Cheverus fell to 6-2 and third in the region after a 12-2 loss at Cape Elizabeth Friday. Schleh and Amberson had the goals. The Stags go to Portland Wednesday and play host to Gorham Friday.

The Rams enjoyed a 15-2 home win over Windham last Wednesday (Matt Flaherty had seven goals), but Saturday, playing without injured senior standout Karl Rickett, Deering was blanked at defending Class B state champion Falmouth, 18-0. The Rams (5-3 and second in the Heals) host Gorham Wednesday and Greely Saturday.

Portland is still in the playoff hunt. The Bulldogs cruised at Noble last Wednesday, 14-1, as Joe Nielsen led the way with four goals. Saturday, Portland went to powerhouse Yarmouth and gave the Clippers fits. The Bulldogs rallied from an early 3-0 deficit and tied the game just before halftime. Goalie Ryan Jurgelevich was sensational, making 18 saves, but eventually Yarmouth went back on top and Portland fell short, 9-5. Seamus Kilbride returned from injury and had two goals.

“Ryan’s a stud,” Bulldogs coach Eric Begonia said. “He’s an amazing goalie. He saw the ball really well today. He’s an amazing leader. He was communicating great and holding the defense responsible. We’ve been in every single game late. We just ran out of time. I’m pretty happy with the performance. The whole defensive unit, I’m happy with.”

The 3-6 Bulldogs began the week clinging to the seventh and final playoff spot in Eastern A. Portland has a big home test versus Cheverus Wednesday. A win in that game would essentially guarantee the Bulldogs a postseason berth. Portland also faces Windham on the road and Bonny Eagle at home to close things out.

“We have three more games to go,” Begonia said. “We have a big one at Cheverus. We’ll take the good things out of what we did today. We want to get to the playoffs and see what we can do. We play a schedule this year that will give us an opportunity to play a playoff game, I hope. The guys deserve it. Hopefully we’re there at the end.”

In Western B, Waynflete won its second in a row Wednesday, 6-2, at Fryeburg, then fell to 2-5 (and sixth in the Heals) after a 10-5 home loss to Thornton Academy Saturday. Henry Cleaves had two goals in the setback. The Flyers host York Wednesday, go to South Portland Saturday and welcome Lake Region Tuesday.

Girls’ lacrosse-Portland heats up

Portland’s girls’ lacrosse team lost two of its first four games, but has since won four straight, including recent triumphs over visiting Bonny Eagle (12-4), host Thornton Academy (11-10) and host McAuley (13-11). Against the Scots, Drew Barry had four goals, while Raechel Allen added three. In the win at the Golden Trojans, Barry scored four times. Against the Lions, the Bulldogs fell behind, 3-1, went up 7-5 at halftime, then surrendered the first five goals of the second half before scoring six straight to rally and win behind five goals from Kylie Dalbec, four goals, two assists and 11 ground balls from Barry and two goals from Allen. Portland (6-2 and second to Brunswick in the Eastern A Heals) was home against Deering Monday and visits Westbrook Thursday.

Cheverus dropped three tough games last week and is now 4-4 and sixth in Eastern A. The Stags dropped a 7-5 decision at Marshwood, then lost 11-10 to two-time defending Class A state champion Scarborough in the rain in a game played on Deering High’s turf. Cheverus dug an early 5-0 hole, but rallied behind stellar goalkeeping from freshman Hope Correia and actually led 10-8 late in the game before the Red Storm finished strong. Meredith Willard had four goals, while Elyse Caiazzo had three scores.

“We tell (the girls) to keep working hard for 50 minutes,” said Stags coach Jamie Chamberlain. “It was great to see the girls respond and make adjustments and move forward a little bit. We put ourselves in a position to win. Now, we’ve got to finish it out. You can’t give a team like that extra chances. They’re a veteran team and they made us pay at the end. The girls have worked hard. We’re a young team and we didn’t back down from the state champions.”

Saturday, Cheverus quickly trailed 6-0 and lost, 16-5, at undefeated Waynflete (Alex Logan scored three times).

“(Falling behind early is) definitely not a good habit to get into and I think the kids realize that,” said Chamberlain. “(Waynflete) didn’t show us anything we weren’t expecting. For whatever reason, we just didn’t respond. It just wasn’t in sync, in any facet today for us. The other night, the defense really stepped up. Today, we really weren’t in sync defensively and they had extra chances. You can’t do that against a good team.”

The Stags were at Windham Monday, host Kennebunk Thursday and Thornton Academy Monday of next week.

Deering is 3-5 and 11th in Eastern A after a 12-8 home victory over Biddeford, a 21-5 romp at Noble and a 9-7 home loss to Sanford last week. Veronica Mitchell had three goals against the Tigers. Mitchell had five goals and Julianna Salamone three versus the Knights. In the loss, Maura Densmore had a pair of goals. The Rams were at Portland Monday, visit Bonny Eagle Thursday and play at South Portland Monday of next week.

McAuley lost twice at home last week, 11-6 to Windham and 13-11 to Portland. Taxia Arabatzis scored three goals and goalie Jaime LaCasse made 17 saves against the Eagles. LaCasse was equally superb against the Bulldogs, keeping the Lions alive with 14 clutch saves. Clare McLaughlin scored six times and Arabatzis had a team-high seven ground balls. McAuley (1-5 and 10th in Eastern A) was at South Portland Tuesday, visits Sanford Thursday and plays host to Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

In Western B, Waynflete remains unbeaten and is clinging to a slight lead over Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth in the Heal Points standings. Last week, the Flyers improved to 8-0 by downing host Greely, 12-5, and visiting Cheverus, 16-5. Against the Rangers, Waynflete rallied from an early 2-0 hole thanks to four goals each from Sadie Cole (who eclipsed the 100 mark for her career) and Ella Millard, a 12-7 advantage in the draw circle and a solid defensive performance.

“The zone was tight,” said Millard. “We have so many new people, but it’s coming together really well. This year, it’s amazing how quickly the new kids have stepped in. It’s not complicated, but it takes a lot of time. Dedication to know where everyone is and play together and be used to each other.”

“I was expecting (Greely would) be aggressive, tough and fast and they were all those things,” said Flyers coach Cathie Connors.

In the win over the Stags, the Flyers scored the first six goals and never looked back as Walker Foehl scored five times, Cole added four goals and Millard finished with three.

“It was a really fun game,” said Cole. “We’ve had a few slow starts recently, but we were excited to come out and play today on a beautiful day. It’s the first time in awhile.”

Waynflete (8-0) was at North Yarmouth Academy Tuesday, visits Freeport Friday and hosts Falmouth in a pivotal showdown Tuesday of next week.

Track

With just one regular season outdoor track meet remaining, local teams are looking good.

Waynflete joined Poland and Traip at Yarmouth Friday and both Flyers teams were fourth. Abshir Horor won the boys’ 800 (2 minutes, 10.20 seconds). Abdi Mohamed was tops in the boys’ high jump (5 feet, 4 inches) and the 4×400 boys’ relay team was also first (4:03.50). The Flyers join Fryeburg and Lake Region in the finale at Sacopee Friday.

McAuley and Portland, along with Massabesic and Westbrook, competed at Bonny Eagle last week. The Lions were third and the Bulldogs tied for fourth in the girls’ competition. The Bulldogs boys came in fourth.

Deering’s boys, along with Sanford and Scarborough, were at Biddeford last Wednesday. The Rams were third. Tony Sen won the 110 hurdles (15.86 seconds) and the long jump (19-11). Ricardo Delgado was first in the high jump (5-8).  Bryan White took the shot put (46-3.5).

Cheverus’ boys defeated host Kennebunk, Gorham and Marshwood last week. Jackson McMann was first in the 100 (11.58) and 200 (23.4). David Terwilliger took the 110 hurdles (17.04). Michael Orne was tops in the high jump (5-10). Matt Cushing had the farthest javelin throw (154-6). The Stags also won the 400 relay (45.32).

The Stags girls were second to Gorham. Fiona Hendry won the mile (5:19.16). Emily Durgin was first in the two-mile (10:55.38). Katie Shapiro had the longest shot put toss (33-6) and was first in the discus (107-11). Cheverus also won the 3,200 relay (9:50.8).

City Class A schools will finish the regular season at a meet at South Portland Friday.

The SMAA and WMC championship meets are Saturday, May 26.

The state championships are Saturday, June 2.

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

Sidebar Elements

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Cheverus’ Nick Melville dives safely back to first base during a pickoff attempt during the Stags’ 2-0 loss at Scarborough Saturday.

Portland senior Raechel Allen fires a shot on goal, but McAuley senior goalie Jaime LaCasse makes one of her 14 saves during Saturday’s contest. The Bulldogs held on for a 13-11 victory.