(Ed. Note: For the complete Cape Elizabeth-Yarmouth, Scarborough-Bonny Eagle and Scarborough-South Portland softball, Cape Elizabeth-Waynflete and South Portland-Cheverus boys’ lacrosse and Scarborough-Yarmouth girls’ lacrosse game stories, please visit theforecaster.net)

While outdoor track and tennis are just getting underway (please see accompanying previews), local baseball, softball and lacrosse teams have seen action and it looks like a dramatic season is in store.

Here’s a glimpse at the limited action so far:

Baseball

South Portland’s baseball team got off to a strong start with a 6-3 win at Thornton Academy. Zac Marles earned the win by striking out seven . He also had two hits and an RBI and Jacob Brown had a three RBI. The Red Riots improved to 2-0 Tuesday with a 10-0 home win over visiting Gorham behind Brad Sowerby’s two-hit shutout. Sowerby also had two hits and two RBI, while Sam Troiano and Jon Vickers also drove in two runs. After going to Noble Thursday, South Portland welcomes Marshwood Saturday and Bonny Eagle Tuesday.

Scarborough opened with a 4-3 home loss to Noble, despite two hits, two runs scored and an RBI from Ben Greenberg. The Red Storm fell to 0-2 Tuesday after a 4-2 home loss to Marshwood. Greenberg, Cam Brochu and Cam Hughes all had multiple hits. Scarborough played at Biddeford Thursday, welcomes Bonny Eagle Friday and plays at Cheverus Tuesday.

Cape Elizabeth has played Yarmouth twice and dropped both games, 5-1 at home April 18 and 4-1 at Yarmouth Monday. The Capers were home with Falmouth Wednesday, play at York Friday and visit Freeport Wednesday of next week.

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Softball

Scarborough’s softball team, the reigning Class A champion, is off to an impressive start. The Red Storm began by blanking visiting Bonny Eagle, 8-0, as Alyssa Williamson threw a one-hitter and struck out 13 and also had two hits, as did Sophia Burnham, Brenna Kent and Brittany Plowman.

“I felt awesome,” Williamson said. “Once I settled down, I felt good. All those strikeouts felt good.”

“It was a great start,” Plowman said. “We stayed together. We were loud.”

“It was nice to have a challenge right away,” added longtime Red Storm coach Tom Griffin. “I thought our kids responded well.”

Next up was a home showdown with longtime rival South Portland Friday, in the Red Riots’ season opener.

South Portland shocked Scarborough by taking a 4-0 lead, but a home run from catcher Megan Murrell began a rally and the Red Storm closed the game on a 13-0 surge to win, 13-4. Scarborough mustered 14 hits (Ashley Gleason led the way with three, including a clutch game-tying single in the fifth inning), seven players drove in at least one run (Chloe Gorey led the way with three) and Burnham produced a clutch relief pitching performance with the game still hanging in the balance.

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“I think there was a little bit of worry, but we’re a pretty positive team,” said Murrell. “Everyone kept their energy up. We knew we’d come back.”

“We gradually get better and better and find holes and that momentum carries us through the game,” Gleason said.”

“I’m just so proud of these kids,” Griffin added. “This was a character builder for us. They kept the energy going and kept their confidence.”

Scarborough improved to 3-0 Monday with a 5-2 win at Gorham, as Gorey homered and Burnham got the victory. The Red Storm goes to Thornton Academy Monday and visits Noble Wednesday.

South Portland got a pair of hits and an RBI from Olivia Indorf against Scarborough. The Red Riots had the tying runs on in the top of the sixth, but couldn’t score and the game then got out of hand.

“The score wasn’t indicative of how we played,” said South Portland coach Ralph Aceto. “No shame at all in how we played today.”

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The Red Riots evened their record at 1-1 Monday with a 4-3 come-from-behind win over visiting Thornton Academy. South Portland was at Noble Wednesday, hosts Sanford Friday, goes to Massabesic Monday and hosts Deering Wednesday of next week.

Cape Elizabeth opened with a 6-3 home win over Yarmouth, then Monday improved to 2-0 by beating the Clippers again, this time, 13-4, in Yarmouth, as Monika Scheindel had four hits. The Capers were home with Falmouth Wednesday, visit York Friday, host Fryeburg in a big-time showdown Saturday and play at Freeport Wednesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Scarborough’s boys’ lacrosse team, the four-time Class A state champion, is off to a 3-0 start. The Red Storm opened with a 12-2 win at Marshwood, as Cam Loiselle had four goals. After downing host Westbrook, 16-7 (Christian Neelon had six goals), Scarborough eked out a 7-6 home win over Thornton Academy Monday on Brendon Smith’s goal in the second “sudden victory” overtime. Neelon had four goals. The Red Storm was at Portland Thursday and hosts Deering Tuesday.

South Portland feels it has the best chance to dethrone Scarborough and has also impressed early. The Red Riots opened with a 19-1 win at Biddeford, as Thomas Leddy scored seven goals and Jack Fiorini added four to go with three assists. Monday, South Portland got a much sterner test from visiting Cheverus, the two-time defending Eastern A champion, but passed it, 15-10. Fiorini had five goals, Ben Bilderback and Andrew Whipple added three apiece and goalie T-Moe Hellier had 17 saves.

“It felt good to get saves early,” Hellier said. “The defense helps me out by making the shots come from the outside.”

“It was big for us,” Fiorini said. “This season, we’re just driven to go all the way.”

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“It’s really early, but it shows what this team can do,” added South Portland coach Tom Fiorini. “The kids played great from the first moment. I never saw a let-up at all. For us to come up big means a lot.”

The Red Riots looked to improve to 3-0 Thursday when they hosted Marshwood. South Portland goes to Westbrook Wednesday of next week.

“We’ve got to realize that we still haven’t proved anything,” Red Riots senior captain Duncan Preston said. “We’re possibly the best team in the state on paper, but paper means nothing. We have to prove it every night.”

Defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth dominated visiting Waynflete in its opener back on April 18, 15-1. Tuesday, the Capers got a much bigger test when they went to Yarmouth for a rematch of last year’s state game. As was the case last season, Cape Elizabeth wound up on top, 10-6, as Ben Shea had four goals and Noah Haversat added a pair.

“We hadn’t had a big game yet, so to come in here and be down and keep giving it to them is great,” Shea said. “This is a great field to play on. Yarmouth’s a big rival. We knew they wanted it after last year. They gave it to us and we battled back.”

“We kept on scoring and they got down and we got up,” Haversat said. “It gave us energy. As the game progressed, we pressured a lot and we got possession a lot.”

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“I think it was a close game all the way,” added Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond. “Our ride was incredible all game. Our ability to ride and their inability to clear probably gave us 15 extra possessions.”

The Capers host Kennebunk Friday and go to Wells Tuesday.

“(Beating Yarmouth) means a lot for us for Heal Points, but the train keeps rolling and we just look ahead to the next game,” said Cape Elizabeth defenseman Noah Wolfinger. “What we’ve done in the past is great for the program, but we’re looking forward to winning games that matter this year. “

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Scarborough is up to its old tricks. After failing to win a fourth straight Class A championship a year ago, this year’s Red Storm opened with an impressive 9-7 home victory over reigning Eastern B champion Yarmouth Saturday. Scarborough opened up a 5-0 lead and held on behind 16 saves from sophomore goalie Jenna Block, who made her first varsity start. Ainsley Jamieson paced the offense with three goals.

“(The Clippers) have a lot of good shooters,” Block said. “I was prepared.'”

“This feels very good,” said Jamieson. “Yarmouth’s a great team. I’m just so proud of my team and how we gutted it out.”

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The Red Storm went to South Portland Friday and hosts Windham Monday.

“We need to work on our consistency,” Scarborough coach Marcia Wood said. “The little things. We have a long way to go.”

The Red Riots opened Tuesday with a 12-7 home win over Bonny Eagle behind four goals from Abby Letourneau and three apiece from Colleen Fleming and Courtney Trufant. After hosting Scarborough Friday, South Portland goes to Marshwood Tuesday of next week.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth dominated visiting Fryeburg, 21-2, in its opener back on April 17. The Capers were back in action Wednesday when they hosted Falmouth (see theforecaster.net for game story). Cape Elizabeth is at Kennebunk Friday and welcomes York Monday.

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

Sidebar Elements


South Portland junior Paige Carter is tagged out at third base by Scarborough sophomore Maggie Murphy during the Red Storm’s 13-4 win last week.

Cape Elizabeth freshman Owen Thoreck scores a first period goal during Tuesday night’s 10-6 win at Yarmouth.


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