Freeport’s Lilly Horne takes part in the 200 at last week’s meet in Naples. The Falcons came in third as a team.

Yarmouth’s Sophie McGrath (5) is mobbed by her teammates after hitting a go-ahead home run in Monday’s 4-3 home win over Gray-New Gloucester. McGrath homered twice in the victory.

Falmouth’s Brendan Hickey races up the field as a Yarmouth defender gives chase during the Yachtsmen’s 16-6 win in a state final rematch last week.

Greely’s Jackson Williams carries the ball during Saturday’s 15-8 loss at Yarmouth.

(Ed. Note: For the complete Greely-Yarmouth baseball, Yarmouth-Gray-New Gloucester softball and Falmouth-Yarmouth and Yarmouth-Greely boys’ lacrosse game stories, with photos, see theforecaster.net)

The weather conditions have been far from ideal (and don’t appear to be changing for the better anytime soon), but local spring athletes have made the most of their limited opportunities this spring.

With a couple of weeks now in the books, here’s a look at what’s transpired and a glimpse at the big games to come:

Baseball

Falmouth’s defending Class A South champion baseball team improved to 6-0 after last week’s 14-0 (five-inning) win at defending Class B South champion Freeport. The Yachtsmen scored 10 runs in the second inning. Robbie Armitage hit a three-run home run, Will Blum had three hits and Griffin Aube earned the victory by throwing a three-hitter. He also had two hits on offense. Monday’s game at Lake Region was rained out and rescheduled for Tuesday. Falmouth was home with Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, hosts Poland Friday and goes to Greely Monday.

Speaking of the Rangers, they improved to 6-1 and extended their streak to five after recent home victories over Yarmouth (4-1) and Poland (4-0). Against the Cippers, Ryan Twitchell threw a five-hitter with 12 strikeouts and scored two runs, while Will Neleski had a key two-run double. 

“I found my pitch and I took it to rightfield,” Neleski said. “Teams like playing me to pull. I showed them I can go the opposite way. It was exciting.”

“I haven’t pitched much because of the new pitch count rule,” said Twitchell. “It’s nice to get some work in.”

“At this point of the season, we’re just happy to win,” added longtime Greely coach Derek Soule. “We have just three regulars back. We’re getting better and making progress.” 

In the win over the Knights, Twitchell pitched a gem for the ages, striking out 18 and more importantly, producing the first perfect game (21 batters faced, 21 batters retired) in program history. Greely was home against Sacopee Valley Wednesday, goes to Fryeburg Academy Saturday and hosts Falmouth Monday.

Yarmouth hung tough in its loss at Greely last week, getting an RBI single from Gibson Harnett, but the Clippers left five runners on base.

“We got five hits today,” said Yarmouth coach Marc Halsted. “We hit the ball hard six, seven, eight times, which is hard against a great pitcher. Most of these kids had never faced a high-quality pitcher. This is how we’ll get better.”

Monday, the Clippers improved to 4-2 with a 2-1 home win over Gray-New Gloucester. Yarmouth hosted Lake Region Wednesday, goes to Fryeburg Academy Thursday, visits Freeport Friday and hosts Traip Academy Monday.

Freeport was 3-3 after its home loss to Falmouth (Colby Wagner did have a pair of hits) and a 3-0 win at Kennebunk Monday. Josh Spaulding threw the shutout and Bennett Hight had a two-run hit in the victory. After hosting Cape Elizabeth in a regional final rematch Wednesday, the Falcons host Yarmouth Friday and go to York Monday.

North Yarmouth Academy lost at Old Orchard Beach (14-4, in five-innings) last week. Monday, the Panthers fell to 2-4 after a 3-2 home loss to Traip Academy. Jake Nichols was the hard-luck loser and Wallace Jackson had a pair of hits. NYA was at Waynflete Wednesday and goes to Richmond for a makeup game Monday.

Softball

Yarmouth’s softball team suffered its first loss last Wednesday, falling, 5-4, in nine-innings at Greely. Andrea Whitlock had three hits, but the Clippers allowed the tying and winning runs to score on a miscue with two outs. Yarmouth bounced back the next day with its most impressive win to date, 5-1, over visiting Fryeburg Academy. Sophie McGrath hit a home run and Ceanne Lyon only allowed two hits.

Monday, the Clippers improved to 5-1 with a 4-3 home victory over Gray-New Gloucester. McGrath hit a pair of two-run homers, Lyon allowed six hits and the game ended when a Patriots baserunner was thrown out at the plate.

“We’ve talked a lot about keeping our cool and getting the job done and that came into play at the end,” McGrath said.

“I believe in us,” said Lyon. “We have what we need to be a good team. We play together. We believe in ourselves and each other.”

“I was excited to see that we never gave up,” added Yarmouth coach Amy Ashley. “Even if we didn’t like the initial result, we battled and we were able to save a lot of runs and steal that game.”

Yarmouth was home with Lake Region Wednesday, goes to Fryeburg Academy Thursday and Freeport Friday and welcomes Traip Academy Monday.

Greely lost its first four games, then got back on track with a pair of wins last week, capped by a 5-4 victory over visiting Yarmouth. Kelsey Currier went all nine innings to earn the win and Isabella Perry had a couple hits. Monday, the Rangers improved to 3-4 with a 2-1 home victory over Poland, as they scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to run-scoring doubles from Moira Train and Maddie Rawnsley. Greely was home with Sacopee Valley Wednesday, hosts Kennebunk Friday and goes to Fryeburg Academy Saturday.

Freeport fell to 1-4 Monday with a 13-3 loss at Kennebunk. The Falcons hosted Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, go to Wells Thursday, welcome Yarmouth Friday and play at defending regional champion York Monday.

The Maine Girls’ Academy/Falmouth co-op team fell to 2-4 after losses last week to visiting Marshwood (27-6, in five innings), at Gorham (10-9) and at home to Massabesic (8-7). MGA/Falmouth visited Cheverus/NYA Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story), plays a makeup game at Bonny Eagle Thursday, hosts Scarborough Friday and welcomes Thornton Academy Monday of next week.

The Cheverus/NYA co-op team was still seeking its first win at press time after falling to 0-5 with losses last week at Deering (19-18) and at home to Massabesic (13-1, in five innings). Cheverus/NYA was home with Marshwood Monday, visited Gorham Tuesday and welcomed MGA/Falmouth Wednesday. The squad goes to Thornton Academy Thursday and Windham Friday and hosts Biddeford Monday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team rolled on last week improving to 5-0 with a 16-6 home win over Yarmouth in a rematch of last year’s Class B state final. The Yachtsmen shot to an 11-1 lead at halftime and went ahead by as much as 15-1 before cruising to victory behind four goals from Devin Russell and three from Nate Arrants. Spencer Pierce won 14 of 16 faceoffs.

“We have a really deep squad this year,” Russell said. “Everyone does their job and gets on top of the ball.”

“It was a business-like atmosphere tonight,” said Falmouth first-year coach David Barton. “We know we’ll see them again.” 

After hosting Freeport Tuesday, the Yachtsmen go to Waynflete Thursday and visit Lake Region Wednesday of next week.

Yarmouth got three goals from Remi Leblanc in the loss to Falmouth.

“(Falmouth’s) a very talented team from top to bottom,” Clippers coach David Pearl said. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We’re a young team. We need to grow.”

Saturday, Yarmouth bounced back and improved to 3-2 by downing Greely, 15-8. The game was scheduled to be played in Cumberland, but poor field conditions moved the contest to Yarmouth’s turf field. Billy Jacobs won 11 faceoffs and scored three times, as did Anders Corey and Cooper May.

“I think we settled the ball down more today and ran our offense, ran our sets,” said Jacobs. “It paid off playing as a team.”

“I’m proud of how our guys responded,” Pearl said. “We played well and played with confidence.”

The Clippers hosted Cape Elizabeth Wednesday and welcome defending Class A champion Scarborough in a crossover test Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story). Yarmouth travels to York Wednesday of next week.

NYA fell to 1-4 after losing at home last week to York (19-14) and Fryeburg Academy (18-11). After playing at Kennebunk Tuesday, the Panthers are back in action Wednesday of next week when St. Dom’s pays a visit.

Freeport took a 1-2 mark into Tuesday’s game at Falmouth. The Falcons play at Mt. Ararat Thursday and host Wells Tuesday of next week.

Greely got in the win column last Wednesday, 14-6, at Waynflete, behind three goals apiece from Ben Kennedy, Andrew Lawrence and Schuyler Wetmore. Saturday, the Rangers fell to 1-3 after a 15-8 loss at Yarmouth. Wetmore and Devlin O’Keefe both scored twice.

“We realize when we play these top teams that we need to limit our own mistakes, but we made a lot of mistakes that were costly,” Greely coach Mike Storey said.

The Rangers hosted Fryeburg Academy Tuesday, play at Cheverus in a crossover Saturday and host Cape Elizabeth Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

Yarmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team improved to 5-0 last week (its best start since 2007) with wins at NYA (17-4) and at home over Freeport (9-4). Greta Elder had three goals and Cory Langenbach and Eliza Lunt had two apiece against the Panthers. In the win over the Falcons, Eva Then scored four goals and Lunt added a pair. The Clippers went to Lake Region Wednesday and host Scarborough in a crossover Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story). 

Freeport fell to 1-4 with its loss to Yarmouth. After playing at defending Class B state champion Kennebunk Wednesday, the Falcons host Cony Friday and welcome Fryeburg Academy Tuesday of next week.

NYA followed up a 17-4 home loss to Yarmouth with a 24-5 setback at St. Dom’s to fall to 1-4. The Panthers hosted Greely Wednesday and play at Maine Girls’ Academy Saturday.

Falmouth enjoyed a 14-2 win at Wells last week. Devon Sarazin had three goals and Sydney Bell, Kayla Sarazin and Chelsey Smithwick scored two goals apiece. The Yachtsmen then improved to 5-0 Monday with a 9-8 home win in overtime over Cape Elizabeth in a makeup game. Sydney Bell scored four times and Olivia Stucker had the game-winner with a second left in OT. Falmouth was at Fryeburg Academy Wednesday and hosts York Tuesday of next week.

Greely enjoyed a historic win last Wednesday, rallying in the second half to down host Waynflete, 8-6, its first victory over the Flyers since May 18, 2004, snapping an 18-game skid in the series. Brooke Clement had three goals and Jayme Morrison added a pair.

“The team felt good about getting a win against Waynflete,” said Greely coach Becca Koelker. “Waynflete has a strong program and is always well-coached. We’re not the only team who has had trouble beating them in the past. It was a great game and we just made a few more plays at the end to get the win. While we’re proud of that win, our team has also talked a lot about working hard each day so that we are at our best at the end of the season. We know we need to take one game at a time, no matter who the opponent is.”

The Rangers then lost, 10-6, at home to Kennebunk to fall to 2-3. Ellie Schad had three goals in defeat. Greely was at NYA Wednesday, visits Mt. Ararat in a crossover Friday and welcomes Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

Track

The Falmouth and NYA outdoor track teams joined Kennebunk and Old Orchard Beach at a makeup meet in Wells Monday. The Yachtsmen were first in both genders, while the Panthers boys finished fourth and their girls were fifth.

Falmouth’s boys got wins from Matt Polewaczyk in the 100 (11.90 seconds) and 400 (54.86), Kyle Bouchard in the 200 (24.15), Jeremiah Sands in the 800 (2 minutes, 7.75 seconds) and mile (4:39.45), John Auer in the two-mile (10:07.29), Behn Smestad in the 110 hurdles (29.94), Aaron Thomas in the pole vault (13 feet, 1 inch), Alex Marcotte in the long jump (19-3), Cole Anderson in the discus (124-2.5), Chase Kelley in the javelin (127-1) and their 4×800 (8:48.28) relay team. NYA’s Jake Malcom took the 300 hurdles in 46.27 seconds.

In the girls’ meet, the Yachtsmen had first-place performances from Delaney Goodell in the 400 (1:06.21), Malaika Pasch in the 800 (2:24.81) and mile (5:13.91), Ally Schimelman in the two-mile (12:26.70), Adelaide Cooke in the 100 hurdles (17.28), discus (109-6) and javelin (101-0), Chelsea Zhao in the pole vault (8-0), Madison Tait in the shot put (29-8.5) and their 4×400 (4:32.610 and 4×800 (11:05.10) relay teams.

Greely and Yarmouth joined four other teams for a meet at York. The Rangers boys were second to the Wildcats and the Clippers came in third. Greely got wins from Max Stickney in the 800 (2:10.91), Luke Marsanskis in the two-mile (10:20.25) and its 4×100 relay team (47.46). Yarmouth first-place finishers included Luke Laverdiere in the mile (4:21.75), Eric LaBrie in the long jump (19-0) and its 4×800 relay team (10:23.73).

On the girls’ side, York was first, Greely third and Yarmouth fifth. The Rangers got wins from Morgan Selby in the 100 hurdles (17.18), 300 hurdles (48.02) and long jump (15-6). The Clippers got first-place performances from Anneka Murrin the 800 (2:17.87), Abby Hamilton in the mile (5:21.17) and Kim Fuller in the triple jump (36-11).

Freeport’s boys were first in a three-team meet at Lake Region (Fryeburg Academy also took part). The Falcons got wins from Nick Mitch in the 100 (12.53), Owen Patrick in the 200 (26.22), Jesse Bennell in the mile (5:15.12), John Giddens in the two-mile (11:56.43), Joe Ashby in the 400 (56.10), Griffin Agnese in the 300 hurdles (46.07), Yacob Olins in the 110 hurdles (21.78) and their 4×100 (51.67), 4×400 (4:03.88) and 4×800 (9:39.14) relay teams.

Freeport’s girls finished third and got wins from Tara Migliaccio in the 400 (1:02.93), Lilly Horne in the 800 (2:39.78) and two-mile (5:33.79), and its 4×100 (53.98) and 4×800 (12:29.44) relay teams.

Tennis

Falmouth’s girls’ tennis team hasn’t lost a match since May 2, 2008, but the Yachtsmen survived a scare last week, edging visiting Greely, 3-2, despite losing at first and second singles, to make it 144 straight match wins. Falmouth hosted undefeated Waynflete Tuesday. The Falmouth boys improved to 5-0 with recent wins over nine-time defending Class C champion Waynflete (4-1) and Greely (5-0).

Greely’s girls’ close loss to Falmouth was the team’s first of the season. The Rangers are home against Waynflete Thursday.

Yarmouth was 2-2 at press time.

Freeport fell to 2-4 after Monday’s 3-2 loss to York.

NYA earned its first win last Thursday, 3-2, at York, then fell to 1-5 Monday after a 4-1 loss to defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth.

On the boys’ side, Yarmouth was 1-2 entering the week.

Greely dropped to 0-5 after Monday’s 5-0 loss to Falmouth.

Freeport fell to 1-4 after a recent loss to St. Dom’s (3-2).

NYA earned its first win last week, 3-2, over York.

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

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