(Ed. Note: For the complete Yarmouth-Cape Elizabeth boys’ lacrosse and Falmouth-Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth-Waynflete and Freeport-NYA girls’ lacrosse game stories, please see theforecaster.net)

The early portion of the spring sports season has delivered some surprises and a lot of strong play and every local team has played at least once.

Here’s a glimpse.

Baseball

Falmouth and Yarmouth’s baseball teams are off to the hottest starts.

The Yachtsmen opened by avenging last year’s playoff loss with a 9-2 home win over York. Falmouth then beat host Cape Elizabeth, 3-1 (behind a strong start from Jesse Melchiskey and a two-run double from Will D’Agostino), visiting Freeport, 3-2 (as Ryan Mucci and Reece Armitage combined for the win), and visiting Fryeburg, 15-4 (Cam Guarino got the win in relief and Connor Aube had a three-run double). The Yachtsmen were at Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, host Greely Friday (game time has been pushed back to 5 p.m.) and visit Kennebunk Monday.

Yarmouth beat Cape Elizabeth twice to start the year (5-1 in Cape Elizabeth and 4-1 at home), then eked out a 2-1 home win over Freeport before outslugging visiting Fryeburg, 16-10. Jordan Brown threw a three-hitter against the Falcons and Luke Klenda figured in both runs, driving in one and scoring the winner. In the win over the Raiders, a 10-run fourth inning proved to be the difference. Cody Cook and Jack Snyder both had two hits and scored three runs. Connor Lainey and Caleb Pineo also had multiple hits. Monday, the Clippers fell to 4-1 Monday with a 4-1 home loss to Gray-New Gloucester (Pineo and C.J. Cawley had multiple hits). Yarmouth visits Greely Wednesday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and hosts Lake Region Monday.

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Greely rolled in its first three games, tallying 42 runs in the process. After handling visiting Fryeburg (12-3) and Kennebunk (12-5), the Rangers blasted visiting Lake Region, 18-2, in five innings. Will Bryant and Alex McAdoo combined on a five-inning no-hitter. Bryant also homered. Pat O’Shea had two hits and four RBI. Greely fell from the unbeaten ranks Friday with a 3-0 loss at Poland. The Rangers stranded 12 and Connor Russell was the hard-luck loser.

“You’ve got to give Poland credit,” said Greely coach Derek Soule. “Their pitcher made some great sequences of pitches when we had men in scoring position. Defensively, they were solid behind him.”

Monday, the Rangers improved to 4-1 with an 8-1 home win over Wells. Bailey Train threw a two-hitter and struck out seven and Mike McDevitt had two hits and three RBI. Tom Buchholz drove in two runs. Greely hosted Yarmouth Wednesday, goes to Falmouth Friday and visits York Monday.

Freeport’s played well, but has had some tough luck in the early going. The Falcons opened with a 3-0 home loss to Wells, then fell at Yarmouth (2-1) and Falmouth (3-2). Jack Davenport only allowed four hits against the Clippers. Bennett Hight had multiple hits in the loss to the Yachtsmen. Monday, Freeport fell to 0-4 with a 7-1 loss at York. Niko DiFazio had two hits. The Falcons hosted Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, go to Poland Thursday and visit Fryeburg Monday.

North Yarmouth Academy fell to 0-3 with recent losses at Traip (15-0, in five innings) and Old Orchard Beach (13-3, in six innings). Andrew Keith had multiple hits against the Seagulls. The Panthers hosted Traip Wednesday and welcome Waynflete Saturday.

Softball

On the softball diamond, Yarmouth is coming to life. After losing two straight to powerhouse Cape Elizabeth to start the season (6-3 away and 13-4 at home), the Clippers downed visiting Freeport (9-7) and Fryeburg (7-5). In the win over the Falcons, Melissa Levinson had two hits and two RBI. Against the Raiders, Yarmouth built an early 6-0 lead and held on behind a Levinson home run and strong relief pitching from Mari Cooper. Yarmouth then made it three in a row and improved to 3-2 Monday with a thrilling 5-4, come-from-behind home win over Gray-New Gloucester. 

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The Clippers entered the bottom of the seventh down, 4-2, but Mari Cooper led off with a walk and Julia Anastos’ fly ball to right was lost in the sun and dropped for a single. Freshman Andrea St. Pierre then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt and Michelle Robichaud was hit on the hand by a pitch to load the bases and bring up Monica Austin, who had homered earlier in the game.

Austin didn’t hit the ball near as well this time, but she did enough to single through the infield, scoring the tying runs. The runners moved up a base on the throw home.

“I’ve been a lot of nervous situations with golf and I know I can control my emotions better than I could a few years ago,” said Austin, who will play golf at Elon University in North Carolina next year. “Coach (Amy McMullin) was clapping for me. I just wanted to put it in play and I did. “

With Melissa Levinson at the plate, a passed ball occurred and Robichaud raced home with the winning run, unleashing a celebration.

“It feels amazing,” Austin said. “Last year, we lost a lot of close ones and we lost to Gray on a debatable call. This was a great game. Nobody gave up. We’re such a close team. We believe in each other. Michelle’s one of our fastest player, if not our fastest. I knew she was in there. I didn’t even run to third. It was pretty exciting.”

“This team doesn’t give up,” McMullin said. “They believe in every at-bat and every inning. That’s something you can’t teach. Sometimes the ball bounces your way. We had a huge bunt. We got runners in scoring position and got momentum. Fryeburg was a big win for us and it’s hard to get two big wins in a row, so we knew this was a must. I couldn’t be happier.”

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The Clippers went to Greely Wednesday, visit Sacopee Friday and host Lake Region Monday.

“We aren’t just looking to get into playoffs, we hope to go deeper,” McMullin said. “That’s our goal.”

Defending Western B champion Greely has passed every test so far. After opening with home wins over Fryeburg (3-2) and Kennebunk (11-5), the Rangers beat visiting Lake Region (4-0), host Poland (12-6) and visiting Traip (16-0, in five innings). Against the Lakers, Miranda Moore threw a one-hitter and Elyse Dinan had a pair of hits. In the win over Traip, Moore threw a two-hit shutout and had three hits, as did Moira Train. Mykaela Twitchell ripped a triple and a home run. Greely was home with Yarmouth Wednesday, goes to Falmouth Friday and visits York Monday.

Freeport opened with losses to visiting Wells (16-4) and at Yarmouth (9-7) and Falmouth (17-0, in five innings), but Monday, it rallied past host York, 8-6. Against the Clippers, Hannah Ray had three hits and two RBI. Nicole Perry and E.B. Wiest also had three hits. In the win over the Wildcats, the Falcons scored five times in the seventh. Perry and Ray both had multiple hits. Freeport hosted Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, plays at Poland Thursday and visits Fryeburg Monday.

Falmouth started with a 12-4 home win over York, then lost at Cape Elizabeth, 4-1, despite a home run from Krysia Lesniak. Next, the Yachtsmen blanked visiting Freeport, 17-0, in five innings, as Julia Treadwell threw a five inning no-hitter, striking out 10, and Lesniak had three RBI. Monday, Falmouth improved to 3-1 after an impressive 7-4 home win over Fryeburg. A six-run fourth inning spelled the difference. Maddie Rouhana had a bases loaded triple, while Liz Walker and Chelsea Fagen had multiple hits. The Yachtsmen went to Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, host Greely Friday and visit Kennebunk Monday.

Boys’ lacrosse

Lacrosse has produced plenty of excitement in the early going.

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Yarmouth, which won at York in its opener, 16-6, got another chance against last year’s nemesis, Cape Elizabeth, in a state championship game rematch last Tuesday night, but had the same result. The Clippers led, 4-2, late in the first half, but scored only two goals the rest of the way and lost to the Capers, 10-6, despite two goals apiece from Brendan Dioli and Joe Oliva. Yarmouth lost 11 of 20 faceoffs, had just 27 ground balls to 43 for the Capers and turned the ball over 23 times.

“The turning point was in the first five minutes of the game when we couldn’t clear the ball,” said Clippers coach David Pearl. “We knew we were in trouble. We’re a talented team and when we possess the ball, we can put it in the net. We have some firepower, but clearing the ball is job one. That’s the name of the game, possession. It’s so important.”

Yarmouth improved to 2-1 Friday with a 9-5 win at Greely, as Billy Jacobs scored three goals and Dioli and Max Watson each added two. After hosting Lake Region Tuesday, the Clippers play a crossover game at Brunswick Saturday and visit crosstown rival NYA Tuesday of next week.

The Panthers were searching for their first win at press time, after scoring just six goals in three games. After opening with a 6-1 home loss against Maranacook, NYA lost at home to Greely (4-1) and at home to Falmouth (12-4). The Panthers looked for their first win at Waynflete Tuesday. NYA then hosts Wells Thursday and welcomes Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

Freeport has already matched last year’s win total in starting 3-0. The Falcons won at Fryeburg in the opener (7-4), then beat Wells in a game played on the turf at Bowdoin College (11-6) and at home over Fryeburg (12-4). Sam Wogan scored five times against the Warriors. Freeport was at Kennebunk Tuesday, hosts Falmouth Thursday, Camden Hills Saturday and Waynflete Tuesday of next week.

In Western B, Falmouth is hinting at a dominant season. The Yachtsmen crushed visiting Kennebunk in the opener, 15-2, behind five goals from Brad Gilbert and four from IV Stucker, then handled host NYA, 12-4, as Tyler Jordan had three goals and Stucker, Joe Dancoes, C.J. Leighton and Bryce Kuhn all finished with a pair. Falmouth was home against Fryeburg Tuesday, goes to Freeport Thursday, visits Cheverus Saturday and has a showdown at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

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Greely got off to a strong start with a 22-3 romp at Lake Region and a 4-1 win at NYA (Mitch Mullin scored three times). Friday, the Rangers fell from the unbeaten ranks with a 9-5 home loss to Yarmouth (despite three more goals from Mullin). Greely was at York Tuesday, hosts Thornton Academy Friday and visits Kennebunk Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

While Yarmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team has gotten plenty of attention in the season’s early phase (see accompanying story), other local teams have also turned heads.

Falmouth’s young squad, under new coach Kait Johnson, opened with a 12-5 loss at Cape Elizabeth, then went to longtime nemesis Waynflete and upset the two-time defending Class B champions, 8-6. In the loss, Elle Fitzgerald scored twice and Sydney Bell had two assists. In the victory, Sabrina Smithwick had five goals, including the winner with 1:51 to play and goalie Sarah Hutcheon made 10 clutch saves as the Yachtsmen beat the Flyers for just the second time.

“It feels awesome to win,” Smithwick said. “Coming together like this shows how much depth we do have and how far we can go.”

“It’s a great win after the Cape game,” Hutcheon said. “It gets our spirits up. We were fired up after our loss.”

“It’s a big win,” Johnson added. “I’m really proud of (the girls). They played exactly how they were coached. They knew what was going to happen strategically. That’s a great feeling.”

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Falmouth played its home opener Wednesday against Freeport (see theforecaster.net for game story), plays a crossover at Thornton Academy Saturday and hosts Greely Wednesday of next week.

The Rangers opened with a 21-8 win at Gould, then lost against Kennebunk (in a game played at NYA), 8-3, and fell at Yarmouth, 11-9. Against the Clippers, Teal Otley had four goals to help Greely to a 9-3 lead late in the first half, but the Rangers didn’t score again.

“We knew it would be a tough game,” Greely coach Becca Koelker said. “Yarmouth’s a perennial powerhouse. I think we got tired and when we got tired, we turned the ball over too much. We have to work on coming out strong in both halves and having 50 minutes of strong play.”

The Rangers looked to even their record Wednesday when they hosted York. A trip to Falmouth looms Wednesday of next week.

Before losing at home to Yarmouth Monday (please see story), Freeport was undefeated. The Falcons opened with victories over visiting Fryeburg (16-2), at NYA (12-3) and at Morse (10-9, in overtime). Against the Raiders, Meredith Broderick had five goals and Emily Johnson added three. Freeport led the Panthers, 12-3, at halftime and rolled behind four goals from Martin and three from Julia Dearden.

“We attacked the goal,” Martin said. “We had good passing. We did a good job seeing the cutters.”

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“We talked about having a good second half,” Broderick said. “We didn’t want to let up. We came out like was 0-0.”

“That’s what we’ve been working on, forcing turnovers, draw controls, loose 50-50 balls,” added Falcons coach Karin Kurry.

At Morse, Broderick scored four times (including the winner), Lily Johnston also had four goals and goalie Molly Lane made 11 saves. Freeport was at Falmouth Wednesday and goes to Fryeburg Tuesday.

NYA dropped its first three games before earning a victory. After a 6-5 home loss to Waynflete, the Panthers fell at York (14-3) and at home to Freeport (12-3). Melanie Regan had two goals against the Wildcats. Olivia Madore scored twice against the Falcons.

“We’ve had a rough couple days,” NYA first-year coach Lucy Gerrity said, following the Freeport loss. “It’s hard when you have a off-day, then don’t have any practice time. We had another off-day today. We had no time to fix it because we didn’t have practice.”

A trip to Fryeburg Friday proved to be just what the doctor ordered, as the Panthers improved to 1-3 with a 12-3 win. Alex Wahlstrom had four goals and Madore added a pair. NYA went to powerhouse Kennebunk Tuesday and plays at Mt. Ararat Friday.

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Outdoor track

The outdoor track season is underway and as expected, local athletes are dominating.

Falmouth and Freeport began by joining York at Kennebunk. The Yachtsmen girls were first, while the boys came in second. The Falcons were fourth in both genders.

Falmouth’s girls got wins from Charlotte Cutshall in the 100 (13.35 seconds), 200 (27.97) and long jump (16 feet, 5 inches), Kaileigh Wimert in the racewalk (8 minutes, 47.96 seconds), Madeline Roberts in the two-mile (12:09.87), Mira Wyman in the 800 (2:35.64), Kiersten Dyhrberg in the discus (89-8), Adelaide Cooke in the javelin (83-9), Morgan Allen in the pole vault (6-6) Lydia Farmer in the triple jump (33-2.5) and their 400 relay team (54.19).

The boys got victories from Andy Clement in the 300 hurdles (42.61), Bryce Murdick in the two-mile (10:25.59), Tony St. Angelo in the long jump (18-10) and the 400 (46.59) and 3,200 (8:57.71) relay teams.

Freeport got wins from Harrison Stivers in the boys’ mile (4:44.87) and the girls’ 3,200 relay team (10:51.62).

Greely and NYA joined Seacoast Christian and Waynflete at Traip, where the Rangers won the girls’ meet with the Panthers fourth and NYA came in first on the boys’ side with Greely second.

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Greely’s girls got wins from Hannah Keisman in the 100 (13.79), Siana Emery in the racewalk (9:15.60), Kirsten Sandreuter in the mile (5:17.39) and two-mile (11:03.87), Kristina Smith in the high jump (4-10), Kayla Berry in the javelin (72-9), Alyssa Casarez in the pole vault (8-0) and shot put (33-7) and the 400 (54.6) and 1,600 (4:46.6) relays.

Greely boys’ event winners included Dan Ray in the 800 (2:12.33), Ben Ingraham in the high jump (5-6) and triple jump (35-3.5) and Ben Ray in the pole vault (10-0).

NYA’s boys got a pair of wins from both Michael McIntosh (100, 11.33; 200, 23.67) and Matt Malcom (mile, 4:37.27; two-mile, 10:09.44). Xander Bartone took the 400 (54.52). Chase Gendron won the discus (113-7). The Panthers were also first in the 400 (46.13) and 1,600 (3:51.44) relays.

Muriel Adams was the girls’ lone winner, taking the discus (111-6).

Results for Yarmouth’s opening meet at Poland weren’t available at press time.

Tennis

Falmouth’s girls’ tennis team’s match win streak is now 97 after the Yachtsmen won their first four outings by 5-0 scores (over Yarmouth, Kennebunk, Cape Elizabeth and Freeport). Falmouth was at Lake Region and will be tested by visiting Greely Thursday and Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

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Freeport fell to 1-3 with its loss to Falmouth. The Falcons (whose win was 4-1 over Lake Region) went to Greely Wednesday. The Rangers took a 4-0 record to Wednesday’s match versus Freeport after a 3-2 win at three-time defending Class C champion Waynflete Monday. The Rangers are at Falmouth Thursday. Yarmouth has already matched last year’s three victories and improved to 3-1 Monday with a 5-0 home win over Lake Region. After going to York Wednesday, the Clippers play host to NYA Thursday. The Panthers began the week 3-1, losing only to Cape Elizabeth (3-2). NYA got its first look at Waynflete Wednesday, when the Flyers paid a visit.

On the boys’ side, Falmouth opened with 5-0 wins over Yarmouth and Kennebunk, then edged Cape Elizabeth, 3-2, before beating Freeport, 3-2. The Yachtsmen go to Greely Thursday and visit Cape Elizabeth Tuesday. Freeport beat York in its opener, 4-1, then lost, 5-0, to six-time defending Class C champion Waynflete and 3-2 to Falmouth. The Falcons were home against Greely Wednesday. The Rangers sandwiched 4-1 losses to Kennebunk and Cape Elizabeth around 3-2 wins over Fryeburg and York. The Rangers are home with Falmouth Thursday and go to Yarmouth Monday. The Clippers opened with a 5-0 loss to Falmouth. Yarmouth visits NYA Thursday. The Panthers beat York and Fryeburg by 3-2 scores to start the season, then were blanked by visiting Cape Elizabeth, 5-0. NYA went to Waynflete Wednesday.

Sun Journal staff writer Randy Whitehouse contributed to this story.

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

Sidebar Elements


Falmouth junior Elle Fitzgerald gets a step on a Waynflete defender during the Yachtsmen’s 8-6 victory Friday afternoon.

NYA’s Bryce Tetreault returns a shot during last week’s 5-0 loss to defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth.


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