(Ed. Note: For the complete Scarborough-Deering and Scarborough-Portland baseball and Cape Elizabeth-Greely and South Portland-Yarmouth boys’ lacrosse game stories, with photos and box scores, visit theforecaster.net)

The midway pole has been passed and local teams are jockeying to make the playoffs as we enter the final phase of the regular season.

There’s been a lot of excitement in recent days and the days to come promise to deliver more drama.

Here’s a glimpse:

Baseball

South Portland’s baseball team continues to set the pace in Western Class A. Last Thursday, the Red Riots enjoyed a 3-1 win at Windham behind a complete game from Robert Graff, who also had two hits and an RBI. Jacob Brown, Zac Marles and Sam Troiano also registered a pair of hits. Tuesday, South Portland fell to 8-2 after a 3-0 home loss to Portland. Troiano and Cosmo Romano both had two hits and Henry Curran was the hard-luck loser, as he and Jon Vickers only allowed three Bulldogs hits. South Portland was home with Massabesic Thursday, visits Deering Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story), plays at Westbrook Tuesday and hosts Sanford Thursday of next week.

Scarborough had an eventful week. First, the Red Storm’s three-game win streak came to an end with a 4-3 loss at Deering last Thursday. Monday, Scarborough bounced back by avenging last year’s playoff loss with a 7-5 home win over Portland. Tuesday, the Red Storm finally balanced their record at 5-5 with a 4-1 victory at home over Massabesic. Against the Rams, Scarborough trailed, 4-0, entering the sixth, but got a run in that frame, then added two more in the seventh before the potential tying run was ruled out at first in a disputed play to end the contest.

“It’s tough,” said Red Storm coach Ryan Jones, who was ejected after arguing the final out call. “I saw it one way and the ump saw it another, but it didn’t come down to that one play. We had lots of chances.”

Monday, ace Ben Greenberg (who scored a run and had three steals against Deering) didn’t have his best stuff on the hill, but doubled and tripled. Those extra base hits, along with a two-run squeeze bunt from Ben Irish, helped Scarborough open up an early lead. Late in the game, Sam Warren had to come on to put out a fire and the Red Storm held on to win, 7-5.

“I love those situations, bases loaded, bottom of the seventh,” Warren said. “I was actually pretty excited. I was thinking we just had to get the last two outs. I’ve had trouble in the past leaving fastballs up, so it felt good to close it out. It’s a nice win.”

“Nobody even mentioned it, but I had (last year) in the back of my mind,” Greenberg said. “It was awful losing like that. We were fired up to come out and play today.”

“The other night was a rough one, but we certainly bounced back,” added Mike Collar, who served as coach in Jones’ stead. “We just did the same stuff we always do. Baseball’s baseball. Get them on, get them over and get them in. We did that today.”

Against the Mustangs, Matt Hartl went the distance and earned the win after allowing just six hits. Greenberg, Cam Brochu and Nick Suchecki all drove in runs. Scarborough (fifth in Western A) was home with Sanford Thursday, goes to Westbrook Saturday, visits Thornton Academy Tuesday and plays host to Gorham Thursday of next week.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth was 3-7 and 13th (only 10 teams make the playoffs) after losses at Greely (6-1), Kennebunk (10-1) and Lake Region (7-2). After hosting Poland Wednesday, the Capers welcome Wells Friday and Kennebunk Tuesday and go to Falmouth Wednesday of next week.

Softball

Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough’s softball teams remain perfect.

The Capers passed their biggest test to date last Wednesday, pulling away to crush host Greely, 12-3. Tess Haller homered twice and Katie Rabasca had herself a day, starting the game, finishing it to save it for Anna Goldstein and delivering three hits. Friday, Cape Elizabeth then enjoyed a 20-1 (five inning) win at Kennebunk. The Capers improved to 11-0 and first in the Western B Heals Tuesday with a nailbiting 6-5 win at Lake Region in a makeup game. Rabasca earned the win and improved to 7-0, while Emma O’Rourke and Michaela Pinette each had two hits. Cape Elizabeth was home against Poland Wednesday, welcomes Kennebunk Tuesday, then goes to Falmouth Wednesday of next week.

The defending Class A champion Red Storm improved to 10-0 and is first in the Western A Heals, but there was one scare in recent days. After a 33-0 five inning win at Deering, Scarborough hosted McAuley Friday and got pushed to the wire, as twice the Lions erased a three-run deficit, but the Red Storm held on, 7-6, thanks to Kaleigh Scoville’s game-winning double in the seventh. Monday, Scarborough cruised to a 14-0 five inning home win over Marshwood, as Sophia Burnham stole the show by throwing a three-hitter to earn the victory, while also pacing the offense with three hits and three RBI. After playing in a showdown at second-ranked Cheverus Wednesday, the Red Storm play host to Windham Friday and visit Westbrook Wednesday of next week.

South Portland dropped a 5-4 eight-inning home decision to Cheverus last Wednesday, then improved to 9-2 and third in Western A after beating host Windham (7-5) and visiting Westbrook (6-0). Laurine German hit a two-run, game-tying home run against the Stags and Olivia Indorf had three hits, but the Red Riots lost in extras. Against the Eagles, South Portland rallied with three seventh inning runs, as Miranda Gleason tied it with a single and Sarah Micucci drove in the winners with a two-run hit. German homered again. Stephanie Aceto threw a two-hit shutout against the Blue Blazes, as Indorf, Micucci and Abby Young all had multiple hits. The Red Riots were at Biddeford Wednesday and host Portland Friday.

Boys’ lacrosse

South Portland’s boys’ lacrosse team earned the biggest road win in program history last Friday. Playing at perennial powerhouse Yarmouth, which once won 73 straight games on its turf, the Red Riots dug an early 3-0 hole, then erupted for 10 straight goals. The Clippers finished strong, but South Portland had itself a statement victory, 10-7. Thomas Leddy had five goals, Jack Fiorini three and Duncan Preston two and the Red Riots’ defense held Yarmouth scoreless for nearly 29 minutes in one stretch.

“Last time I came here, I was a sophomore and we lost badly,” Preston said. “Last year, they came to South Portland and beat us, 15-4. They’re a really strong program. Coming here tonight was a different feeling.”

“It means a lot,” Leddy said. “There was a lot of hype that this was the biggest game we’ve played. This is an exclamation point. More so internally. We play teams like this and we get the ‘Ws’ and it looks great from the outside, but it feels even greater on the inside. I’ve never played on a team like this.”

“Communication set us apart tonight,” said senior defenseman Josh Allen. “I knew if I got beat, someone else would slide. I was comfortable tonight knowing someone else would come over. I knew we could handle it.”

“It’s a big feather in this program’s cap,” added South Portland coach Tom Fiorini. “I’m really proud of these kids. I think it’s fair to say it’s our biggest road win. It’s the first time we’ve beaten Yarmouth. Yarmouth is a storied program. It was a program test, not a midseason test. This is an exciting day for us.”

The Red Riots improved to 8-0 and first in the Western A Heals Tuesday with a 26-6 romp at Deering. Jack Fiorini had five goals and Kam Andrews and Andrew Whipple both finished with four. South Portland is home with Portland Saturday and goes to Massabesic Wednesday.

Scarborough suffered its first three-game losing streak in a decade, when it followed up a 10-5 home loss to Cape Elizabeth with a 13-8 setback at Cheverus and a 15-11 loss at Falmouth. Tuesday, the Red Storm bounced back with a 16-4 home win over Windham to improve to 6-3 and third in Western A. Scarborough returns to action Wednesday at home versus Gorham.

In Western B, defending state champion Cape Elizabeth is up to 8-0 and first in the Heals after crushing visiting Brunswick (16-2) and winning at Greely (8-4). Griffin Thoreck scored four times and Noah Haversat added three against the Dragons. In the win over the Rangers, the Capers only led, 5-4, at halftime, but pitched a shutout in the second half. Seven different players scored, led by Owen Thoreck with two goals.

“I’m pleasantly surprised (we’re 8-0), but we’re stepping up in every way possible,” said Griffin Thoreck.

“We came out this year with a chip on our shoulders,” said Danny Brett, who scored a goal and also helped lock down Greely’s attack. “Everyone’s opinion was that we wouldn’t be as good. We graduated our three best defenseman, two attackers and middie and didn’t have our starting goalie. We wanted to come out and prove it’s not a one-year thing. We wanted to come out and dominate and I think we’ve done that so far.”

“It’s never easy (winning at Greely),” Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond added. “We had great balance. We try to pressure the ball defensively.”

The Capers go to York Friday and host NYA, the last team to beat them, Tuesday.

Girls’ lacrosse

Scarborough’s girls’ lacrosse team dropped three in a row for the first time since the end of the 2006 regular season, then bounced back. The streak hit three last Thursday, 9-5, at Thornton Academy. Ainsley Jamieson and Kaitlin Prince both scored twice in the loss. Saturday, the Red Storm got back on track by handling visiting Portland, 12-5 (Prince scored four goals, while Bailey Adams and Emma Smith each contributed two). Tuesday, Scarborough got its biggest road win to date, 13-11, at Marshwood, behind five goals from Prince and three more from Adams. The Red Storm (second to Massabesic in Western A) hosted the reigning Western A champion Mustangs Thursday (see theforecaster.net for game story), play at defending state champion Cheverus Tuesday and visit Westbrook Wednesday.

South Portland dropped a 13-12 slugfest at Portland last week, then improved to 3-4 and seventh in Western A (the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs) with a 13-12 home win over Cony Saturday. Abby Letourneau scored four times in the loss and Shae O’Brien had three goals in the victory. The Red Riots were home against Deering Wednesday, play a crossover game at Brunswick Saturday, then visit Windham Tuesday and play host to Massabesic Thursday of next week.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth fell to fourth in the standings with a 4-3 record following Tuesday’s hard-fought 11-10 home loss to powerhouse Yarmouth. Hannah Newhall scored three times, but the Capers fell just short. Cape Elizabeth goes to Wells Friday and visits Greely Wednesday.

Outdoor track

On the track, Scarborough hosted Biddeford, Deering and Sanford Monday in the rain and came in first in both genders.

The boys got first-place showings from Griffin Madden in the 110 hurdles (16.16 seconds), Maxim Doiron in the 300 hurdles (43.6), Colin Jones in the 800 (2 minutes, 3.86 seconds), Mike Pino in the shot put (50 feet, 4 inches) and the 1,600 relay (3:44.26).

Girls’ winners included Kayla Griffis in the 100 (13.89), Laura Volan in the mile (5:42.28) and the two-mile (12:01.78), Cailley Ledue in the 200 (29.63) and the pole vault (7-6), Morgan Mckeown in the 400 (1:05.76), Emma Koukos in the 800 (2:40.0), Sarah Rinaldi in the high jump (5-0) and triple jump (32-5.5), Edie Christian in the long jump (14-7) and the 400 (54.68) and 1,600 (4:37.86) relays.

South Portland’s girls joined Thornton Academy and Windham at Noble and placed first. The Red Riots got wins from Lauren Magnuson in the 100 (13.38), Casey Loring in the 800 (2:33.91) and the mile (5:29.06), Callie O’Brien in the 300 hurdles (51.31), Shannon Conley in the two-mile (11:24.16), Michelle Medici in the javelin (86-4), and the 400 (53.23) and 3,200 (11:35.04) relays.

The host South Portland boys were second to Thornton Academy, but beat Noble and Windham. Jon Bagley won the 800 (2:05.94), Ruay Bol won the high jump (6-3), Michael Cuesta took the triple jump (43-3) and Daniel Guiliani was first in the shot put (47-10).

Cape Elizabeth joined Fryeburg and NYA and Lake Region last week. The boys came in second and the girls place third.

Boys’ winners included Deven Roberts in the 110 hurdles (17.48) and high jump (5-10), Liam Simpson in the 800 (2:02.29) and the mile (4:27.55), Mitch Morris in the two-mile (10:05.77) and Eddie Galvin in the long jump (19-2.5). Girls’ first-place finishers included Montana Braxton in the triple jump (32-8.5) and the 400 (56.3), 1,600 (4:39.09) and 3,200 (12:39.75) relays.

Tennis

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ tennis team was first in the Western B Heals at press time with a 9-2 record after 4-1 wins over York, Waynflete and York again. The Capers close the regular season Friday at Yarmouth. Scarborough was third in Western A with an 8-1 record after stretching its win streak to six by downing South Portland (5-0), Cheverus (4-1) and Massabesic (3-0). After hosting Bonny Eagle Wednesday, the Red Storm play at Sanford Friday and welcome Thornton Academy Tuesday. South Portland was 2-7 and 14th (only 11 teams make the playoffs) after losses to Scarborough (5-0), Massabesic (3-1) and Marshwood (5-0). The Red Riots were at Portland Wednesday, visit Biddeford Friday and close at home against Windham Tuesday.

On the girls’ side, Cape Elizabeth was second to Greely in the Western B Heals after a pair of 5-0 wins over York. The Capers close Friday at home versus Yarmouth. In Western A, Scarborough was seventh at press time with a 5-3 record after beating Westbrook (5-0) and losing to Cheverus (3-1) last week. The Red Storm went to McAuley Wednesday, host Sanford Friday and close at Thornton Academy Tuesday. They also have to make up a match versus Massabesic. South Portland was 11th (12 teams make the playoffs) at 3-5 after a 4-1 loss to Scarborough and a 4-0 victory over McAuley. The Red Riots hosted Portland Wednesday, welcome Biddeford Friday and close at Windham Tuesday. They also have to make up a match against Massabesic.

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

Sidebar Elements


Scarborough’s Nick Suchecki takes one for the team as he’s hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score a run during the Red Storm’s playoff-loss-avenging, 7-5 home win over Portland Monday.

South Portland’s Duncan Preston gets a step on a Yarmouth defender during the Red Riots’ 10-7 win last Friday night. South Portland’s biggest road victory ever further solidified its claim as the team to beat in Class A.

Cape Elizabeth junior Noah Haversat scores a goal during the Capers’ 8-4 win at Greely Tuesday, their eighth straight to start the season.


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