Local baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and tennis teams have already seen their share of triumph and drama.

Here’s a glimpse of how things look in the early stages of a very quick spring campaign.

Baseball

All three local baseball teams have been very good and have gotten stellar pitching.

The best performance came Tuesday when Scarborough junior Ben Wessel threw a no-hitter in an 11-0 (six inning) triumph at Sanford. Wessel also had two hits, including a triple, and scored twice. Junior Joe Cronin tripled twice, scored twice and drove in three. The Red Storm improved to 4-1 with their fourth successive victory. Scarborough also downed visiting Windham (11-1, in five innings) and Thornton Academy (4-1) in recent games. Freshman Ben Greenberg threw a three-hitter against the Eagles, while Cronin homered and senior Kyle Kelly had three hits. Senior Ryan Mancini hurled a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts against the Golden Trojans. Wessel had two hits, including a triple. The Red Storm were home with Massabesic Thursday and visit Gorham Saturday.

South Portland senior Andrew Richards almost matched Wessel Tuesday, as he blanked Portland on three hits in a 7-0 victory. Sophomore Nick Whitten doubled and tripled to key the offense as the Red Riots improved to 4-1 with their fourth straight win. South Portland also downed visiting Biddeford, the defending Western A champion (11-1, in five innings), and Kennebunk (13-3, in six innings) in recent action. Junior Will Bushey had three hits, three runs scored and three RBI against the Tigers, while Richards allowed only three hits in earning the win. In the victory over the Rams, junior Matt DiBiase got the win and senior Connor Vincent led the offense with three hits, three runs and two RBI. The Red Riots hosted Cheverus Thursday, welcome Noble Monday and go to Bonny Eagle Tuesday.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth, the reigning regional champ, is 3-0 in the early going. The Capers romped, 9-1, at Fryeburg in the opener, took care of visiting Gray-New Gloucester, 10-0, and held off rival host Greely, 8-4, in nine innings, Monday. Against the Raiders, senior Rob MacDonald threw a one-hitter, striking out eight. He also had two hits and an RBI. Senior Cam Brown drove in three and doubled twice. In the win over the Patriots, junior Will LeBlond threw a one-hitter and MacDonald and senior Kyle Danielson both homered. Against the Rangers, in a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which also went extras, the Capers rallied from a 3-0 deficit and won it in the ninth thanks to Greely’s shaky defense. Brown got the win in relief. Senior Pat Tyler had three hits. Cape Elizabeth was scheduled to host Lake Region Wednesday, but that game was postponed by rain. Friday, the Capers host Poland and Monday they welcome Wells. Tuesday, they go to Falmouth.

Softball

On the softball side, victory has been the theme as well.

Cape Elizabeth, which barely missed the playoffs in 2010, appears back on track this spring. The Capers lost at three-time defending regional champion Fryeburg (5-0) last Wednesday, but bounced back with wins at Falmouth (7-4), at home over Gray-New Gloucester (4-1) and at then-unbeaten Greely (2-1). After mustering only five hits in the loss, Cape Elizabeth managed 11 at the Yachtsmen, in a game played amid rain and delayed for 35-minutes by lightning. Senior Ally Boyington earned the win and had four hits and two RBI.

“We needed to get that in,” said Capers coach Joe Henrikson. “Those were very tough conditions. The wind was brutal. Honestly, I think the difference was we caught some pop-ups and they didn’t. I hope to build on this. We still have a lot of things to improve. We can hit. I’m hoping it will only get better.”

Against the Patriots, Boyington struck out eight and drove in a run. Senior Emily Donovan had two RBI and junior Ali Johnson had an RBI hit. Cape Elizabeth scored twice in the top of the first at Greely (junior Emmy Ham had a two-run double), gave up a run in the bottom half, then Boyington took care of business the rest of the way, allowing just four hits. The Capers (3-1) were scheduled to host Lake Region Wednesday, but that game was postponed by rain. Friday, they host Poland, Monday they welcome Wells and Wednesday brings a visit from Yarmouth.

In Western A, defending champion South Portland has yet to be tested. The Red Riots captured their first five games by a composite 56-0 margin. The most recent wins came over visiting Deering (10-0), host Westbrook (10-0) and visiting Windham (12-0, in six innings). Against the Rams, sophomore Erin Bogdanovich threw a two-hitter and fanned 11 and sophomore Danica Gleason drove in four runs. Both girls had multiple hits. In the win over the Blue Blazes, senior Alexis Bogdanovich struck out 12 and hurled a two-hitter. Bogdanovich also had a pair of RBI hits. Seniors Katlin Norton and Stephanie McDonough had triples. Against the Eagles, Erin Bogdanovich took her turn and threw a two-hit shutout with nine Ks. She also tripled twice. South Portland played at Noble Thursday, hosts Marshwood Friday, goes to Gorham Monday and plays host to Massabesic Wednesday.

Scarborough is hot on the Red Riots’ heels. The Red Storm are also 5-0, outscoring the opposition, 52-8. Scarborough had no trouble with visiting Noble (16-6), Westbrook (10-1), host Marshwood (8-0) and visiting Gorham (5-0). Against the Knights, freshman Alyssa Williamson hit a grand slam and sophomore Marisa O’Toole had four hits and four RBI. Williamson and junior Dominique Burnham combined to earn the victory. In the win over the Blue Blazes, a nine-run first inning put the game away early. Sophomore Erin Giles got the win, fanning nine. Junior Mo Hannan had three hits, Williamson and junior Abby Rutt both hit home runs and Rutt drove in a pair of runs, as did senior Lauren Aceto. Hannan got the win against the Hawks, striking out 10. She also doubled and singled twice. Williamson tripled and drove in two. In the win over the Rams, Hannan had three hits, including a pair of doubles. Williamson and Burnham combined for the win. The Red Storm went to Massabesic Thursday, host Thornton Academy Saturday and play at Biddeford Wednesday.

Boys’ lacrosse

While the defending Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth boys’ lacrosse team is coming on strong (please see story), defending Class A champ Scarborough took a 3-1 mark into Wednesday’s home game versus Thornton Academy. The Red Storm romped, 14-2, over visiting Noble last Wednesday (senior Peter Moore had three goals), then lost, 13-3, to visiting Falmouth Saturday. Moore, junior Jon Blaisdell and sophomore John Wheeler had the goals in the loss, which featured a 32 minute, 27 second drought (from the first to fourth quarters).

“(Falmouth’s) excellent,” said Red Storm coach Joe Hezlep. “One thing I’ve learned is when you win, you’re never as good as you think you are and when you lose, you’re never as bad as you think you are. I see the scoreboard, but it’s not indicative of how we played. There are a lot of positives we can take out of this.”

Scarborough goes to Kennebunk Saturday and visits Bonny Eagle Wednesday.

South Portland, which lost three of its first four, including an 8-7 decision at Massabesic last Wednesday (senior Brian Cleary had three goals, junior Mike Salvatore two), turned around and defeated host Camden Hills (14-3) and visiting Westbrook (9-2). Cleary and freshman Thomas Leddy had four goals each versus the Windjammers. Cleary had four goals and Salvatore three in the win over the Blue Blazes. The Red Riots (3-3) look to go over the .500 mark Wednesday at Windham.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, defending Class A champion Scarborough had its 17-game win streak snapped Saturday, 16-11, to visiting Yarmouth. The Red Storm raced to a quick 3-0 lead, but couldn’t hold on, despite four goals from junior Maggie Smith and three from classmate Kelsey Howard.

“It was nice to see how we reacted to the competition,” said Red Storm coach Marcia Wood. “Yarmouth’s so fast. They have a lot of girls who can score. I felt that we’re similar with them, but they have more experience. I’m impressed with the starts of both halves. We know we have to work at it this year. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard work.”

Scarborough was coming off an 11-4 home win over Portland (Smith, junior Mary Scott and senior Meghan Quirk all had three goals). The Red Storm improved to 3-1 Monday with a 17-5 victory at Deering. Scott had five goals in that one. Scarborough is at Massabesic Monday.

“There are some good teams and with this team being somewhat young, we’ll see how we step up,” Wood said. “You never know. I’m glad we had this to learn from and recognize we did some good things and now we know what to work on.”

South Portland has also impressed. The Red Riots opened with a 17-2 home romp over Lincoln Academy Saturday, then eked out a thrilling 13-12 overtime win over visiting McAuley Monday. Senior Nikki LaPlante had four goals and junior Anh Nguyen three versus Lincoln. In the OT game, Nguyen had four goals, LaPlante three and sophomore Lani Edwards scored the winner. South Portland (2-0) was at Noble Thursday, hosts Gorham Friday and welcomes Sanford Monday.

In Western B, Cape Elizabeth won its first two games, 11-1, over visiting Fryeburg, and 5-4 (in overtime) at Marshwood. Junior Janessa White had three goals versus the Raiders. Sophomore Lauren Steidl had the tying and winning goals versus the Hawks. Monday, the Capers fell to 2-1 after a 16-6 home loss to Yarmouth. Sophomore Talley Perkins led the team with three goals. Cape Elizabeth goes to Wells Friday and visits Falmouth in a playoff rematch Wednesday.

Track

The outdoor track campaign is underway.

Cape Elizabeth hosted Poland, Sacopee, St. Dom’s and Traip Friday and both Capers teams came in fifth.

Scarborough’s joined Westbrook and Windham at Gorham Monday and both Red Storm teams took first place.

The boys got wins from Orin James in the 110 hurdles (16.12 seconds) and high jump (5 feet, 10 inches), Jack Sullivan in the racewalk (7 minutes, 56.75 seconds), Nick Morris in the 800 (2:02.01) and mile (4:41.26), Scott Merrill in the 200 (24.03) and the 400 (48.25) and 1,600 (3:38.79) relays.

Girls’ winners included Nicole Kirk (100, 12.9, and 200, 26.62), Abby Chick (400, 1:03.59), Emily Tolman (800, 2:29.75), Emilia Scheemaker (long jump, 16-7.75, and triple jump, 34-11), Haela Booth-Howe (javelin, 107-5), Andrea Tolman (pole vault, 9 feet) and the 400 (51.86) and 1,600 (4:15.37) relays.

South Portland’s boys beat Biddeford, Massabesic and Westbrook in a home meet last Wednesday, then defeated host Cheverus, Deering and Portland Monday. In the latter meet, the Red Riots got wins from Adrian Reid in the 200 (23.34) and long jump (19-8.25), Brian Campbell in the triple jump (35-1.5), Darryl Wilkinson in the mile (4:49.0), and the 400 (45.1) and 1,600 (3:37.56) relays.

The Red Riots girls finished second in each of their initial meets, including Monday at Cheverus. In that one, Nicole Grant won the racewalk (11:04.6), Clara Ellis took the 400 (1:04.83), Sophia Desjardins was first in the 200 (27.19) and Abby Hasson won both the javelin (76-2) and discus (87-7).

Tennis

The defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth boys’ tennis team won its first four matches by 5-0 scores and hosted longtime rival Falmouth (weather permitting) Wednesday. The Capers girls are also 4-0 and played at three-time defending state champion Falmouth Wednesday.

In Class A, both Scarborough teams have started 3-0.The girls have big matches coming up next week versus McAuley and defending regional champion Gorham. Both South Portland teams have been competitive, but were 0-4 at press time.

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

Sidebar Elements

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Cape Elizabeth junior Matty Pierce reaches for a pop fly as senior Ben Berman attempts to get out of the way during the Capers’ dramatic 8-4, nine inning victory at Greely Monday afternoon.

Scarborough junior Maggie Smith fires a shot on goal during the Red Storm’s 16-11 home loss to Yarmouth Saturday morning.

Scarborough sophomore goalie David Pearson comes up big and makes a save during Saturday’s home loss to Falmouth.