Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland’s baseball teams all felt pretty good about their chances when the postseason began earlier this week.
In Western A, Scarborough (12-4 and ranked third) hosted either No. 6 Bonny Eagle (10-6) or No. 11 Kennebunk (5-11) in the quarterfinals.
The Red Storm beat the Scots, 3-2 in Standish on May 14, but were upset, 9-6 at Kennebunk, May 21. Scarborough has never faced Bonny Eagle or Kennebunk in the playoffs.
If victorious in the quarterfinal, the Red Storm will possibly go to second-ranked Westbrook (14-2), which routed them twice: 11-2 back on April 28 in Scarborough and 11-0 (in six innings) in the SMAA semifinal last week in Westbrook.
South Portland (8-8 and 10th) had to play a rain delayed prelim on Wednesday when it went to No. 7 Thornton Academy (8-7). The Red Riots lost 9-6 in Saco on May 21. The last playoff meeting between the schools came in 2000 (a 5-3 South Portland win in the preliminary round).
The Red Riots hoped to advance to a semifinal at Westbrook 24 hours later. They lost 11-2 at the Blue Blazes on May 12.
In Western B, defending champion Cape Elizabeth closed strong and earned the top seed with a 12-4 mark. The Capers opened in the quarterfinals at home against either No. 8 Lake Region (9-7) or No. 9 Maranacook (8-8).
Cape Elizabeth doesn’t play the Black Bears in the regular season. The Capers beat Maranacook 9-1 in last year’s semifinals. Cape Elizabeth was a 6-2 home victor over the Lakers on May 6. The last time the teams played in the postseason was 2001 (an 11-1, six inning, Capers’ triumph in the second round).
Looking ahead, the Western B Final is Tuesday of next week at St. Joseph’s College. First pitch is 3 p.m. The Western A Final will be played next Wednesday at St. Joe’s at 3 p.m. The Class B state game is also at St. Joe’s, on Saturday, June 20. The starting time is 5 p.m. The Class A state game is at Morton Field in Augusta on June 20, beginning at 2 p.m.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
Sophomore Steven Hodge and his South Portland teammates went into the playoffs hoping to spring an upset or two.
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