While there are no unbeaten teams in Western Maine Class A, the defending state champs from Scarborough have established themselves again as the team to beat. Save for one loss to a good Cheverus team, the Red Storm has been dominant throughout the season. Of course, that doesn’t mean it won’t be challenged this postseason, when every play counts and is the potential difference between moving on and going home.

The playoff field was reduced to nine teams this season, meaning that only one prelim game is necessary. No. 9 Bonny Eagle is slated to visit No. 8 Sanford on Tuesday for the privilege of playing Scarborough in the quarterfinals.

Here’s a look a the quarterfinal games:

No. 9 Bonny Eagle (7-9) or No. 8 Sanford (9-7) at No. 1 Scarborough (15-1): During the regular season, the Storm handled both these potential opponents, defeating Sanford 5-1 and shutting out Bonny Eagle 12-0. If Scarborough falls here, it would be an upset of epic proportions, given the season the team has had.

Scarborough averages more than 11 runs per game, outscoring its opponents 183-19. The offense is dangerous from top to bottom. With pitchers Melissa Dellatorre and Mo Hannan, the Storm has two aces that can shut down any lineup. Catcher Heather Carrier is as reliable a backstop as there is. She’s also an excellent hitter and knows how to win big games and not just softball games. She was an integral member of the Scarborough state championship field hockey and basketball teams, as well.

No. 7 McAuley (11-5) at No. 2 South Portland (15-1): Perhaps the surprise team of the season, the No. 7 Lions have shown they can score runs, averaging eight per game. South Portland won 5-2 when the teams met in the regular-season finale. The Red Riots’ lone loss came against Scarborough, 5-0.

South Portland has one of the league’s top pitchers in Alexis Bogdanovich. She throws hard and sends a lot of opposing hitters back to the dugout with the bat on their shoulders. If she’s hitting her spots, she can control a game. Oh, the Riots aren’t bad offensively either, scoring more than 10 runs a game. For McAuley to have a chance in this one, the Lions will have to play near flawlessly in the field and get on base against Bogdanovich early on.

No. 6 Biddeford (11-5) at No. 3 Kennebunk (13-3): It’s usually the Biddeford softball team that can stake claim to the title of best in York County, but this season Kennebunk has the honor. The No. 3 Rams have only lost once since the end of April, and that was to Scarborough. They tamed the Tigers 3-2 at Biddeford in the regular-season finale.

Biddeford is young, but has played very well at times this season. The Tigers beat Thornton Academy and kept it close against South Portland until the very end. They’ll need to avoid errors and push some runs across with small ball if they are to pull off the upset.

No. 5 Thornton Academy (12-4) at No. 4 Cheverus (12-4): The fifth-ranked Golden Trojans edged the Stags 9-8 in a back-and-forth game that featured plenty of offense when the teams met in Saco in mid-May. While both teams have top-notch pitchers Theresa Hendrix for the Stags and Julia Geaumont for Thornton this contest could gain be a slug-it-out affair.

As the records and earlier meeting show, these are two evenly matched teams. This game may be the most intriguing matchup of the quarterfinals.

Class B

Two-time defending state champion Fryeburg Academy is again atop the Western Maine Class B ranks despite the graduation of Miss Maine Softball Hannah Hill. The sole loss for the 15-1 Raiders came late last month when No. 4 Gray-New Gloucester (14-2) pulled out a 5-4 road win. The Raiders had won handily at Gray a few weeks earlier. There is a potential rubber match in the semifinals if the Patriots can get past No. 5 Oak Hill and the Raiders defeat the winner of the prelim between No. 9 Lisbon and No. 8 Wells.

Gray-New Gloucester’s only other loss came against No. 3 Greely, 9-7 back on May 12. With ace Laura Getchell a veritable strikeout machine on the mound, the Patriots are very dangerous as long as the defense avoids miscues. Averaging nine runs a game, Gray-New Gloucester has been more offensively prolific than in years past. The Patriots enter the tournament having won nine straight games. They’d like nothing more than to keep that streak going and return to the regional championship, where they fell to Fryeburg last season.