The high school softball regular season finally came to an end Friday afternoon, as Scarborough and South Portland ”“ the last two Western Class A regional final winners ”“ dueled with some playoff seeding on the line. The rest of the regular season wrapped up earlier in the week, as teams tried to finish out their regular seasons on a high note or tried to gain some momentum for playoff runs.

Four local teams qualified for the playoffs, with two ”“ Thornton Academy in Class A and Wells in Class B ”“ earning high seeds and byes into the quarterfinals. The other two, Biddeford and Kennebunk, both will play Western Class A prelims on Tuesday.

Few teams finished their regular seasons on a roll like the Thornton Academy Golden Trojans did. After beginning the season 2-3, capped off by a loss to Scarborough, the Trojans finished the season on an 11-0 run, outscoring opponents 145-9 over that span.

“Momentum-wise we’re going in the right direction,” said Thornton head coach John Provost. “The first five games of the year we were very sloppy; we literally gave away two games just playing sloppy defense, not hitting our cut-offs. We just kept emphasizing the need for our defense to improve, and it has dramatically.

“It just seems that every game, it’s somebody different making a play or somebody different getting a key hit. We’re not relying on that typically one or two kids carrying a team, it’s just been distributed among the nine, and even the girls coming in off the bench are tremendous role players.”

Much of Thornton’s success ”“ although it might be unfair to point to just one part of the Trojans ”“ can be attributed to starting pitcher Bailey Tremblay. After having a breakout first year as a sophomore last season, Tremblay was even better this year as a junior. In 102 innings, she allowed just 23 runs on 53 hits and pitched seven shutouts.

Those numbers can be attributed to equal parts defense and Tremblay’s nasty changeup.

“She really developed that changeup this year, kept batters off-balance,” said Provost.

The biggest compliment Tremblay’s changeup received might have come from Thornton’s biggest rival, as Biddeford head coach Leon Paquin said he could only tip his cap to Tremblay’s off-speed offering after a 5-0 loss earlier this year.

The Tigers still couldn’t find success against the pitch when the teams played again nine days later during a 14-0 loss to end the regular season.

It was a blow for the Tigers, who lost their last four games after starting 10-2 ”“ twice to Thornton and once each to Scarborough and Bonny Eagle. But Paquin said after the regular-season finale that his team had time to get back on track.

“We got plenty of time to regroup. We can just take a breath, realized what happened, get to work, get better, come with a positive attitude, and see what happens,” he said. “When we play good, we’re good. It’s as simple as that. We just have to play.”

The Tigers earned the No. 7 seed in the 12-team Western Class A tournament, with the Kennebunk Rams secured the 12th and final spot.

Kennebunk finished 6-10 while navigating through its first year in the Western Maine Conference. Half of the Rams’ wins came against Class B playoff teams, giving them enough Heal Points to qualify in Class A. Kennebunk will face No. 5 Bonny Eagle in the prelims.

Biddeford will host No. 10 Gorham in its prelim. The Tigers beat the Rams 5-1 on the road on May 23 ”“ their last win before the season-ending losing streak.

Wells secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Class B tournament after finishing the season 13-3. The Warriors won three games against Class A playoff teams (twice against Falmouth and once against Kennebunk), and all three losses came to Class B playoff teams, including to undefeated and top-seeded Cape Elizabeth.

The Warriors, led by ace Lauren Bame and an experienced group of hitters, will host Gray-New Gloucester in the quarterfinal round. Wells routed the Patriots early in the season.

Wells head coach Kevin Fox said that his team’s success was a little bit of a surprise, after going 9-7 last year and missing the playoffs, but he lamented, “you never know how good you are going to be until (after the season starts.)”

Fox said that with the team he has this year, this was the group that had the best chance of making a run, as he has nine seniors that “want to make a mark before the leave.”

Fox said that depth and a strong lineup one-through-nine was his team’s best asset.

The Warriors have a chance to make a deep run, according to Fox, but he also knows that in the playoffs, there’s always a chance for teams like his to get upset.

“I think we can beat anyone,” said Fox. If we play our game … we can beat anyone on any given day.”

Thornton’s seed in the playoffs was in flux up until Friday, as it depended on the outcome of the Scarborough-South Portland matchup. With Scarborough’s win ”“ thus completing an undefeated regular season ”“ the Trojans secured the No. 2 seed. It’s the highest finish in program history.

While the high seed is an appropriate reward for a stellar season, Provost said this year’s tournament could be unpredictable.

“It’s deep this year. You can go all the way down to that eighth/ninth seed, and it’s going to be some very competitive games. There’s really a lot better balance this year than there has been in the previous years,” said Provost. “I think any of those top five or six teams have the ability to go deep in the playoffs.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.