The high school baseball, softball and lacrosse regular seasons have come to an end.
The postseason in boys lacrosse actually opened on Monday as No. 9 Morse took on No. 8 Winslow at Thomas College in a Class B North preliminary matchup, with Winslow coming out on top, 14-11.
Baseball
Bob Neron’s Mt. Ararat High School baseball team, along with Garrett Olson’s Morse squad, had solid seasons in earning playoff bids.
The Eagles garnered the No. 7 seed and will play host to No. 10 Messalonskee (6-10) today at 4:15 p.m. Mt. Ararat, 8-8, dropped a 4-0 decision to Messalonskee in the opening game in mid-April.
Mt. Ararat has been up and down all season, never winning more than two straight games, but never losing more than two consecutive contests either.
“We need to come out swinging the bats,” said Neron. “That 4-0 game was a terrible day. We just need to hit. If we do that, we will be fine.”
Neron is planning to send righty Garrett Moody to the mound. Last season, Moody’s pitching led Mt. Ararat to an upset win over Oxford Hills, and he is coming off his best performance of the year.
“We had three college coaches at the Oxford Hills game and Garrett Moody spun a gem,” said Neron. “Moody has pitched back-to-back solid games and will start against Messalonskee.
“Our problem has been offense. If we score runs, we will be fine.”
The Shipbuilders also earned a No. 7 seed. Morse, with its 11-5 record, is slated to host 10th-seeded Mountain Valley (11-5) today at 4 p.m. on Kelley Field. The teams didn’t face each other this season, with Morse playing in the Kennebec Valley
Athletic Conference and the Falcons competing out of the Mountain Valley Conference.
Morse opened the season with five straight wins and had a three-game winning streak toward the tail end of the campaign.
Freeport, the defending Class B South regional champs, finished strong to garner the No. 11 seed. Last year, it was seventh-seeded Freeport that pulled three straight upsets before falling to Old Town in the State Class B title game in Bangor.
A seven-game winless streak set the Falcons back, but wins in their final three games has the squad entering the postseason hot with a 6-9-1 mark.
Freeport heads to Livermore Falls to face No. 6 Spruce Mountain (11-5) today at 4 p.m.
Lisbon, in Class B South, and Richmond, in Class D South, have earned quarterfinal contests, with the Greyhounds awaiting the winner of the 9-8 matchup between Sacopee Valley and Old Orchard Beach. Lisbon lost to Sacopee Valley in last year’s Class C South regional final at Standish, 7-6, and went 12-4 this year in claiming the No. 1 overall seed.
Richmond held the No. 1 seed in Class D South throughout the year, but a 3- 0 loss to North Yarmouth Academy, the No. 3 seed, dropped the Bobcats to second behind Searsport.
Richmond (14-2) hosts Forest Hills on Thursday at 3 p.m. The Bobcats swept an East-West Conference doubleheader from the Tigers May 20 by a whopping 32-1 combined margin.
Softball
Mt. Ararat came out flying this season. An 8-1 start had the Eagles pressing for the top seed in Class A North.
But, Mt. Ararat struggled down the stretch, going 2-5 to drop to the No. 8 seed with a 10-6 mark.
The Eagles draw No. 9 Cony (8-8) in a prelim today (4:15 p.m. in Topsham). Mt. Ararat split with the Rams during the season, coming from behind for a 12-7 home win before dropping a 6-2 decision at Augusta.
Morse makes a return to the postseason and will entertain No. 10 Maranacook (10-6) today at 4 p.m.
The Shipbuilders begin the playoffs with a 12-4 record, good for the No. 7 seed. Morse is riding a threegame winning streak and closed by winning six of its final seven contests.
The ’Builders rolled to a 12-1 win over the Black Bears on May 11.
Lisbon, which advanced to the Class C South regional final last season, lost three of its final four games and will travel to No. 4 Carrabec (11-5) on Thursday for a quarterfinal at 3 p.m.
The Greyhounds are the No. 5 seed with a 10-6 record. Lisbon dropped two games to the Cobras this season, 5-4 at Carrabec on May 12 and 10-2 at home May 25.
Richmond continues to roll up the wins. A 16-0 regular season upped the Bobcats’ winning streak to 86 games, and Richmond has some time to prepare.
The Bobcats will host a Class D South semifinal on either Friday or Saturday against the winner of the Thursday quarterfinal between No. 5 Temple and No. 4 Vinalhaven/North Haven. Richmond didn’t face Temple and rolled to a pair of easy wins (15-1, 11-0) over the Vikings.
Boys lacrosse
The defending Class A North champion Brunswick Dragons are aiming for a long playoff run once again.
Brunswick is 12-0 and the No. 1 seed in the region. The Dragons are slated to host No. 8 Windham (5-7) Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
Brunswick and Windham didn’t meet during the regular season, and the winner will meet up with either No. 5 Deering or No. 4 Cheverus in the semifinals.
Also in Class A North, Matt Haskell’s Mt. Ararat squad is the No. 7 team after a 6-6 regular season. The Eagles head to Bates College against No. 2 Lewiston Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
The Eagles and Blue Devils faced off in regular-season finale, with Lewiston capturing a 10-4 victory.
Girls lacrosse
Co-coaches Linda Levesque and Jess Avery have watched the Morse Shipbuilders grow all season. Morse enters the postseason riding a six-game winning streak, including Saturday’s KVAC title 8-1 win over Oceanside.
The Shipbuilders draw a tough opponent in No. 7 Freeport for Wednesday’s quarterfinal in Bath (5 p.m.). The teams met on April 29, with the visiting Falcons running away for a 12-6 victory.
“I was hoping we could avoid Freeport or Saint Dom’s (No. 5 seed),” said Levesque, who still feels her team is “ready for the challenge.”
Freeport, coached by Marcia Wood, struggled to a 4-8 mark in a mostly Western Maine Conference slate. However, the Falcons are dangerous, coming off a close 12-11 loss to Greely and rolling to a 17-6 win over North Yarmouth Academy.
In Class A North, first-year coach Dave Boucher has his Brunswick Dragons in a familiar spot. Brunswick, the No. 7 seed, heads to Windham today at 3:30 p.m. to face the Eagles, the No. 2 seed with a 10-2 mark.
The Dragons lost to Windham in last year’s quarterfinals.
Tennis
The regional finals are currently under way at Maine Pines in Brunswick, with Lewiston and Brunswick meeting in both the girls and boys matchups.
The Dragon boys are the No. 1 seed after a 12-0 season, including a pair of wins (5-0, 3-2) over the Blue Devils. However, Lewiston did win the KVAC title with a 3-2 decision over Brunswick.
On the girls side, Lewiston captured a 4-1 win over Brunswick one day after the Dragons downed the Blue Devils, 3-2.
Brunswick (12-2) also lost to Hampden Academy during the regular season, but the No. 3 seed bounced the No. 2 Broncos in Saturday’s semifinals, 4-1, to set up another match with top-seeded Lewiston (13-1).
The State Class A Championships are scheduled to be held on Saturday at Colby College in Waterville at 10 a.m.
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