The memorable and highly successful spring sports season is just getting interesting.
Tennis has crowned its individual champions, while everyone else is winding down their regular season.
For athletes who didn’t have as much as a single practice in 2020, the overdue fun is just beginning.
Here’s a glimpse:
Tennis
Scarborough’s Amber Woods returns a shot during last week’s state singles tournament. Woods reached the semifinals. Daryn Slover / Sun Journal
The tennis singles tournament saw high drama, with Cape Elizabeth’s Blair Hollyday right in the middle of it.
Hollyday, ranked second, defeated Sanford’s Olivia Guinard, 6-0, 6-2, in the second round, ousted Washington Academy’s Sarah Moulton, 6-1, 6-0, in the round of 16, then downed No. 10 Naomi Lynch of Hall-Dale, 6-0, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.
In Monday’s state semifinals, Hollyday went up against No. 3 Morgan Warner of Waynflete and the two produced an epic three-set, nearly three-hour battle. Hollyday took the first set, 7-5, but Warner came back to take the second, 6-3. The third set then featured multiple service breaks, but ultimately, Warner took it, 7-5.
Scarborough’s Amber Woods, seeded fifth, beat Greely’s Mia Netland, 6-4, 6-2, in the second round, then knocked off No. 12 Madi Hedrich of Presque Isle, 6-1, 6-2, in the round of 16 before losing, 0-6, 0-6, to No. 4 Caitlin Cass of Lincoln Academy in the quarterfinals.
Cape Elizabeth’s Caroline Gentile won her first round match, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (2), over Caribou’s Ashlyn Bouchard, then knocked off Madigan Murphy of York in the second round, 6-1, 6-0, before losing to eventual champion Sofia Mavor of Yarmouth in the round of 16, 0-6, 0-6.
On the boys’ side, Cape Elizabeth’s Eben Harrison lost, 6-7 (5), 0-6, to Camden Hills’ Owen Markowitz in the first round.
In team action, Cape Elizabeth’s girls nearly enjoyed a perfect regular season, finishing up with a 3-2 loss to Yarmouth to go 10-1, good for first in Class B South. The Capers boys wound up 4-7 after a 5-0 loss to reigning state champion Yarmouth and were ranked seventh in Class B South at press time.
In Class A South, the Scarborough girls, the reigning regional champion, were 10-1 and third entering Wednesday’s regular season finale at Gorham. The Red Storm boys were 5-6 and seventh in the region entering Wednesday’s home finale versus Gorham.
South Portland’s boys finished 4-8 and ninth in Class A South. The Red Riots girls finished 4-8 and 13th in Class A South.
The team tournament begins Tuesday.
Baseball
South Portland’s Nolan Hobbs delivers a pitch last week in a loss to Thornton Academy. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald
Heading into the final days of the baseball regular season, reigning state champion Scarborough boasted a record of 11-1 and was second to Thornton Academy in the Class A South Heal Points standings. The Red Storm had won five straight, including a doubleheader sweep of visiting Biddeford last Friday (8-7 and 9-3) and an eight-inning home win over Windham Tuesday (5-4). In the first game against the Tigers, a six-run third inning held up as Ben Seguin homered and drove in three runs and Nic Frink earned the win in relief and scored a pair of runs. In the nightcap, Scarborough scored eight runs in the first inning and Ryan Gambardella didn’t surrender an earned run in a complete game effort. Seguin, Thomas Donahue, T.J. Liponis and Joe Townsend all had a pair of hits. Against the Eagles, Seguin had two RBI and Frink scored twice, including the winning run on Peter O’Brien’s hit. The Red Storm play a doubleheader at Bonny Eagle Saturday, then close the regular season at South Portland Tuesday of next week.
South Portland was 9-3 and sixth in Class A South following a 2-0 home loss to Thornton Academy and a doubleheader sweep at Westbrook, 10-0 (in six-innings) and 13-9. In the setback, the Red Riots didn’t produce a hit against Golden Trojans ace Cody Bowker until the sixth and Nolan Hobbs was the hard-luck loser.
“It was a great performance,” said Jason Cooke, South Portland’s assistant coach who was filling in for head coach Mike Owens. “Every once in awhile you run into a guy that has it going like that. I thought our kids had good at-bats, but his stuff was really good.”
In the opener of the doubleheader, Ken Carlisle threw a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, Johnny Poole had three hits and Bradley McMains added a pair. In the nightcap, Richard Gilboy had two hits, two runs scored and three RBI, while McMains, Connor Dobson and Andrew Heffernan each drove in a pair of runs. The Red Riots hosted Thornton Academy Thursday, go to Biddeford for a doubleheader Saturday and close at home versus Scarborough Tuesday of next week.
In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth was 7-7 and seventh in the Heals after being swept in a doubleheader by visiting Greely (8-0 and 13-0, in five-innings) and winning at Lake Region (12-0, in five-innings). After hosting York Friday, the Capers close at the Wildcats Wednesday of next week.
Softball
South Portland’s Delaney Whitten slides safely into home plate avoiding the tag by Scarborough catcher Sylvia Foley during the Red Storm’s 10-6 win last week. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald
Turning to softball, Scarborough entered Wednesday’s home tilt versus Windham (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story) with a record of 10-2 and was second behind Marshwood in the Class A South Heals. The Red Storm defeated visiting South Portland last week, 10-6, then split a home doubleheader against Biddeford, winning the opener, 11-1, and dropping the nightcap, 9-2. Against the Red Riots, Scarborough scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to turn the game around. Angelina Pizzella had three RBI and Jenna Giguere hit a two-run double and earned the win in relief.
“I was a little stressed because I didn’t warm up very much,” Giguere said. “I knew if I put the ball in play, my teammates would have my back.”
“We have the power to come back when we’re down,” Pizzella said. “We can string hits together.”
“I was so impressed with my kids today,” added longtime Red Storm coach Tom Griffin. “We’ve done this a couple times now. We’ve gotten great production from the bottom of the lineup and that makes us more dangerous. The kids have a lot of confidence and we’re very aggressive at the plate. We know we have to hit the ball to win games, so we’re not shy to swing (the bats).”
In the first game against the Tigers, Giguere earned the win and had four hits, as did Mollie Verreault. In the second game, Scarborough suffered a second regular season loss for the first time since 2005. The Red Storm play a doubleheader at Bonny Eagle Saturday, then close at South Portland Tuesday of next week.
“A lot of teams can win this thing this year,” Griffin said. “I think there are seven or eight. Anybody can take it. Hopefully we’re on a good roll now. We need some quality wins. The front end of our schedule wasn’t as strong as our back end, so this is where our (Heal Points) are going to be made. Every win we can get will move us up. We want to finish top four and get homefield advantage.”
South Portland was 8-5 and ninth in Class A South following a 10-6 loss at Scarborough, a doubleheader split at Westbrook (losing, 3-1, winning, 8-7) and a 17-1 (five-inning) home win over Falmouth. Against the Red Storm, the Red Riots had leads of 3-0 and 5-2, but couldn’t hold on, despite Delaney Whitten’s four hits, two runs scored and two RBI and three hits from Julia Connors.
“We played hard,” South Portland coach Ralph Aceto said. “I have no complaints. I’m not upset about the game. We played well, but we have things we need to clean up. We’ve made some defensive changes which have helped us and maybe there will be a few more.”
Connors had four hits in the first game loss to the Blue Blazes. In the victory, Chloe Grant had a three-run single during a six-run third inning that proved to be the difference. Against Falmouth, South Portland scored eight runs in the second inning and six more in the fourth. Mia Micucci struck out 14 and Elise Connor had three RBI. The Red Riots play a pivotal doubleheader at Biddeford Saturday, then close at home versus Scarborough Tuesday of next week.
“We’re just trying to get better by June,” Aceto said. “That’s the name of the game, being there at the end.”
In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth was 14-0 and second behind Fryeburg Academy in the Heals after continuing to pummel the competition. The Capers beat host Old Orchard Beach (18-3, in five-innings) last Thursday, swept a doubleheader against visiting Greely Saturday (8-1 and 8-1, both in five-innings), then prevailed, 19-2, in five-innings, at Lake Region Tuesday. Against the Seagulls, the Capers put the game away with a 10-run fourth. Dana Schwartz and Hannah Mosher each had three RBI. In the sweep, Anna Cornell pitched a two-hitter in each game and struck out a total of 15. She also had three hits and three RBI in the opener and three more hits in the nightcap. In the win over the Lakers, Schwartz, Kathryne Clay and Abby Scifres paced a 20-hit attack with three apiece, Esme Song drove in three runs and Cornell threw a one-hitter. Cape Elizabeth hosts York Friday and closes at the Wildcats Wednesday of next week. The Capers are trying to match the 2014 squad as the lone teams in program history to finish a regular season 16-0.
Boys’ lacrosse
Cape Elizabeth’s Nick Laughlin plays tough defense during the Capers’ 14-5 win over Falmouth Saturday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/ Portland Press Herald
Cape Elizabeth’s powerhouse boys’ lacrosse team remained undefeated at 10-0 after downing visiting Falmouth (14-5) and host South Portland (16-2). Against Falmouth, Archie McEvoy scored four goals, Colin Campbell added three and the Capers’ defense held Falmouth scoreless for over 25 minutes.
“I’m so grateful to play this year,” McEvoy said. “I don’t know if I expected we’d be this good, but I knew we’d be a good team. Our communication is really good and we’ve bonded together. I think a great part of our team is that we’re unselfish. We just want to win. When we’re unselfish, it’s hard to stop us.”
“We know what we’re capable of doing, so I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” said senior defenseman Gavin Simopolous. “I think we’re pretty confident. Getting to play this year means a lot. We were a little rusty coming in, but we’re super excited to be going again.”
“I don’t know if the colors are flying, but we’re passing the tests,” longtime Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond added. “At times, we’re doing really well. We move the ball well on offense and make good decisions. We have things to work on, but it’s a good place to be.”
In the win over the Red Riots, Keegan Lathrop scored seven goals and McEvoy added three goals and three assists. The Capers (fourth in the Class A South Heals at press time) host Kennebunk Friday and close at Scarborough Tuesday of next week (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story).
“The really good thing is that the guys want to get better,” Raymond added. “They’re not just in it to win these games, but to be better players. So many of them have aspirations of playing in college, so they need to improve. They’re not just focused on winning one game, but on taking their game to the next level.”
Scarborough was 9-2 and second in Class A South after beating visiting Windham (13-1), host Berwick Academy (6-5, in overtime), visiting Falmouth (7-6) and host Kennebunk (7-4). Against the Eagles, six different players scored, as Jeremiah Park led the way with four goals and Finn Pedersen added three.
“That was fun,” Scarborough coach Zach Barrett said. “There was a lot of soul searching the past week to make sure we came out and did what we knew we could do. I’m really proud of the boys.”
At Berwick, Owen Leadley played the hero in overtime and Leadley was the hero again against Falmouth, scoring the tying and winning goals in the fourth period.
“It feels great,” Leadley said. “We’re not a one-man show. It had to be a team effort. We fought hard tonight as a team. Coming home and fighting until the end and giving them all we’ve got was amazing. Our defense came up big the whole game and we shut them down at the end.”
“This is a big deal,” Barrett said. “It is exciting, but I wish it wasn’t always this exciting. We’re playing tight games and we’re winning tight games lately, which is awesome. I’m ecstatic we’re making plays at the end when it counts.”
In the win over the Rams, Tae Delaware scored three times and Park added two goals. Scarborough finishes with a doozy of a test Tuesday when it hosts Cape Elizabeth in a showdown rife with Heal Points implications.
South Portland fell to 0-10 after a 9-6 home loss to Falmouth (despite three goals from Joey Soucy), then gave coach Dan Hanley his first victory with a 9-5 win Saturday at Greely. Cullen Adams and Tobey Lappin both scored three times and goalie C.J. Marenghi made 18 saves. Tuesday, the Red Riots finished 1-11 after a 16-2 home loss to Cape Elizabeth. Adams and Brady Demers scored the goals. South Portland was ninth in Class A South at press time.
Girls’ lacrosse
On the girls’ side, Scarborough was 8-2 and third in the Heals following Saturday’s 12-9 win at Windham. Natalie Bilodeau led the way with seven goals. The Red Storm were at Berwick Academy Wednesday and close at two-time reigning Class A champion Falmouth Saturday.
South Portland was 4-5 and ninth in Class A after a 10-9 overtime win at Cheverus and a 9-8 overtime home loss to Biddeford. Against the Stags, Zoe Baker had the winning goal. In the loss, Barrett Backman and Anne Von Seggern both scored twice. The Red Riots are home versus Thornton Academy Tuesday and close at Gorham Thursday of next week.
Two-time reigning champion Cape Elizabeth fell to 2-7 and 11th in Class B South after 5-4 home losses to Lake Region and Massabesic (in overtime). The Capers play at Yarmouth Friday, visit Greely Tuesday of next week, then close at home versus Waynflete Thursday of next week.
Track
In track action last week, South Portland’s boys beat Thornton Academy, 88-71, while the girls lost to the Golden Trojans, 87-67.
Scarborough’s girls eked out a 68-64 win at Biddeford, while the Red Storm boys downed the Tigers, 86-54.
Cape Elizabeth hosted Greely and North Yarmouth Academy/Maine Coast Waldorf. The Capers boys and girls both were second to the Rangers.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
