Freeport teams set for action on Thursday

FREEPORT — Carrie Green knows softball and she knows pitching.

So, she should fit in quite nicely as the new Freeport High School softball coach.

For the record, Green, currently a substitute teacher for the Lewiston school system, pitched at the University of Maine from 1998-2001 and in her freshman year was named to the NAC/America East All-Tournament team.

Green had a 37-31 overall record with 444.2 innings pitched, a 2.01 earned run average, 176 strikeouts and 87 walks.

Her freshman year she went 10-6 and was Maine’s top pitcher, while her junior year she finished 15-10. The 48 strikeouts her senior year were a careerbest for strikeouts in a season, and she posted a 1.71 ERA in both her sophomore and junior seasons.

The Pownal resident grew up in Delaware and was recruited by the Black Bears. She’s worked a few softball clinics, but this is her first time as a head coach.

“I had the pitchers and catchers here for a week, so that was nice to work with a small group,” said the 32-year-old. “We have about 30 kids total.”

Her philosophy?

“I have always been on very strong defensive teams,” said Green. “I lean to probably having a strong defense. And I think one of our struggles will be trying to manufacture runs … I have no idea what we’ll have offensively.

“What I know right now is that I’ve got a pretty good defense. My philosophy is that they’ve got to have fun and have confidence in themselves. I feel like I’ve got a pretty good team. I’m just working on their confidence.”

With regards to pitching and incumbent Leigh Wyman, Green said, “For me, being a pitcher, 90 percent of pitching is mental,” allowed Green. “The physical part is there if you are on the mound. The mental part is work on the confidence. It’s her confidence in herself, and confidence in her teammates. When your shortstop makes an error, do you carry the team, or do you get down on your shortstop?

“That where I’m looking forward to helping her game in that way, helping her confidence.”

She doesn’t profess to knowing much about her schedule or the Western Maine Conference. “My assistant probably knows a lot more than me, but I think blindly is probably the best way to go,” said she. “It’s also exciting. It has been great having these girls to work with.”

Coach — Carrie Green, first year.

2011 highlights — 6-10 in Western Maine Conference, no postseason.

Season opener — April 12, home with Yarmouth.

Returning seniors are Andrea Grant (3B), Danielle Perry, (CF) and Laura Ramage (utility), while the junior class has Hannah Chase (2B), Leigh Wyman (P), Helen Humphrey (OF), KC Breed (DH, 1B) and Heather Balfour (OF).

Sophomores are Lexi Dietrich (1B), Vanessa Lee (OF) and Jessica Perry (C).

Among newcomers, look for freshmen Lauren Cormier (SS), Kaitlin Johnson (C) and Sam Wilkins (Utility).

“I believe I have a talented group of girls that if they choose to, can come up with some big wins this season,” said Green. “I’m having fun watching us gel as a team and look forward to a fun season.

“We have a strong defense backing up returning pitcher Leah Wyman.”

Baseball

Coach — Hank Ogilby.

2009/10 highlights — 5-11 regular season, no postseason.

Season opener — April 12, home with Yarmouth.

“We have essentially our whole starting lineup back,” said Ogilby. “We lost our ‘ace’ pitcher in Spencer Egan (now pitching for Middlebury College), but other than that, we have a very strong senior class with a strong supporting class of juniors.

“Luke LaMagna was a First Team All-Western Maine Conference outfielder last year and will be our starter in center field. Luke hit .442 last year and led our team in nine offensive categories. Luke will most likely hit third in our order.

“Co-captain Jared Knighton is the anchor of our team behind the plate. Jared has been our starting catcher since his freshman year and is penciled in as our lead-off hitter. Senior co-captain Kaleb Farmer will play first, DH and pitch when needed. Kaleb’s hitting has come a long way in the last two years. He hit over .300 last year and will hit in the middle of our order.

“Senior co-captain Josh Weirich will be one of our key pitchers, will play first base and outfield, and will hit in a key spot in our order. Senior Sawyer Williams will be one of our most important pitchers. Sawyer led the team in wins last year and led the team with an ERA of 2.58. Sawyer and will also help us in the outfield when needed.

“Seniors Zach Greene and Pat LaFlamme are versatile, fast and will play key roles. LaFlamme is competing to be our starting second baseman, Green is competing to start in the outfield.”

Other players competing for starting spots are Chris Farley, Cole Harrison (outfield) and D.J. Mooney (DH). Junior Connor Dietrich hit over .300 as both a freshman and a sophomore. Dietrich is the starting shortstop and will also be a key pitcher. “Connor is just a pure baseball player and hits the ball hard in every at-bat,” lauded Ogilby.

“Nick Cartmell will hit in the middle of the order, play first, pitch and occasionally DH, while junior Dan Burke will pitch and be a key player in the infield, as will sophomore Niko DiFazio.

“Newcomer James Purdy (football quarterback) has been a very pleasant surprise as a pitcher, and junior Brian Rhea will serve the vital role of backup catcher,” said Ogilby. “There will be a high level of competition among several other players for the last remaining varsity spots.

“Last year I felt we underachieved. Our record was 5-11 and I felt that we should have been 8-8,” said Ogilby. “We need to be better able to begin our games ready to play and to compete hard for seven innings. I feel that our defense and hitting should be quite solid.

“For the first time in the last five years our numbers are very healthy (37 players tried out for the varsity and JV), and thus we have depth at every position. There is good competition for roster spots. The hope is that this will result in a solid and versatile defense and a lineup that can hit one through nine.

“The loss of Spencer Egan is huge for us. His graduation means the loss of 44 innings pitched, 53 strikeouts and the potential of shutting down any other team. But, our pitching staff is deeper than last year, and we will start the season with a ‘pitching by committee’ approach until we see how players perform. Sawyer Williams will be our number-one starter and Josh Weirich is penciled in as our closer, but other than that it will be a team approach. Dan Burke, Connor Dietrich, Nick Cartmell, Calen Cyr and James Purdy will all be given the chance to earn innings.

“Our conference is very competitive. Greely, after competing in the state championship, remains the class of the league. They graduated very few starters and are the favorite to repeat as league champs. While Yarmouth, Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth lost a good number of key players, they are very wellcoached and a well-developed programs that simply reloads.

“Wells will be the surprise team of the league. They have a very strong senior class, with an excellent shortstop, catcher and pitching staff. Our goal is to compete in every game and try to sneak into the playoffs. So far, our seniors have shown great desire and leadership, and all the pieces are in place to have a great season.”

Boys lacrosse

Coach — Geoff Arris.

2011 highlights — 6-6 in Eastern B, no tournament.

Season opener — April 12 at Greely.

Returning seniors include Alex Sturtevant (GK, co-captain), Dylan Arris (midfield, cocaptain), Evan Hench (attack), Morgan Kuntz (defense) and Dylan Mansfield (M).

Returning juniors are Ryan Camp (D, co-captain), Jordan Roy (M), Sam Farrar (M), Dom Brescia (M), Galen Simmons (A), Thomas Provencher (A) and Griff Breer (M), while the sophomore class has Adam Brobst (D), Darnel Strother (D) and Isaak Dearden (A).

Newcomers include senior Morgan Kuntz (D) and Jannik Greiff (M); juniors Clayton Morrison (M), Jonathan Mervine (A), Tucker Troast (M); and sophomores Chris Snow (D), Mikey Williams (D) and Matt Schultheiz (A), along with freshmen Josef Biberstein (M), Jake Perry (D), Sam Wogan (A), Brian Sayward (GK), Seth Jones (D) and Tyler Frey (M).

“I think that we are a very hard-working team. The kids put out as hard as they possibly can day in and day out,” said coach Arris. “It’s hard to teach that sort of drive, but most on the team already have it. We have some great leadership this season. Starting right off with our goalie co-captain Alex and having that leadership go right down the field with his co-captain Dylan Arris on midfield, co-captain Ryan Camp on defense and Evan Hench running the team on attack.

“There are a lot of new additions to the team that I’m really looking forward to knowing and watching them perform. I think the addition of Clayton Morrison and the moving of Griff Breer from attack to midfield will more than make up for the loss of our seniors from last season and this ‘hole’ I hear we will have there.

“I’m looking for our freshmen to really step up and take a very big part of this team. Last year we were 6-6 and didn’t make the tournament for the first time in a while. This year I’m honestly looking to improve on that record and show that we are a tournament caliber team and that we will be successful in doing so.

Strengths/weaknesses?

“I think our strengths will be the determination that the team has,” said coach Arris. “They are working harder and better together than in years past and really want to improve on last season’s record. They are motivating each other and pushing each other harder and harder each day.

“Our weakness is that we are a young team. More than half of our players are new or underclassmen.

“And, I really like our schedule this year. It seems they are mixing it up again and moving in the right direction with it. We finally get to play Waynflete and York and a few other teams we haven’t played for a while, or at all. Our big games we look to each year are Yarmouth, NYA and Greely, and I think we will be ready for them.”

Girls lacrosse

Coach — Karin Kurry.

2011 highlights — 6-6 in Eastern B, no tournament.

Season opener — April 12 at York.

Returning seniors include Jess Hench (captain, midfield), Katie Turner (captain, defense), Mia Thomas (captain, attack), Alex Mitch (A), Becca Lane (A) and Kayla Thurlow (D).

Returning juniors are Jocelyn Davee (M) and Dayze Gaulin (A), whiles sophomores include Molly Lane (GK), Meredith Broderick (M) and Megan Peacock (D).

Newcomers are Julia Dearden (A), Elizabeth Martin (M), Emily Johnson M) and Jasmine Olins (A).

“The team looks good and our numbers are up,” said Kurry. “It’s the biggest team we have had in years. We lost only two seniors and our goalie is in her second year.

“We still have many young players and beginners. We should have a good season, but we have lots to work on. Our schedule is very balanced this year. We will be playing mostly Tier 2 schools, so we should have many close games.”

Track and field

Coach — Brian Berkemeyer.

2011 highlights — Harrison Stivers finished seventh in State Class C 400; Ryan Collett seventh in 200; Taylor Saucier fifth in 800.

Season opener — April 27 at Traip with Yarmouth.

“Our distance runners look very promising,” said Berkemeyer.

Strong runners coming back are seniors Alex Campbell (race/walk), Taylor Saucier (400, 800, mile), Thomas Dodge (200, high jump) and Abby Roney (100, 200), junior Ciera Wentworth (400, 800, mile) and sophomores Elly Bengtsson (400, 800), Mark Donahue (mile), Ethan Roney (race/walk), Hayley Steckler (100, 200) and Harrison Stivers (400, 800).

Newcomers are seniors Emily Martin (400, 800) and Kelsey Grant (100, 200), while in the freshman class look for Matt Francis (800, mile), Tyler Julian (100, high jump, long jump), Thomas Lawrence (800, mile), Zach Merrill (200, 400), Emily Morang (100, 200), Margo Ruby (100, 200) and Nick Wilson (100, 200, long jump).

“We look forward to another successful season this year, and we continue to grow,” allowed Berkemyer. “We should have some solid individuals in the state meet.

“Physical fitness is our goal, with emphasis on individual growth and commitment. We have a great group of kids who have bought into our program. The state meet looks promising for a lot more team members this year.”

Boys tennis

Coach — Jay Harper.

2011 highlights — 1-11 in Western Maine Conference, no tournament.

Season opener — April 24 at Greely.

The roster includes senior Josh Soley; juniors Julius Kruse (No. 1 singles, foreign exchange student from Germany), Henry Nichols, Bennett Brainard, Landon Easler (No. 1 doubles), Connor McLellan (No. 1 doubles), Abrin Berkemeyer (No. 2 singles) and Chris West (No. 3 singles); sophomores Chandler Birmingham and Shawn Anthony; and freshmen Hunter Tompson, Brendan Qualls, Charlie Zachu, Caleb Abbott (No. 2 doubles), Callum Gould and Ryder Bennell (No. 2 doubles).

“I just found out that Julius Kruse will play tennis, and he is very good and will be at number one singles,” said Freeport coach Jay Harper. “This allows Abrin and Chris to play another season at number-two and – three singles, while the freshman duo of Caleb Abbott and Ryder Bennell look good.”

“The junior core has played for me for a while now, so I expect this team to improve this season and possibly make a playoff run. The key will be defeating the middle teams like York, Fryeburg Academy and Greely to get in. I expect Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth to be far and away the best teams in the conference again this year.”

Girls tennis

Coach — Chris Nordenson.

2011 highlights — 2-10 in Western Maine Conference, no tournament.

Returning juniors are Kayley Johnson and Sophie Johnson, while the sophomore class has Katie McClelland.

Newcomers include seniors Mara Stechno, Annakatharina Scheffler, Kaia Johansen and Jacqueline Bischoff; sophomore Natalie Jortner; and freshmen Monica Pallin, Lauren Carter and Isabel Ainsworth.

“We are a new look team with a first-year coach that plays in a tough conference,” said Nordenson. “I’m not sure what the outcome of this season will be, we will just try to improve every day and go from there.

“Our strengths is that the team is very close and very driven. We have a very athletic group … a lot of girls play multiple sports and understand what it takes to be competitive in high school athletics.

“We have a lot of new members to the team this year. They are very athletic, but just don’t have a lot of match experience. So, I think a lot of it will be just getting them use to the rhythm of playing a match. I have a lot of faith in this team’s ability to grow throughout the season.

“It is too early to tell (about playoffs). We have only practiced a few weeks and have not seen what the other teams look like.”

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