With last week’s rain causing several baseball games to be postponed, some teams will be playing four games this week, weather permitting, to catch up. This situation seems to happen each spring, and teams with pitching depth are better equipped to handle makeup games.

Teams with plenty of pitching depth include Westbrook, Scarborough, Cheverus and Greely. They all have at least three quality starters and can go four to five deep.

Pitching and defense are a big reason why Westbrook is 11-0 and the favorite in Western Class A. The Blue Blazes can also swing the bats, as they showed Saturday against Deering. Of Westbrook’s 11 wins, eight have been shutouts, and the Blazes are averaging more than eight runs per game.

A COUPLE OF NOTEWORTHY Telegram League games are scheduled for Tuesday: Deering at Cheverus at 4 p.m. and Westbrook at Scarborough at 7 p.m. The Westbrook-Scarborough game will match right-handers Sean Murphy of the Blazes and Ben Wessel of Scarborough. Wessel, a junior, has pitched a no-hitter this season. Murphy, a senior, has allowed a total of one run in five games (four starts).

All the top teams in the league are playing each other over the next two weeks. The stretch of big matchups started Saturday with Westbrook’s 6-0 win over Deering, and continues this week with several pivotal games that will determine the final Heal point standings.

FRIDAY’S SOFTBALL game between McAuley and Thornton Academy had several interesting personal matchups. Thornton pitcher Julia Geaumont works out with several of the Lions in the offseason.

Afterward, as she was walking toward the bus, McAuley center fielder Shelby Bryant rushed up and faked a punch, then the two hugged.

Bryant was asked how tough Geaumont was.

“Personally I had to block out the fact that she and I are very good friends, that we train together for softball and that we work out together,” said Bryant. “She was throwing her hardest, and it’s hard to hit when you haven’t faced people like her.”

Bryant had two singles and two walks in four at-bats.

Geaumont said it’s never easy to face a hitter as good as Bryant.

“You just can’t think about things like that,” said Geaumont. “I know she’s going to try her best.”

BECAUSE OF THE constant rain/fog/poor field conditions last week, the Thornton softball team will play five games in five days this week:

“Let’s see, Monday is Sanford,” said Coach John Provost. “Tuesday is Bonny Eagle; Wednesday’s Kennebunk; Thursday is Deering; and Friday is Cheverus.”

Asked if Geaumont would pitch every game — as she has so far — Provost simply laughed.

“We’re hoping to get some innings out of (Morgan) Dube,” he said.

When asked if she could pitch all five, Geaumont said she planned to.

AFTER BEING the first team left out of the Western Class B softball playoffs the last two years, Yarmouth has left nothing to chance this year. The Clippers are 11-2 and ranked second behind Fryeburg Academy.

“I think our seniors have a lot better attitude,” said senior pitcher Laura Klepinger. “I think everyone here just wants to play. We have a lot of really good freshmen. Everyone is cheering on the bench, everyone is enthusiastic. And we’ve got skill. We’ve just gotten better.”

Coach Jim Senecal admitted that even he is more relaxed.

“Our emphasis this year, which has been a learning experience for me, is to really not sweat the little things like I’ve done in the past,” he said. “I think that’s helped. The atmosphere is very loose. We’re relaxed.”

WEDNESDAY IS the last countable day for matches before the tennis team tournament brackets are set. With the wet spring, that means some schools are scrambling to complete their regular season.

Yarmouth’s boys, for instance, get the pleasure of traveling to Falmouth for a 3:30 match today and then continuing south to Cape Elizabeth for a match at 5:30. The Clippers are ninth in the Western Class B Heal point standings, one place out of playoff contention, and even a split today would almost lock up a tournament berth.

However, Cape Elizabeth and Falmouth have a combined record of 18-1. Like Yarmouth, the Capers won’t exactly be fresh. They host North Yarmouth Academy at 3:30 today.

The Brunswick girls in Eastern Class A and Falmouth girls in Western Class B have all but sewn up No. 1 seeds. The top spots in Western Class A are still up for grabs, however.

Scarborough’s boys travel to Kennebunk today in a battle of unbeaten teams ranked first and third. Sitting in second is Cheverus (10-1), which swept Massabesic on Friday for its first victory not by a score of 3-2.

“The match against Kennebunk will be very close,” predicted Scarborough Coach Craig McDonald. “I would say 3-2 (for) either team.”

Both Kennebunk and Scarborough have one unbeaten doubles team (No. 1 for the Rams, No. 2 for the Red Storm) and another with only one loss. Both No. 1 singles players, Alex Henny of Scarborough and Charlie Merry of Kennebunk, have lost only to Tyler Adams of Bonny Eagle.

The top three girls’ teams in Western Class A are Cheverus (10-0), McAuley (10-1) and Gorham (9-2).

THE SMAA DOUBLES tournaments scheduled for Saturday were canceled because so many teams needed to play regular-season matches postponed by rain. McDonald said the doubles tourneys may be rescheduled.

The Western Maine Conference doubles tourney went off as scheduled, however, with sophomore Abby Payson and junior Steffi Rothweiller of Falmouth winning the girls’ title, and senior Ben Morse and sophomore Sam Sherman of Cape Elizabeth claiming the boys’ crown by avenging their only loss of the season, beating Falmouth’s Harlan Cutshall, a senior, and Sam Holland, a sophomore, in the final, 6-1, 6-3.

— Staff Writers Tom Chard, Mike Lowe and Glenn Jordan contributed to this report.

 

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