Scarborough was the center of the universe for high school playoff games Saturday under brilliant, sunny skies.
The Red Storm hosted a total of four games, starting with a Western Class A softball semifinal against Kennebunk at 11 a.m. That was followed by regional semifinals in baseball, girls’ lacrosse and boys’ lacrosse. Scarborough won all four games, setting up the possibility of a sweep of the regional championships Tuesday and Wednesday.
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The top-seeded softball team had just finished a 12-0 win over No. 5 Kennebunk at one end of the school’s sports complex when the second-seeded Red Storm baseball team began its game against No. 3 Windham. Scarborough won 7-0, advancing to the regional final Tuesday at St. Joseph’s College.
The softball team will play No. 3 South Portland at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph’s.
The baseball team meets No. 4 Cheverus at 7 p.m.
Scarborough’s athletic facilities are top-notch. The softball complex is like a little stadium. There’s a homeyness to it.
MacFarland Field, the baseball complex, is somewhat like an amphitheater, below the high school and a parking area. The parking lot was packed with people watching the action.
Ben Wessel gave Red Storm fans a thrill when he unloaded on a pitch and sent it high over the fence in right, with the ball landing on Gorham Road. The three-run homer in the fifth inning put the game away.
Windham had blanked Scarborough in two previous meetings this season. After going scoreless against Windham for 18 straight innings, the Red Storm broke out with a vengeance in the fifth inning.
Scarborough’s facilities have been compared to a Division II or III college. There’s the turf field, which is home to the soccer, football, field hockey and lacrosse teams. An all-weather track surrounds the perimeter of the field.
Soon after the baseball game ended, the top-seeded girls’ lacrosse team played No. 4 Kennebunk.
The Red Storm won 16-6, and will host a regional final Wednesday against No. 3 Marshwood.
And the boys’ lacrosse team also will play at home again Wednesday after eliminating No. 4 Thornton Academy, 7-1. Next up is a clash against No. 2 Kennebunk
Of course, the Red Storm have grown accustomed to winning championships. Scarborough is the defending state champion in softball, boys’ lacrosse and girls’ lacrosse.
THORNTON ACADEMY Athletic Director Gary Stevens had a lot to be concerned with Saturday afternoon. His school was hosting the New England high school track and field championships, as well as a Western Class A semifinal softball game.
When he was trying to set the starting time for the softball game, he had to take the safety of the track spectators in mind. Because of the renovation of Hill Stadium and installation of its artificial turf, the javelin toss is now held beyond the softball outfield.
Spectators often watch the event from inside the softball field, behind the outfield fence.
“I just didn’t want a fan getting hit by a Julia Geaumont line drive during batting practice,” Stevens said of Thornton’s senior pitcher, who hit 10 home runs this year.
He consulted with track coach George Mendros, who told him the javelin should end around 3 p.m. So Stevens set the softball starting time at 4:30 p.m.
The javelin actually ended early. And Geaumont?
Well, she took some batting practice on the baseball diamond.
Geaumont’s high school career didn’t end the way she would have liked. The Trojans lost 8-1 to South Portland, finishing the season 15-3.
Afterward, she reflected on a career that included her winning the Gatorade Maine Softball Player of the Year award this spring.
“I’m going to miss it a lot,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s bittersweet, leaving. I’m excited to go on to the next part (at Bowdoin College). But I’m going to miss all of this.”
YARMOUTH HIGH’S baseball season ended with a 7-1, 10-inning loss to surging Cape Elizabeth in the Western Class B semifinals. Minutes later, Coach Marc Halsted was holding American Legion tryouts.
And while he was obviously disappointed about the defeat, he said the sting was lessened by losing to “a great team, a great coach (Chris Hayward) and a great pitcher (Will LeBlond).”
Yarmouth had beaten Cape Elizabeth twice in the regular season, including a 10-run rule decision at Cape Elizabeth (14-3 on May 12).
“That wasn’t really Cape Elizabeth,” said Halsted. “What is really Cape Elizabeth is what you saw today. And that’s because of Chris Hayward and kids like LeBlond. They’re phenomenal.”
He also spoke highly of his pitchers, starter Nick Lainey and reliever Bryce Snyder.
“He’s our third or fourth guy all year and we asked him to step up,” Halsted said of Lainey. “We asked him for four innings, he gave us six.”
“Bryce gave us everything he has,” he added.
Snyder set Yarmouth’s season records for RBI and doubles, and also holds the career record for doubles.
“Bryce Snyder, he is our program,” said Halsted.
YOU CAN FORGIVE Falmouth sophomore Brendan McCarthy for not leaping and jumping with delight after his 6-2, 6-2 victory Saturday at No. 2 singles clinched a second consecutive undefeated season and Class B boys’ tennis championship.
McCarthy, you see, has been dealing with mononucleosis all season.
“The first time we played Cape, in the wind, we thought it was strep throat,” he said, referring to a late April match in chilly Cape Elizabeth, a 3-2 Falmouth victory made possible by McCarthy’s three-set triumph. “Then I got tested and it came back not strep.”
Instead, it was mono. Not a severe case, but enough to induce considerable fatigue. Some days were hard. Others felt normal. He felt it most not in his throat, but in his legs.
Still, he tried not to change his style by going for broke instead of carefully building a point.
“When I get tired, I just fight through it,” he said. “Once you hit the bottom, you can’t go any lower.”
Against Ellsworth, McCarthy trailed 2-1 in both sets before winning five straight games.
“I give him a lot of credit for toughing it out,” said Falmouth Coach Bob McCully. “Next year I hope to get Brendan back at full strength.”
Did winning Saturday’s state title provide any palliative effect?
“It doesn’t really help the illness,” McCarthy said, “but it’s fun to win.”
GORHAM JUNIOR Kyle Curley had his hands full in the No. 1 singles match of the Class A boys’ tennis final against previously unbeaten Bangor, whose 6-foot-6 basketball star, Patrick Stewart, is an accomplished serve-and-volleyer.
“I’ve never played against that fast of a serve or dealt with such a big hitter before,” said Curley, who dropped four of the first five games before rallying to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory that clinched a 4-1 decision for Gorham and gave the Rams their first team state title.
Stewart plans to play basketball at Colby College and possibly continue his tennis career as well.
Curley’s other sport is soccer, and the endurance necessary for soccer proved helpful in Saturday’s third set, particularly after Stewart took leads of 40-15 in each of the first two games, only to see Curley rally to win them.
It marked the third time in the past month Curley won in three sets. He also came from behind to beat Charlie Merry of Kennebunk on May 18, and survived a match point against Alex Henny of Scarborough in the regional semifinals.
The state title is a far cry from Curley’s freshman year, when the Rams won only two matches.
“To be honest, I never really expected us to do this well,” he said. “But I think we’re the hardest-working team around. I’m so proud of each and every one of our players.”
— Staff Writers Tom Chard, Mike Lowe and Glenn Jordan contributed to this report.
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