On a day with a full schedule of high school playoff games in softball and baseball, the biggest hit belonged to the weather.

Thunderstorms throughout southern Maine disrupted the majority of quarterfinal games scheduled for Thursday. Any games not completed were rescheduled for today and must be played from the start, according to playoff rules established by the Maine Principals’ Association.

The top-seeded Cheverus baseball team led eighth-seeded Thornton Academy 3-0 after Spencer Cooke’s home run in a Western Class A quarterfinal when play was stopped with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.

“This is what we didn’t want to happen,” said Stags Coach Mac McKew. “We’ll start all over.”

Once lightning is seen, teams must wait 30 minutes before resuming play, provided there is no further lightning. Umpires waited for over an hour before calling off the game.

The weather also halted the Biddeford-Westbrook and Deering-Marshwood games. The other Western Class A baseball quarterfinal, No. 5 South Portland at No. 4 Scarborough, never got started.

No. 2 Westbrook and No. 3 Deering were losing when play was stopped. The Blue Blazes trailed 3-1 in the top of the third and the Rams were down by the same score after two innings.

Cheverus and Thornton will play at 4 p.m, Biddeford and Westbrook at 12:30 p.m., and Marshwood and Deering at noon.

In the softball playoffs, fourth-seeded McAuley and fifth-seeded Kennebunk were tied 1-1 in a Western Class A quarterfinal before the game was called with two outs in the top of the fourth.

The game will be replayed at 4 p.m. today.

“It’s unfortunate because it was such a nice day out,” said Lions Coach Robbie Ferrante.

Sam Shildroth homered to center field in the second inning for McAuley after Kennebunk took the lead in the first on a double by Carinn Burns that drove in Rachel Magalski.

The game was called at about 4:45 p.m. when a radar device showed lightning within a 3-mile radius. The sun was still shining, but dark clouds had appeared in the distance.

The Western Class A quarterfinal between No. 6 Biddeford and No. 3 Thornton Academy was rescheduled to 3 p.m. today at Saco. The game was tied 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.

 

Copy the Story Link