(Ed. Note: For the complete Greely-Freeport baseball, Yarmouth-Cape Elizabeth boys’ lacrosse and Falmouth-Waynflete girls’ lacrosse game stories, with photos and box scores, please visit theforecaster.net)

The spring sports season is known for its brevity and even though it feels like it just started, the regular season is rapidly dwindling.

Most teams have already played at least half of their schedule and it’s time to start thinking about qualifying for the postseason and playoff positioning.

Here’s a glimpse at what’s transpired in recent days and what’s to come:

Baseball-Rangers still untouchable

Greely’s baseball team remains unbeaten, but the Rangers finally got a test Monday. First, Greely was a 10-1 winner at Wells last Wednesday, as Bailey Train threw a three-hitter and Will McAdoo doubled, tripled and drove in three runs. Monday, at home against resurgent Freeport, the Rangers trailed 1-0 after two innings, but took the lead for good with three unearned runs in the third. After the Falcons got one back in the fourth, Greely scored once more in the sixth and went on to a 4-2 win behind a strong combined pitching effort from Jonah Normandeau and Mike Leeman (who struck out 12 Falcons, seven of them looking).

“I’ve been struggling to get a rhythm all year,” said Normandeau. “Today, I just felt not rushed, but I wasn’t myself at first. The second and third innings, I felt good. That fueled me to finish up.”

“It’s the first time we’ve trailed all year,” said Greely coach Derek Soule. “It was good for us to have to experience some frustration and have to grind it out. We’ve been on a roll for five games now. You have to experience those feelings. Freeport surprised us. They scrapped and hung in there.”

The Rangers improved to 6-0 and were second to Morse in the Western Class B Heal Points standings as of Tuesday morning. Greely was scheduled to go to York Wednesday, hosts Yarmouth Friday (at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach at 7 p.m.), goes to Gray-New Gloucester Monday and visits Yarmouth Wednesday.

Freeport was coming off a 6-5 home win over Old Orchard Beach and a 5-0 loss at Gray-New Gloucester last week. Against the Seagulls, Kaleb Farmer got the win in relief, Dan Burke cracked a three-run home run and Luke LaMagna hit a two-run double. Monday, the Falcons got an RBI single from Josh Weirich and a strong pitching effort from Sawyer Williams, but they were done in by four errors.

“(Sawyer) did a great job,” said Freeport coach Hank Ogilby. “He’s got sneaky speed. He’s not super fast, but he has a couple different sliders. They break late and catch people by surprise. (Greely’s) a tremendous hitting team. They were just a little surprised by the late break. I wanted to win the ball game. You get rid of those three runs and it’s a different game. Three runs in that inning were all unearned.”

The Falcons (5-2 and seventh in the Western B Heals) hosted Traip Wednesday and welcome Poland Friday. They’re at undefeated Falmouth Saturday, welcome Cape Elizabeth Monday and visit Wells Wednesday.

“We have two tough ones with Falmouth,” said Ogilby. “We have Cape again. Yarmouth gift-wrapped the first game (we played) and they’re crushing the ball these days. They’ll want a piece of us. It’s rough the rest of the way. We’ll have our hands full. I want us to be a little bit tougher when we show up to a field. We show up a little casual. We’ve never started 5-0. Knowing how to play and gear up regardless of the competition, they need to work on that. That’s our goal the rest of the way.”

Falmouth improved to 5-0 and fifth with a 6-0 win at Gray-New Gloucester last week and an 8-2 home victory over Lake Region Monday. Against the Patriots, Connor Murphy threw a six-hit shutout, Will D’Agostino hit a three-run triple and Andrew Emple singled, doubled, homered and drove in three runs. In the win over the Lakers, Thomas Fortier earned the win, while Grayson Beressi, Seamus Powers and Drew Proctor all had three hits. The Yachtsmen were at Poland Wednesday, host Wells Friday and Freeport Saturday, go to Yarmouth Monday and return home Wednesday to face Poland.

Yarmouth has come alive after a slow start. The Clippers extended their win streak to five games with recent victories over visiting Poland (15-4, in five innings) and host Fryeburg (6-0). Against the Knights, Chester Jacobs got the win and Ryan Cody, Eamon Costello, Nick Lainey, Bryce Snyder and Caleb Uhl all had multiple hits. In the win over the Raiders, Lainey (six innings) and Snyder (one) combined to throw a one-hitter. Costello, Calvin Cooper and Max Grimm all had two hits as Yarmouth improved to 5-2 (sixth in Western B).

“It’s good basic baseball right now,” said Clippers coach Marc Halsted. “Our pitchers are throwing strikes and competing, we have a good defensive group that makes plays, and we’re getting timely hitting. We don’t have guys throwing 85 miles per hour and we’re not hitting three-run homers, but we’re solid right now. Bryce is playing an excellent third base and Calvin has evolved into an excellent catcher. He throws extremely well and keeps other teams honest. Our seniors have also come alive. Max had two hits Saturday, Ryan is four for his last seven, Eamon is hitting .350 and Snyder has 14 RBI. It’s a true team effort. We have a group of good, solid, hard-working and dedicated baseball players and it’s been a fun two weeks.”

After going to Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, Yarmouth plays Greely at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach Friday. The Clippers host Falmouth Monday and Greely Wednesday.

Softball-Rangers keep winning

Greely’s softball team is keeping up with its baseball counterparts. The Rangers enjoyed recent wins at Wells (7-1) and at home over Freeport (11-2) in recent action to improve to 5-1 (second to Leavitt in the Western Class B Heals). Against the Warriors, pitcher Danielle Cimino got the win with a four-hitter and also homered. In the win over the Falcons, Cimino got the victory behind 13 strikeouts, Mykaela Twitchell homered, Caroline Hamilton had three hits and Edith Aromando drove in three runs. Greely was at York Wednesday, hosts Yarmouth Friday, visits Gray-New Gloucester Monday and plays at Yarmouth Wednesday.

Speaking of the Clippers, they’ve lost five straight after a 2-0 start. Last week,  Yarmouth was beaten by visiting Poland (10-6) and host Fryeburg (11-0). Kallie Hutchinson had a two-run double, while Melissa Levinson doubled twice and drove in two runs against the Knights. The Clippers (14th in Western B) went to Cape Elizabeth Wednesday, visit Greely Friday, host Falmouth Monday and Greely Wednesday.

Freeport fell to 2-4 with the loss at Greely. The Falcons were coming off a 3-1 loss at Gray-New Gloucester Saturday. Leigh Wyman only allowed three hits against the Patriots. Helen Humphrey had a pair of hits in the loss to the Rangers. Freeport (16th in Western B) was home with Traip Wednesday, hosts Poland Friday, goes to Falmouth Saturday, welcomes Cape Elizabeth Monday and visits Wells Wednesday.

Falmouth is 1-4 (17th in Western B) after recent losses at Gray-New Gloucester (4-0) and at home to Lake Region (4-3). Elizabeth Walker had two hits against the Patriots and drove in two runs versus the Lakers. The Yachtsmen went to Poland Wednesday, host Wells Friday and Freeport Saturday, go to Yarmouth Monday and play host to Traip Wednesday.

Boys’ lacrosse-Yachstmen back on track

Falmouth’s defending Class B state champion boys’ lacrosse team has returned to form following a season-opening loss at rival Cape Elizabeth. The Yachtsmen dominated visiting Lake Region, 18-1, last week and improved to 5-1 (now first in the Western B Heals) Monday after an 11-7 win at North Yarmouth Academy, in a rematch of last year’s state final. Against the Lakers, T.J. Gilbert had four goals, David Goodrich three. In the win over the Panthers, Mitch Tapley had four goals and Charlie Fay put the team ahead to stay in the final period. Falmouth was at Wells Wednesday, hosts Deering Saturday and has a pivotal, Heal Points-rich rematch at home against Cape Elizabeth Wednesday of next week.

Greely entered the week 4-1 and third in Western B after last Wednesday’s 16-2 home romp over Wells (Paul Witte had seven goals, Cooper Allen added three). The Rangers were at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday, go to York Thursday, host Kennebunk Friday and visit Freeport Tuesday of next week.

In Eastern B, Yarmouth, after a week off, hosted Cape Elizabeth Saturday. The Clippers played a man down due to penalties much of the first half and trailed, 5-3, at halftime. The Capers pushed their lead to 8-4 after three quarters, but Yarmouth twice pulled within two before Cape Elizabeth held on, 12-8. The Clippers got three goals from Anders Overhaug and 13 saves from Alex Kurtz as they fell to 2-2 on the season.

“Our boys played really well man down for most of the game,” said Yarmouth coach David Pearl. “I think we matched up. There were times when the momentum see-sawed back and forth. I’m proud of the boys. We were right there.”

The Clippers (fifth in the Heals) hosted Freeport Tuesday, go to Lake Region Thursday, welcome Portland Saturday and visit Fryeburg Tuesday of next week.

“I think things are coming along,” Pearl said. “At times, we’ve played with the top teams and we’re determined we can beat them. We get another chance at both (Cape and Falmouth) and hopefully we get a third chance at one of them. When we step on the field, we think we can win. We’re just bound and determined to get better.”

NYA beat visiting Fryeburg, 17-0, last Tuesday (Forrest Milburn had four goals, while Oliver Silverson added three). Monday’s 11-7 home loss to Falmouth dropped the Panthers to 3-3 (sixth in Eastern B). Jacob Scammon had four goals. NYA goes to Gorham Saturday and hosts Yarmouth Wednesday.

Freeport began the week 1-4 and ninth in the region. Last week, the Falcons got in the win column with a 8-1 home victory over Fryeburg. Freeport lost, 9-1, at Waynflete Saturday in a game it played man-down much of the way, giving up five goals in that manner.

“We are a big penalty team, I’m realizing,” said Falcons coach Geoff Arris. “We didn’t have one man down in the second quarter and we had moments of brilliance. It’s really tough with the numbers. The numbers we do have are very young. We have a handful of seniors. We have two freshmen starting. It’s turning around. Now we’re playing together. Hopefully we’ll pick up the momentum.”

Freeport was at Yarmouth Tuesday, visits Windham Saturday and is home with Greely Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse-Falcons making noise

Freeport’s girls’ lacrosse team continues to turn heads. In a season where defending Class B champion Yarmouth and perennial power NYA have both started slowly, the Falcons have won four straight to improve to 4-2 (good for the top spot in the Eastern Class B Heals). Last week, Freeport rallied to win at Greely, 12-11, rolled at Fryeburg, 17-5, and doubled up host Windham, 10-5. Against the Rangers in the rain, the Falcons trailed, 10-3 in the first half and 11-5 at the half, but they scored all seven goals in the second half and got the winner from Alex Mitch with 1:19 to play. Mitch scored six times (and collected nine ground balls), while Julie Fosberg had three goals and a game-high 14 ground balls. In the win over the Raiders, Mitch had three goals and four assists, while Becca Lane also scored three times. Against the Eagles. Mitch led the way with five goals. Freeport was home with undefeated Waynflete Tuesday, welcomes South Portland Saturday and visits Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth dropped to 0-5 after Friday’s 14-6 loss at Cape Elizabeth (Ricki Pierce did have four goals). The Clippers hoped to get in the win column Tuesday when they hosted Wells. After welcoming rival NYA Thursday, Yarmouth (tied for fifth in the Eastern A Heals) plays at Gorham Saturday and hosts Fryeburg Tuesday of next week.

NYA is also 0-5 after Friday’s 12-7 home loss to Wells (Katie Cawley had three goals in defeat). The Panthers (tied for fifth in the standings) goes to Yarmouth Thursday, hosts Massabesic Saturday and is home against Waynflete Tuesday.

In Western B, Falmouth took a 4-0 record and high hopes into Friday night’s home showdown against Waynflete. The Yachtsmen had never beaten the Flyers and still haven’t, as an early 7-1 deficit was too much to overcome. Falmouth did rally within 7-5 and was close in the second half, but ultimately fell, 13-10, despite two goals each from Vanessa Audet, Alex Bernier, Megan Fortier and Geneva Waite.

“We started out slow and they started out fast and strong,” said Yachtsmen coach Robin Haley. “When we play Waynflete, Waynflete always brings their ‘A’ game. We just struggled in the midfield and on defense early on. It’s tough to get back those goals when it’s that type of score. I’m glad we came back and got within two. We stayed in it. The difference is we kept our heads. We didn’t succumb. That speaks volumes to what we can do if we keep working hard.”

Falmouth (third behind Waynflete and Cape Elizabeth in the Heals) was at Fryeburg Wednesday, hosts Western A contender Kennebunk Saturday and is home with York Tuesday.

“We’ll make some adjustments for the next game,” Haley said. “It’s a bump in the road. This was a good test. I wanted to see what we had and there were areas we need to improve on. I’m really proud of the fight we gave. To get a little bit of a sting is helpful.”

Greely fell to 1-3 after the 12-11 home loss to Freeport. The Rangers got three goals each from Meg Finlay and Paige Tuller and a pair from Julia Mitiguy. Audrey Parolin had eight ground balls. Greely (sixth in the Western B Heals) went to Cape Elizabeth Tuesday and to York Wednesday. After playing at Waynflete in a playoff rematch Thursday, the Rangers are home with Windham Friday and play host to Wells Tuesday of next week.

Track

While the big track news Monday came in Falmouth (please see story), there was plenty of excitement to go around in Forecaster Country.

Freeport, NYA and Yarmouth took part in an 11-team meet at Sacopee Monday. In the boys’ meet, the Panthers were third, Falcons fourth and Clippers fifth. Freeport got a win from Taylor Saucier in the 800 (2 minutes, 8.20 seconds). NYA got victories from Rudy Guiliani in the two-mile (10:32.30), Cam Rayder in the discus (133 feet, 2 inches) and its 3,200 relay team (8:43.40). Yarmouth’s Lucas Davis took the 100 (11.6 seconds), Ben Decker won the mile (4:45.40).

On the girls’ side, the Falcons came in third, the Clippers were sixth and the Panthers placed ninth. Freeport event winners included Ciera Wentworth in the 400 (1:06.0), Elly Bengtsson in the mile (5:56.80) and Kelsey Grant in the javelin (97-1). Yarmouth’s Megan Smith won the pole vault (7-6) and teammate Jocelyn Davies took the high jump (5-2). For NYA, Hillary Detert was runner-up in the mile (5:58.40) and Muriel Adams finished second in the discus (89-5).

Greely joined Fryeburg at Lake Region and won both the boys’ and girls’ meets.

The boys got wins from Jacob Isaacson in the 200 (24.1), Liam Campbell in the 800 (2:10.0), Nathan Madeira in the two-mile (10:30.1), Duncan Routh in the pole vault (7 feet), Nick Maynard in the triple jump (36-4.5) and James Ferrar in the shot put (43-11) and its 400 (48.4) and 3,200 (8:49.0) relay teams.

Girls’ winners included Kirstin Sandreuter in the mile (5:12.5) and two-mile (13:42.7), Hannah Keisman in the 100 hurdles (16.7), Kelsey Saunders in the high jump (4-8) and triple jump (32-8.25), Abby Bonnevie in the pole vault (8-6), Catherine Fellows in the shot put (32-4.75), Gwen Sawyer in the discus (91-7) and the 3,200 relay team (10:27.1).

Tennis

Falmouth’s girls’ tennis juggernaut, winners of the past four (and six of the last seven) Class B state titles, won its first six matches this spring by 5-0 scores, capped by Monday’s 5-0victory at NYA. The Yachtsmen even used doubles standouts Abby Payson and Steffi Rothweiler as singles players in a recent match versus Old Orchard Beach and both girls rolled to 6-0, 6-0 wins. Falmouth (fifth in the Western B Heals at the start of the week) goes to Greely Friday and Yarmouth Monday. The Clippers began the week second in the standings and improved to 5-1 with a 4-1 win at Waynflete Monday. The Rangers took a 4-1 record and the No. 3 spot into Tuesday’s match at Lake Region. Freeport improved to 2-4 and 11th in Western B with a 5-0 win at Old Orchard Beach Monday. In Western C, NYA is 0-6 and 13th after Monday’s loss to Falmouth.

On the boys’ side, defending Class B champion Falmouth improved to 5-0 Monday with a 4-1 home victory over reigning Class C champ Waynflete. The Yachtsmen began the week second in the Heals. They have a home showdown with rival Cape Elizabeth Friday. Freeport improved to 3-3 (sixth in Western B) following Monday’s 3-2 win over Greely, which fell to 0-6 (12th). Yarmouth lost 5-0 to York Monday and is 1-4 (ninth). The Clippers go to Falmouth Monday of next week. In Western C, NYA took a 5-1 record (and the No. 6 spot in the Heals) into Wednesday’s home match versus Greely.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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Greely sophomore Sam Porter slides in safely as Freeport senior catcher Jared Knighton can’t hold on to a throw during the third inning of Monday’s game. The Rangers scored three unearned runs that frame and went on to a 4-2 victory over the Falcons.

Yarmouth senior Anders Overhaug and Cape Elizabeth senior Thomas Bottomley get up close and personal during Saturday night’s contest. The Capers stayed undefeated by holding off the Clippers, 12-8.

Falmouth senior Megan Fortier is slowed by Waynflete’s Rhiannan Jackson during the teams’ showdown Friday night. The Yachtsmen suffered their first loss of the year, 13-10.

Falmouth’s standout doubles tandem of Steffi Rothweiler (right) and Abby Payson control play during last week’s win over NYA. The four-time defending Class B state champion Yachtsmen have rolled to a 6-0 start this spring.