(Ed. Note: For the complete Portland-Scarborough baseball and Portland-Deering and Waynflete-Cape Elizabeth girls’ lacrosse games, with additional photos and box scores, please visit theforecaster.net)

With tennis already bestowing some postseason hardware (please see story), other spring sports are closing in on the end of their regular seasons.

Here’s a glimpse:

Baseball

Cheverus’ baseball team appears to have returned to form. The Stags, who dropped five games in a row, capped by a 12-1 (six inning) loss at Marshwood last Monday, turned around and won three straight, 8-4 at Biddeford, 9-8 at Massabesic and 5-3 over visiting Kennebunk to improve to 7-5. Ryan Casale and Mitchell Powers both had two RBI and Felix del Vecchio had three hits in the win over the Tigers. Against the Mustangs, Powers homered and del Vecchio and Jensen LaPoint had key hits in the go-ahead seventh inning rally. In the win over the Rams, Drew Ferrick had the go-ahead hit. Cheverus (seventh in the Western Class A Heal Points standings at press time) was home with Portland Tuesday, hosts undefeated Scarborough Thursday, visits South Portland Saturday and closes the regular season at Gorham Tuesday of next week.

Portland snapped a two-game skid last Monday with a 9-2 home win over Massabesic, then dropped three in a row, 10-3 to visiting South Portland, 9-2 to visiting Scarborough and 4-3 at Westbrook to fall to 5-6 (eighth in Western A), In the victory, Caleb Fraser threw a one-hitter and Travis Godbout drove in three runs. Against the Red Riots, Fraser singled and tripled. Against the powerhouse Red Storm, the Bulldogs got a triple and a single from Evan Gallant, but couldn’t solve Scarborough lefty Jayme Lappin.

“We got outplayed,” said Portland coach Tony DiBiase. “(Scarborough) played really well. I thought we put the ball in play, but they made all the plays. They’re a solid team.”

Portland scored three times in the top of the seventh to tie Westbrook, but the Blue Blazes scored a run in the bottom of the inning to hand the Bulldogs their third straight setback. Joe Apon and Kyle Reichert both had two hits. Portland was at Cheverus Tuesday, plays host to Deering Friday, welcomes Biddeford Saturday and visits Windham to finish the regular season Tuesday of next week.

“We haven’t played up to expectations, obviously,” DiBiase said. “We all understand it’s disappointing, but the season’s not over and we’ll keep at it. We do our best. It’s a very coachable, great group of kids.”

Deering was 1-11 and 15th in Western A at the start of the week after falling, at home to Bonny Eagle (12-3), at Scarborough (6-0) and at home against Windham (4-0) last week. Nick Carmichael had three hits and an RBI against the Scots. After being one-hit by the Red Storm, the Rams got two hits from Ben Peterson, a double from Pat Viola and a strong effort from pitcher Nick Payne (eight strikeouts, just one earned run) in the loss to Nate Boyle and the Eagles.

“We never gave up,” said Deering coach Tim Eisenhart. “We made a couple critical errors, but Nick settled in and kept us in the game. The kids believed they’d win this game from the first inning until the seventh inning. There was a great vibe. We’re still young. We’ll get bigger and stronger.

“David Fowler, who was a reserve and basically a pinch-runner for us, has come on. He has three hits in two games. Nick Bevilaqua is doing a great job. Dom Esposito-Martin is playing wherever we need him to play and doing well. He’s our vocal and physical leader.”

The Rams were at South Portland Tuesday, visit Portland Friday, welcome Kennebunk Saturday and close at Westbrook Tuesday of next week. Deering, despite its record, still has a chance to get into the postseason.

“If we can get a couple wins, we could get in,” Eisenhart. “All we have to do is get in. I believe we can play with anybody.”

In Western C, Waynflete won, 16-6, at Traip to begin last week, then fell at home to Sacopee (8-4) and at undefeated Class B powerhouse Greely (13-3, in five innings) to fall to 6-4 and ninth in the Heals. In the victory, Andrew Butler homered and scored four times, Luke Jeton drove in four runs and Isaac Scher and Tom Silk each delivered three hits. Butler added three hits against the Hawks and against the Rangers, Butler tripled to help the Flyers take a short-lived 3-2 lead. Waynflete hoped to get back on track Monday when it hosted Traip. After playing at Fryeburg Wednesday and going to Sacopee Friday, the Flyers close the regular season at home against Traip Wednesday of next week.

Softball

Cheverus’ softball team won five of its first six games, but began the week having lost five of six and what seemed like a sure playoff berth is now in doubt. Last week, the Stags had no answer for South Portland ace Erin Bogdanovich, who no-hit them, 12-1. Cheverus then fell at Gorham (3-0) and at home to Bonny Eagle (13-2). Brittany Bell and Katie Roy had doubles against the Rams, Bell and Kelsey Dulac doubled against the Scots. The Stags (now 12th in Western A, where just 11 teams make the playoffs) played at powerhouse Scarborough Monday, host Thornton Academy Wednesday, visit Noble Friday and close at home versus Sanford Tuesday of next week.

McAuley was 15th at 1-12 after losing, 16-0 (in five innings) to visiting Scarborough, 12-0 (in five innings) at Thornton Academy and 14-0 (in six innings) to visiting Noble. The Lions were at Sanford Monday, host Massabesic Wednesday and finish at Deering Friday.

Portland fell to 2-12 and 16th after losses last week at Windham (15-3, in five innings), at home to Westbrook (18-1, in five innings) and at Biddeford (12-3). Amanda Gould hit a home run against the Eagles. Leanne Reichert had two hits against the Tigers. The Bulldogs host South Portland Wednesday and finish at Gorham Friday.

Deering dropped to 0-13 and 17th with losses last week to visiting Thornton Academy (16-0, in five innings), at Noble (15-0, in five innings) and at home against Sanford (15-1). Cassidy Coyne and Mia Thurston doubled against the Spartans. The Rams were at Massabesic Monday, play host to McAuley Friday and finish Tuesday of next week at Kennebunk.

Boys’ lacrosse

Cheverus’ boys’ lacrosse team began the week second to Brunswick in the Eastern Class A Heal Points standings. The Stags improved to 7-2 last Wednesday with a 17-4 home win over Portland. Jack Sutton had five goals, Nick Schleh four and Tom Lawson three. Cheverus was at Gorham Monday, visits Windham Wednesday and closes with a home game against Marshwood Wednesday of next week.

Deering is in line for a playoff trip. The Rams edged host Gorham, 8-7, then fell at Greely, 10-2, last week. In the win, Rick Murray had four goals and goalie Jon Deloach not only made 14 saves, but scored a goal of his own. Deering (5-5 and fifth in Eastern A) was home with Thornton Academy Wednesday and closes at Kennebunk Wednesday of next week.

Portland lost, 17-4, at Cheverus last Wednesday, then beat visiting Windham on Senior Day Saturday, 5-3, to improve to 2-9. The Bulldogs (eighth in Eastern A, where just seven teams make the playoffs) close at Bonny Eagle Wednesday.

In Western B, Waynflete came into the week 4-5, holding on to the fifth and final playoff spot. Last week, the Flyers won, 15-6, at York, then lost at home to South Portland, 13-8. Zander Majercik scored six times in the victory. Waynflete was at North Yarmouth Academy Tuesday, hosts Greely Friday and closes at home against Freeport Wednesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, the top team in our poll, defending Class B champion Waynflete, remains on track to repeat after yet another impressive win over rival Cape Elizabeth last Monday. The Capers came to Waynflete hoping to snap a 20-game skid at the hands of the Flyers, but Waynflete put the clamps on Cape Elizabeth from the get-go and pulled away in the second half to win, 8-4.

Sadie Cole scored five times, Martha Veroneau added two goals and the Flyers improved to 8-0 with their 12th straight win and essentially locked up the top seed and homefield advantage for the upcoming playoffs.

“We don’t have any secret weapons or anything,” Cole said. “We just play as a team. I think the only opponent is really ourselves in games like these. Cape’s obviously an amazing team, but we can’t come in and get psyched out. We had to play the whole game, every minute. It felt close. They kept it interesting the whole time.”

“(Cape has) a good offense and it’s hard to follow their cutters around,” said senior defender Jo Moore. “We did a good job being aware of where they were today. It was a struggle to keep them out. We were hoping the offense would eventually get good shots and they did.”

“It took us a little while to get our offensive rhythm down and everyone to figure out what their job was,” added Waynflete coach Cathie Connors. “In the end, we played a full 50 minutes. We didn’t slow down. I’m proud of (the girls). They work hard. We pride ourselves on our defense.”

The Flyers (No. 1 in the Western B Heals) were home with Falmouth (see theforecaster.net for game story), host Yarmouth Wednesday and close next week with games at Cheverus and Greely.

“It would be amazing to have homefield advantage and have the 1 seed, but every game is hard is in the playoffs,” Cole said. “Going undefeated would be a great feeling, but it’s added pressure.”

In Eastern A, Cheverus extended its program-best win streak to eight (the previous high was five in 2007) with wins last week over visiting Windham (15-6), at NYA (17-6) and a rare victory over host Kennebunk (13-6). Against the Eagles, Meredith Willard had five goals, Alex Logan finished with four and Elyse Caiazzo had six assists. At the Panthers, Logan scored four times, while Abby Biegel added three goals. Willard had three goals and injured goalie Hope Correia made her long-awaited return against the Rams, suggesting this team will be even stronger going forward. The Stags (8-1 and second to Messalonskee in the Heals) were at Thornton Academy Tuesday, welcome Gorham Thursday and close the regular season with a home showdown versus Waynflete Tuesday of next week.

Portland suffered a cruel blow in a recent win over McAuley, as senior standout and two-time PHS Spring Female Athlete of the Year Drew Barry tore her ACL and was lost for the season, but the Bulldogs continue to win without her. Last week, Portland rolled at Deering (13-5) and handled visiting Westbrook (14-4) to improve to 7-2 (fifth in Eastern A). Against the Rams, Laura Frank had four goals, Isabel Stehli added three and Hallie Alex won 14 of 20 draws.

“It was definitely tough, but our team is so supportive,” said Frank. “We’ve come together. Drew, even on the sidelines, is a big part of the team. She said she’d lose her voice (cheering) and she kept her word. We came out and proved ourselves on offense today. It was shaky coming in, but we showed we can definitely do it.”

“Beating Deering’s always a big deal,” said Alex. “They’re our biggest rival. It shows true school spirit. It’s the biggest game of the season.”

“The girls responded well today,” added Bulldogs coach Kait Johnson. “We needed this. It was a test and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. We have a lot of good players on the team. Drew’s an irreplaceable player on both ends of the field, but we’re adapting and people are stepping up left and right.”

Portland (fifth in Eastern A) was home against Thornton Academy Monday, visits South Portland Friday and closes Wednesday of next week at home versus Gorham.

Deering fell to 3-6 and 11th (only eight teams make the playoffs) with the 13-5 home loss to Portland and a 5-3 home loss to Bonny Eagle. Maddy Mazjanis and Mony Prak both had two goals against the Bulldogs.

“Speed really kills in lacrosse,” said Rams coach Andrew Gordon. “Some of my girls had an off-day. We set the wrong tone. I had to call two timeouts early. We couldn’t get the ball on draws. We don’t seem to get ground balls consistently. That’s the story of the season, but we’ve definitely been getting better.”

Deering was home with South Portland Monday and closes at Marshwood Wednesday of next week.

After a 16-6 home loss to South Portland, McAuley got in the win column Thursday, 15-12, over visiting Sanford. Scoring machine Katherine Lake had five goals against the Red Riots, then went off for nine against the Spartans. Natalie Carter added four. The Lions (1-8 and 12th in Eastern A) were at Westbrook Tuesday, play Bonny Eagle in their home finale Friday and close at Noble Tuesday of next week.

Track

City outdoor track teams had their last regular season meet last weekend.

Cheverus, Deering, McAuley and Portland went to Gorham for the Cumberland County championship meet.

Cheverus’ girls came in first, beating eight other teams. Deering was fourth, McAuley seventh and Portland ninth. The Stags got first-place performances from Anne Slattery in the 100 hurdles (17.2 seconds), the 300 hurdles (48.9) and the 200 (26.72), Kiera Murray in the mile (5 minutes, 26.19 seconds) and two-mile (11:56.68), Sarah Mount in the 400 (1:01.78), Georgia Caso in the 800 (2:27.75), Abby Goodrich in the long jump (15 feet, 7 inches) and triple jump (32-2.5) and their 400 (52.23) and 1,600 (4:21.72) relays. The Rams got a win from Rashad Zagon in the high jump (5-4). Lions’ first-place finishers included Olivia Smith in the javelin (107-5), Victoria Lux in the discus (103-10) and Elizabeth Houston in the pole vault (8 feet). The Bulldogs were led by Madison Bolduc, third in the long jump (14-3), and Claire Kirby, third in the 100 hurdles (17.87).

In the boys’ meet, the Stags finished one point behind Scarborough to place second. The Rams came in fifth and the Bulldogs placed seventh. Cheverus got wins from Jackson McMann in the 100 (11.42), Jake Dixon in the 400 (51.93), Brady Foshay in the 800 (1:58.54), Jacob Schott in the high jump (6 feet), Matt Cushing in the javelin (177-2) and its 400 (44.15) and 1,600 (3:29.79) relays. Deering’s Jared Bell dominated in shot put (56-9) and discus (177-0). Portland’s top finisher was Jonathan Bobe, runner-up in the 400 (54.26).

Cheverus, Deering, McAuley and Portland will take part in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship meet Saturday at Thornton Academy, while Waynflete will head to Lake Region for the Western Maine Conference championship meet.

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

Sidebar Elements

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Portland catcher Ryan Ruhlin makes a throw to second base during a 9-2 home loss to Scarborough last week.

Portland sophomore Ella Coose fires a shot past Deering senior goalie Lily Worthley during the Bulldogs’ 13-5 victory last week.