Male:

JACK DAVENPORT, Junior-Baseball

•  Western Maine Conference all-star, first-team
  

• Underclass All-Star

Davenport truly did it all this spring, putting up dazzling stats on the mound and at the plate while leading Freeport back to the playoffs.

Davenport grew up in Freeport and started playing baseball hitting off a tee. It quickly became his top sport and even though he’s been very successful in soccer and basketball at the high school level, the diamond has been his best friend.

Davenport made the all-conference second-team as a freshman and was honored again after a sophomore campaign which saw him hit .391 with three home runs and 15 RBI and post a 1.77 earned run average on the hill. This spring, Davenport was even more prolific.

The shortstop/pitcher couldn’t have started the year any better, hitting a home run, driving in three runs and pitching a four-hitter in a victory over Wells. Davenport had two hits and earned a win over Poland, struck out 13 and doubled in a victory over Gray-New Gloucester, had two hits in a loss to Kennebunk, three hits, two runs and an RBI in a loss to Poland and two hits in a win over Old Orchard Beach. The Falcons got to the playoffs, but lost a tough 1-0 nine-inning decision to Gray-New Gloucester in the Western B preliminary round.

For the year, Davenport boasted a stellar batting average of .510, an on-base percentage of .597, scored 18 runs, drove in a dozen and had six doubles and three home runs. On the mound, he finished 4-3 with a 2.39 earned run average. In 41 innings, he struck out 40 and had a WHIP (walks/hits per inning) of 1.195.

“It was a good season,” Davenport said. “I was happy. I hope we make it farther in the playoffs next year.”

Davenport said that he draws inspiration from several sources.

“My family, my fans, my teammates all push me to get better,” Davenport said. “I’m competitive, but I don’t show it as much as others do.”

Davenport is playing both American Legion and travel baseball this summer. He hopes to play in college and is in the process of selecting a school.

Wherever he ends up, he figures to excel, but first he has one final high school season to dominate. Jack Davenport, Freeport’s Spring Male Athlete of the Year, has set the bar for excellence very, very high.

Coach Bill Ridge’s comment: “Jack was an anchor in the middle of our lineup and in our pitching rotation. He was dominant in both aspects of the game. Beyond his impressive pitching and offensive stats, Jack played shortstop as well as anyone in the league. In each game, win or lose, we’d walk away being able to list multiple ways Jack affected the game, including a big hit, dominating pitching or an incredible defensive play at shortstop. In my opinion, Jack was the best player in the conference this year.”

Previous winners:

2014 Sam Wogan (lacrosse)

2013 Harrison Stivers (track)

2012 Sawyer Williams (baseball)

2011 Hans Pope (lacrosse)

2010 Hans Pope (lacrosse)

2009 Greg Ordway (lacrosse)

2008 Parker Chipman (track)

2007 Luke Charest (lacrosse)

2006 Kelso Davis (lacrosse)

2005 Tim Gray (lacrosse)

2004 Kelso Davis (lacrosse)

2003 Tyler Allen (baseball)

2002 Ben Grant (baseball)

Female:

EMILY JOHNSON, Senior-Lacrosse

• WMC all-star, second-team

• WMC All-Academic team

• Senior All-Star

• All-American, All-Academic team

• Hustle Award winner

Johnson didn’t just score big goals this spring, she was a terrific special teams player and even demonstrated an ability to play shutdown defense when the situation dictated. As a result, she was recognized as one of the conference’s best players and helped Freeport make another spirited playoff run.

Johnson was a rarity in high school, not just a three-sport athlete, but one who did very well in each sport. In the fall, she played soccer. In the winter, Johnson played for the Yarmouth/Freeport co-op girls’ hockey team (she was named Freeport’s Winter Female Athlete of the Year after her final season) and in the spring, she turned heads on the lacrosse field. Never more so than this year.

Johnson collected 15 ground balls in a loss to Class B champion Yarmouth, had three goals in a loss to Lake Region, three in a win over Morse, four, including the decisive tally in an overtime victory over Greely, four in a win against Gould Academy and she had a game-high nine ground balls in a loss to Waynflete.

Johnson finished with 30 goals and seven assists. She had 50 draw controls and led the Falcons every year with ground balls, including this spring when she had 72.

In the playoffs, Johnson had three goals in a quarterfinal round win over Winslow, then played defense to help Freeport outlast Morse in a semifinal shootout. Johnson bowed out with three more goals in a regional final loss to Yarmouth.

Johnson, who also took part in Model UN and National Honor Society and wrote for Freeport’s school newspaper, will attend St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York next year and plans to try out for the lacrosse team.

She leaves her mark as one of the special three-sport standouts of recent vintage. Emily Johnson, Freeport’s Spring Female Athlete of the Year, was willing to do whatever it took to make her team better.

Coach Marcia Wood’s comment “Emily was just fantastic this year. She’s the type of player that will do anything you ask of her. During our semifinal game with Morse we asked her to play back on defense to help lead back there. That was a game changer with her back there and her speed and ability to grab a ground ball. Emily has fantastic speed and footwork. Her quick feet helped her maneuver through defenders to get goals. Overall, she’s just a smart, reliable player, I felt I could just look at her and say, ‘take care of it’ and she knew what to do, whether it was mark tighter on the opponent’s best player, or when we need the ball back and she goes out to double on defense, I just trusted her to take control when needed, offensively and defensively.”

Previous winners:

2014 Meredith Broderick (lacrosse)

2013 Jocelyn Davee (lacrosse)

2012 Alexandra Mitch (lacrosse)

2011 Leigh Wyman (softball)

2010 Lucy Whitacre (lacrosse)

2009 Kristen Poulin (track)

2008 Andrea Goodrich (track)

2007 Molly Lincoln (lacrosse)

2006 Amber Klages (lacrosse)

2005 Cassandra Dyer (softball)

2004 Logan Crane (track)

2003 Molly Charest (lacrosse)

2002 Kerry Blenk (softball)

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

Sidebar Elements

---

Davenport

Johnson

Johnson