A little over a year ago when The Forecaster chose the top 10 softball teams from our coverage area over a 20-year span, it was a time to celebrate the past, as the present was discouraging (the 2020 spring sports season had been canceled) and the future was unknown.

Thankfully, that future came into focus in a positive manner and led to a nearly normal 2021 campaign, which produced a local champion.

And what a champion it was.

The Cape Elizabeth Capers didn’t just win the Class B state championship for the first time in 14 years and the second time ever, they did so by punishing almost every foe and going undefeated in the process.

So do the Capers make the cut?

The answer is an emphatic yes.

Here’s a look at the original list:

Honorable mentions (in chronological order):
2004 Portland Bulldogs (Class A champions)
2007 Cape Elizabeth Capers (Class B champions)
2015 Yarmouth Clippers (Class B champions)
2019 Scarborough Red Storm (Class A champions)

Super-six
6) 2002 Greely Rangers (Class B champions)
5) 2011 South Portland Red Riots (Class A runners-up)
4) 2016 Scarborough Red Storm (Class A runners-up)
3) 2018 Scarborough Red Storm (Class A champions)
2) 2010 South Portland Red Riots (Class A champions)
1) 2017 Scarborough Red Storm (Class A champions)

The 2021 Cape Elizabeth Capers can stake their claim as being as good as any of the teams listed above.

Under first-year coach Kristen Duross, Cape Elizabeth outscored its 16 regular season foes by a jaw-dropping 221 runs to 13. The Capers only had to play beyond five innings twice. Not only did Cape Elizabeth punish the softball like no one else, the pitching staff, led by senior ace Anna Cornell, threw 10 shutouts.

The Capers, ranked second behind Fryeburg Academy in Class B South, continued their dominant ways with a 22-0 (five-inning) win over Freeport in the preliminary round, then handled Poland, 13-2, in the quarterfinals. Cape Elizabeth then received and passed a pair of tests to capture the region. Against Medomak Valley in the semifinals, the Capers were held scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when Esme Song singled home Clara Parker for a 1-0 win. The regional final versus Fryeburg Academy was even scarier, as Cape Elizabeth trailed entering the seventh inning, but Julia Torre’s triple tied it and Torre scored on a wild throw for a 5-4 victory. The Capers returned to their overwhelming form in the state final versus Winslow. Cornell’s two-run single produced a comfortable early lead and a 10-run fifth inning ended all doubt as Cape Elizabeth prevailed, 19-4, in five innings, to cap the best season in program history at 21-0. Cornell, Torre and Dana Schwartz all had three hits and Cornell earned one final victory on the mound.

“This is a very talented team, a special team,” Duross said. “Going 21-0 and winning states, it doesn’t get better than that. This team dominated on both sides of the field. One through nine could hit the ball hard and I could put anyone anywhere on defense and they would be able to make a big play. This team is the real deal and deserved nothing less than what they earned. They’re very, very talented. These ladies crushed the ball this season and we look forward to doing the same thing next year.”

Now that Cape Elizabeth proved it was an all-time great team, our revised ranking reads like this:

Honorable mentions

Greely 2002 Class B state champion

The greatest pitching exhibition you’ll likely ever see led Greely to the championship 19 years ago and the name Sarah Bennis will forever live in Rangers’ lore. Greely lost just twice all season and won every playoff game by a 1-0 score, as Bennis was simply unhittable. In a memorable Class B state final versus Erskine Academy, Bennis and Katie Mainville engaged in a pitcher’s duel for the ages. Neither team broke through in the first nine innings, but in the top of the 10th, Steph Ginn’s two-out double scored Michelle Robb and Bennis (two hits, 14 Ks) slammed the door to punctuate her season for the ages and give Greely the crown.

Portland 2004 Class A champion

Portland put it all together when it mattered most in 2004, riding a potent offense and a surprise weapon out of the bullpen to win the Class A title for the eighth and most recent time. The Bulldogs beat Bonny Eagle and Biddeford in their first two playoff games, then held off Scarborough in the Western A Final, as Keri Foley doubled and homered, Ashley Anderson drove in a run, Katie Brown held the potent Red Storm at bay into the bottom of the seventh and sophomore Katie Hutchins came on to slam the door. The state final versus Brewer was a similar story, as the Bulldogs prevailed, 8-4, behind Foley’s four hits and three RBI and Hutchins’ again excelling in relief, retiring the final 11 batters she faced, as Anderson, at shortstop, caught a line drive to end it, then threw the ball to the heavens to begin the celebration.

Cape Elizabeth 2007 Class B state champion

Cape Elizabeth’s first championship team was pretty good, too, as ace Trish Thibodeau came up huge time and time again and the Capers’ potent bats produced in the key moments. After a 13-3 regular season, the Capers beat Poland, Lake Region and Greely by a composite 20-5 margin to make it to the state final. After losing on the big stage the year before, Cape Elizabeth wouldn’t be denied, edging Winslow, 2-1, as Thibodeau worked out of multiple jams and her five-hitter with eight Ks, combined with a clutch two-run home run from Colleen Martin, proved to be the difference.

Scarborough 2019 Class A state champion

The Red Storm’s most recent championship team was dominant, but perhaps not quite as dominant as the squads that came immediately before. Regardless, Scarborough ran roughshod through the league during a 20-0 campaign. Scarborough was led by ace Bella Dickinson and hit .391 as a team. The Red Storm rolled past Bonny Eagle (9-2), South Portland (12-0, in five innings) and Thornton Academy (8-4) to reach the state final, then made it three titles in a row by virtue of an 11-1 win over Skowhegan, as a seven-run sixth inning blew it open.

Super-six

6) South Portland Red Riots, 2011 Western A runner-up

The 2011 Red Riots might have been even better than the squad which won the program’s first state title the year before, but a familiar nemesis deprived South Portland of back-to-back crowns. Alexis Bogdanovich was a star on the mound and Danica Gleason and Kaitlin Norton paced a formidable offense. South Portland went undefeated in the regular season and got to the Western A Final, but Scarborough, a team the Red Riots had upset in the 2010 regional final and downed, 3-1, in the regular season, scored an early run and made it stand up for a 1-0 victory, ending South Portland’s season at 18-1 and in agony.

5) Scarborough Red Storm, 2016 Class A state runner-up

Scarborough’s most potent team also wasn’t able to make it to the state final. The Red Storm had a team batting average of an otherworldly .469 and scored 266 runs in 16 games, surrendering a mere 11 while winning half of their 16 regular season games by the 12-run mercy rule. Along the way, Tom Griffin earned his 400th win as coach of the program. Ace Lilly Volk threw a perfect game in a quarterfinal round win over Portland and Scarborough blanked Windham as well in the semifinals, but in the regional final against Biddeford, the Red Storm fell short, 9-7. Scarborough did erase a 7-2 deficit, but the Tigers scored twice in the seventh to end the Red Storm’s season at 18-1.

4) Cape Elizabeth Capers, 2021 Class B champion

3) Scarborough Red Storm, 2018 Class A state champion

A team that absolutely mashed the ball and hardly let the opponent breathe when they were up to bat, Scarborough beat all 20 foes and repeated in Class A for the first time. In the regular season, the Red Storm scored in double digits in 12 of 16 games and won half its contests by the mercy rule. Scarborough scored 209 runs, gave up a mere 15 and had a team batting average of .396. After beating Portland and Massabesic by a composite 17-1 margin in their first two playoff games, the Red Storm needed nine innings to survive Thornton Academy, 3-2, in the regional final, as Chloe Griffin drove in the winning run, then pulled away to enjoy a 12-0, six-inning win over Oxford Hills to complete the championship run. A perfect team had a perfect ending.

2) South Portland Red Riots 2010, Class A state champion

After several years of near misses, not only did the Red Riots stun Scarborough in the regional final, they went on and completed the job, winning (to date) the program’s lone state title in memorable fashion. Behind the arm of Alexis Bogdanovich and a potent lineup, South Portland went 15-1 in the regular season, losing only to Scarborough, but would have no peer in the playoffs. After holding off McAuley in the quarterfinals and downing Kennebunk in the semifinals, the Red Riots got another shot at Scarborough in the regional final and behind a three-run home run from Kaitlin Norton prevailed, 5-2. In the state final versus Bangor, only one run was scored and it was South Portland scoring it on Norton’s RBI double, which brought home Danica Gleason. Alexis Bogdanovich did the rest, slamming the door for a 1-0 victory, punctuating an amazing championship run.

1) Scarborough Red Storm 2017, Class A state champion

An absolute juggernaut, which had jaw-dropping pitching depth and tremendous hitting up and down the order. Scarborough scored 228 runs in 16 regular games and surrendered a mere 15, hitting the ball to the tune of a .406 average. The Red Storm’s pitching staff was almost unhittable with Lilly Volk leading the way and Abbie Murrell and Chloe Griffin also seeing time. Scarborough won 10 times by mercy rule (likely a league record) and scored in double digits on a dozen occasions. The Red Storm beat Gorham, Windham and Portland by a composite 21-2 margin in the regional tournament, then blanked Skowhegan, 3-0, in the state final behind a Volk gem (two hits, 13 Ks).

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

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