Portland: Title time has arrived

The first team state championships of the spring sports season, outdoor track, were bestowed Saturday.

Tennis will crown its team champions this coming weekend.

And then, it will be a mad dash to the finish line for baseball, softball and lacrosse.

If you blink you might miss it, so here’s a look back at the events of last week and an overview of what’s to come:

Outdoor track

Cheverus’ Frank Morang competes in the long jump at the Class A track and field state championship meet. Morang won the title. Michael G. Seamans / Morning Sentinel

At the Class A state outdoor track meet Saturday in Bangor, Cheverus’ boys tallied 63 points and were a distant second to perennial champion Scarborough (89). The Stags were led by Frank Morang, who won the long jump in 22 feet, 10.25 inches and the triple jump (43-3.25). Morang was also runner-up in the 100 (11.16 seconds) and helped the Stags’ 4×100 relay team (which also included Andrew Griffiths, Matthew Fogg and Brendan Rogers) come in third (43.73), as he helped score more than half his team’s points.

Cheverus’ 4×400 relay team (Fogg, Rogers, Jesse Cadigan and Griffiths) came in first in 3 minutes, 28.92 seconds. Rogers was runner-up in the 400 (51.21), Griffiths came in fifth in the 400 (51.71). Bryan Stark-Chessa placed fifth in the mile (4:26.53) and fifth in the 2-mile (10:03.75). The Stags’ 4×800 relay team (Stark-Chessa, Cash Kellen, Danny McCartney and Cadigan) finished sixth (8:35.2).

Portland had eight points and tied Skowhegan for 21st place. The Bulldogs’ 4×800 relay team (George Theall, Nicholas Paterniti, Ben Prestes and Nathan Blades) finished second in 8:14.11.

Deering did not score.

In the Class A girls’ competition, won by Bangor with 97 points, Deering (22) came in 10th. Saya Breiting-Brown placed third in the 100 hurdles (16.47) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (49.87). Lara Gin finished fourth in the 400 (1:00.97). Megan Cunningham came in fourth in the 2-mile (11:58.52). Naomie Bisimwa placed fifth in the discus (105-6). The Rams’ 4×800 relay team (Cunningham, Anika Gin, Zabel Kasabian and Mya Landry) finished sixth in 10:54.77.

Cheverus (10) was 18th. The Stags were led by Leska Whitmarsh, who tied for second in the pole vault (9-0). Annie Vigue was sixth in the 800 (2:26.64). Cheverus’ 4×400 relay team (Finley Brown, Tatum Kellen, Lizzie Merrill and Vigue) placed sixth (4:24.89).

Portland (9.33) finished 19th. Samantha Moore was fourth in the mile (5:11.87). Iman Alaari placed sixth in the 300 hurdles (50.61). Jada Stevenson tied for seventh in the high jump (4-9). The Bulldogs’ 4×400 relay team (Alaari, Moore, Alisandra Lindos and Inas Alaari) placed fifth in 4:24.19.

The outdoor track season finishes up for select athletes Saturday in New Britain, Connecticut with the New England championship meet.

Tennis

Waynflete’s boys’ tennis juggernaut needed just three more wins at press time to capture a mind-boggling 14th straight Class C state title. The Flyers, ranked fourth in Class C South, blanked No. 5 Mountain Valley (5-0) in last week’s quarterfinals. Monday, Waynflete (9-4) went to top-seeded Madison (9-2) for the semifinals. If the Flyers won their 53rd consecutive playoff match and moved on to the regional final, they would take on No. 7 North Yarmouth Academy (8-6) Wednesday at Bates College.

Waynflete’s girls also reached the Class C South semifinals. The Flyers, ranked fourth, improved to 9-4 after a 4-1 quarterfinal round win over No. 5 Winthrop. Monday, Waynflete was at top-ranked Hall-Dale (9-2) in the semifinals. If victorious, the Flyers would take on No. 3 Maranacook (13-1) in Wednesday’s regional final.

The boys’ and girls’ Class C state finals will be contested Saturday at Lewiston High School.

In Class A South, the Portland boys, ranked third, defeated No. 6 Falmouth in the quarterfinals, but lost to second-ranked Kennebunk, 4-1, in the semifinals to finish the season 11-3.

Cheverus, seeded fourth, also reached the semifinals. The Stags eliminated No. 13 Windham (5-0) in the preliminary round, then held off No. 5 South Portland (3-2) in the quarterfinals before losing to top-ranked Thornton Academy, 4-1, to finish 11-3.

Deering, seeded 10th, lost to No. 7 Westbrook, 4-1, in the preliminary round to finish 4-9.

On the girls’ side, Cheverus, the No. 6 seed, ousted No. 11 Portland (5-0) in the preliminary round, then lost to No. 3 Falmouth (5-0) in the quarterfinals to wind up 8-5.

Portland finished 2-11 with its preliminary round loss to Cheverus.

Deering, the No. 14 seed, was ousted by Falmouth, 5-0, in the preliminary round to finish 1-12.

Baseball

Portland’s Colby Winship delivers a strike to Cheverus’ Orion Guibord during the Bulldogs’ 2-1 win last week. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

Portland’s baseball team went 7-2 down the stretch and wound up 9-6-1 and seventh in Class A South. The Bulldogs closed with a victory over visiting Cheverus (2-1) on Senior Day last week. Colby Winship was sensational, retiring the first 19 batters he faced before his perfect game/no-hit bid went by the wayside on a one-out infield single. Winship earned the win and Henry Bibeau earned the save, while Andrew Legere drove in both runs with a triple.

“I was just looking for a ball I could hit hard in the outfield and score runs,” Legere said. “(The pitcher) left it over the plate and I crushed it and I was thinking three all the way. I saw it keep rolling to the fence.”

“Going into the last inning, I felt a little extra going to the mound,” Winship said. “My teammates talked about (the perfect game) a little bit in the dugout and I got a little excited. I wouldn’t say it was disappointing. I just wanted to win. I’ll do anything for the team.”

“I’ve been here forever and we’ve never had a perfect game,” added longtime Bulldogs coach Mike Rutherford. “We’ve had some no-hitters, but never a perfect game. To retire 19 batters in a row against a pretty good Cheverus team is amazing.”

Portland hosted No. 10 Noble (7-9) in the preliminary round Monday (see theforecaster.net/sports for game story). The Bulldogs lost at home to the Knights, 6-3, back on April 30. The teams had met just once before in the playoffs, a 3-2 Portland victory in the 2002 Western A semifinals.

If the Bulldogs advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinal round, they would either go to No. 2 Falmouth (14-2) or host No. 15 Massabesic (2-14).

“Anything can happen in the playoffs,” Rutherford said. “We feel good going in. After South Portland, Thornton Academy and maybe Falmouth, everyone else is the same. Any team can beat you.”

Cheverus finished 7-9 after losses at Portland (2-1) and Westbrook (4-1). Against the Bulldogs, the Stags didn’t get their first base runner or hit until the seventh inning. Orion Guibord drove in the run.

“We finally got our bats going a little bit and put some pressure on them at the end,” Cheverus coach Tony DiBiase said. “We put the ball in play and had some hard-hit balls, but (Winship) did a good job keeping us off balance. We couldn’t string good at-bats together.”

In the loss to the Blue Blazes, Guibord and Brian Connolly each had a couple of hits.

The Stags earned the No. 11 seed in Class A South and opened the playoffs with a preliminary round game at No. 6 Westbrook (9-6-1) Tuesday afternoon. Cheverus was 2-3 all-time versus the Blue Blazes in the tournament, with a 3-2 loss in the 2013 Western A quarterfinals the most recent.

If the Stags sprung the upset, they’d go to No. 3 South Portland (13-3), the reigning state champion, or host No. 14 Deering (3-13) for the quarterfinals Thursday.

“I give the kids credit for battling through and having a successful season,” DiBiase said. “Baseball’s different than football or basketball. You have a legitimate shot at an upset in the playoffs. We’ll see what happens.”

Deering closed with an 8-0 home loss to Kennebunk, as the Rams were no-hit by Landon Schwartzman. Deering had the daunting task of taking on a Red Riots squad which beat it, 9-0, back on April 26 at Hadlock Field. The teams split six prior playoff meetings, with an 11-3 Deering victory in the 2008 Western A quarterfinals the most recent. If the Rams sprung the upset, they’d go to either Cheverus or Westbrook in the quarterfinals Thursday.

In Class C South, the Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team wound up 12-4 after an 11-4 home loss to Sacopee Valley last week. Monday, the squad hosted No. 13 Old Orchard Beach (5-11) in the preliminary round. Waynflete/NYA beat the Seagulls twice this season, 7-1 at home and 6-0 on the road. If the team advanced, it would host No. 5 Monmouth Academy (12-4) or No. 12 Madison (6-10) in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The semifinals will be contested Saturday on the fields of the higher seeds. The Class A South Final and Class C South Final are Tuesday of next week at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

Softball

Portland’s softball team capped its successful 10-5 regular season with a 9-1 win at Cheverus last week. The Bulldogs earned the No. 6 seed in Class A South and hosted No. 11 Bonny Eagle (5-10) in the preliminary round Tuesday. Way back on April 22, host Portland handled the Scots, 11-1 (in five innings). The Bulldogs won five of six prior playoff meetings, with a 4-1 victory in the 2004 Western A quarterfinals the most recent. If Portland advanced to Thursday’s semifinals, it will either go to No. 3 Kennebunk (13-4) or host No. 14 Westbrook (3-12).

Cheverus finished 12th in Class A South and was eliminated at No. 5 Scarborough Saturday in the preliminary round, 10-0, in six innings. Olivia Bradford had a pair of hits for the Stags, who ended their season with a record of 4-12.

Deering, the No. 15 seed, was at No. 2 Biddeford (13-2) in the preliminary round Tuesday. The Rams lost the regular season meeting, 31-0, and were 1-3 all-time versus the Tigers in the playoffs, with a 3-1 loss in the 2008 Western A semifinals the most recent encounter.

The semifinals will be contested Saturday on the fields of the higher seeds. The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

Boys’ lacrosse

Waynflete’s defending Class C champion boys’ lacrosse team finished 7-5 after a 17-2 win at Lake Region last week. The Flyers, who earned the No. 6 seed for the state-wide tournament, host No. 11 Lake Region Wednesday in the preliminary round. Waynflete won the only prior playoff encounter, 18-2, in the 2019 Class C quarterfinals. If the Flyers advance to Friday’s quarterfinals, they will go to No. 3 Maranacook (9-3) or host No. 14 MCI/Nokomis (1-11).

In Class A North, Deering, ranked ninth after a 1-11 regular season (which was capped by a 17-6 loss at Noble), was at No. 8 Edward Little (2-10) in the preliminary round Monday. The teams didn’t play this year. The Red Eddies won the lone prior playoff meeting, 14-7, in last year’s Class A North preliminary round. If the Rams advanced, they’d go to top-ranked Falmouth (9-3) for the quarterfinals Thursday.

Portland finished fifth after a 4-8 campaign, which ended with a 15-3 loss at Windham. The Bulldogs go to No. 4 Lewiston (4-8) for the quarterfinals Thursday. The teams didn’t play this season and split four prior playoff meetings, with the Bulldogs winning the most recent, 10-9, in the 2019 Class A North semifinals.

Cheverus wound up seventh in Class A North at 4-8 after closing with a 14-6 loss at Falmouth. The Stags go to No. 2 Windham (7-5) for the quarterfinals Wednesday. Cheverus lost the regular season meeting, 15-1 at home. The Stags won the only prior playoff encounter, 15-7, in the 2015 Eastern A quarterfinals.

Looking ahead, the Class C state semifinals will be Tuesday of next week and the Class A North semifinals are Saturday and the regional final Wednesday of next week. All of those games will be held on the fields of the higher seeds.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Cheverus capped an 8-4 regular season with a 14-9 loss at defending Class A champion Kennebunk last week. The Stags finished fifth in Class A North and go to No. 4 Oxford Hills (7-5) for the quarterfinals Thursday. The teams didn’t meet this year. Cheverus won the lone prior playoff meeting, 19-8, in the 2019 Class A North quarterfinals.

Deering wound up eighth and Portland ninth in Class A North and met in a preliminary round game Monday afternoon on the Rams’ home field.

Deering closed at 3-9 after a 17-2 loss at Mt. Ararat, while the Bulldogs ended up 1-11 after a 15-2 loss at Falmouth. The Rams won the regular season meeting, 10-9. The rivals had no playoff history. The winner will go to top-ranked Yarmouth (9-3) in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Reigning Class C champion Waynflete finished the regular season 6-6 after a 16-6 loss at York last week. Lydia Birknes scored twice and goalie Emily Girard made 10 saves. The Flyers are the No. 6 seed and will host No. 11 Traip Academy (4-8) Wednesday in the preliminary round. Waynflete won the regular season meeting, 15-6. The teams have no playoff history. If the Flyers advanced they’ll either go to No. 3 NYA (7-5) or host No. 14 Oceanside (1-11) Friday in the state quarterfinals.

Looking ahead, the Class C state semifinals will be Tuesday of next week, and the Class A North semifinals are Saturday and the regional final Wednesday of next week. All of those games will be held on the fields of the higher seeds.