Lisbon High School relief pitcher Levi Tibbetts celebrates with head coach Randy Ridley after the final out of Saturday’s playoff game in Lisbon against Monmouth Academy. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
It was a busy weekend for Midcoast high school athletics teams as the baseball, lacrosse and softball postseasons stormed toward the proverbial finish line.
Here’s a look at who is still standing heading into regional finals and state semifinals:
LISBON
The Lisbon baseball team will face Maranacook in the C South title game on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Joseph’s College.
The top-seeded Greyhounds (19-0) edged Monmouth 3-2 in a regional semifinal on Saturday.
And it was a tight game right to the very end, with a heads-up play that helped secure the victory.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Monmouth had a chance to rally in the top of the seventh inning.
Lisbon High School second baseman Bryce Poulin throws to first baseman Ethan Brown for an out during Saturday’s playoff game in Lisbon against Monmouth Academy. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Lisbon catcher Caleb Phillips noticed one batter earlier that Hayden Fletcher was taking a long lead off second base, so when the opportunity struck during Sam Calder’s at-bat, Phillips launched a throw to second base and the Greyhounds were able to get Fletcher out in a rundown to secure the 3-2 victory.
Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said that while he wouldn’t have made the throw to second, he has total confidence in Phillips making that decision.
“When I saw how big a lead he had, I thought that Caleb was going to take a chance,” Ridley said. “In that situation, do I like that, though? I’m not that way, but I will always trust my players. It was a great decision and it worked out great for us.
“It comes to a point as a coach where you have to just trust your kids to play. Sometimes it burns us, but I want my kids to play.”
Phillips, meanwhile, had confidence in the Lisbon infielders to finish the play and get Fletcher out.
“The pitch before, on the (Manny Calder) strikeout, Fletcher stepped a couple too many,” Phillips said. “The defense knows I make some gutsy, dumb plays, but I trust them. I trust them to catch it. The last (pitch), I saw him go one step more than last time, and I just sent for it.”
BRUNSWICK
Both lacrosse teams stormed into the Class B semifinals. The fifth-seeded Brunswick boys sank Greely in a first-round game before edging Camden Hills, 15-10, in the quarterfinals. Next up for the Dragons? A trip to Oakland to play top-seeded Messalonskee in a state semifinal game Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Brunswick girls lacrosse team (7-7) will play at No. 4 York in a Class B semifinal on Wednesday. Brunswick knocked out top seed Messalonskee 8-5 on Saturday.
Levi Tibbetts of Lisbon High School reacts after smacking an RBI double to put the Greyhounds on the board 1-0 during the fourth inning of Saturday’s playoff game in Lisbon against Monmouth Academy. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Sophomore Maddie Barnhorst made 12 saves to backbone the ninth-seeded Dragons. She made a four-goal first half lead hold up, and the Dragons conceded just a single second-half goal to the Eagles (10-3).
“She had a game. I give mad credit to the goalie,” Messalonskee coach Crystal Leavitt said of Barnhorst. “We shot right at her stick, and she saved the ones right at her stick. She changed the momentum.”
Brunswick had dropped a 13-9 decision to Messalonskee on May 24.
“I think we really realized that this season, a lot of the teams were really, really even,” Brunswick coach Emily Aschenbrenner said. “Despite some of the scores you’ve seen, any one of these teams could be in the No. 1 spot. We had a mission, and it was just to keep playing. These girls came here and did exactly what we came here to do.”
FREEPORT
The Freeport girls lacrosse team sank rival Morse 17-2 in a quarterfinal game Friday to reach the state semifinals on Tuesday.
Savannah Tracy scored five goals while Kate Tracy and Maddie Knight each had three for the second-seeded Falcons (10-3) over the seventh-seeded Shipbuilders (7-7) in Freeport.
Lana DiRusso and Kyla Havey chipped in two goals apiece.
Delaney Pascuzzo got both Morse goals.
The Falcons will face No. 3 North Yarmouth Academy (9-5) on Tuesday.
The Freeport baseball team is in the Class B South final, where it will face No. 1 Greely (18-1) at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Gorham.
The Falcons blanked No. 15 Lake Region 5-0 in a regional semifinal on Saturday.
Nathan Abbott allowed only two hits and struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings to lead the Falcons (15-4).
Keegan Shea had a pair of singles and Zane Aguire hit a double for Freeport, which broke open a pitchers’ duel with four runs in the sixth.
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