Mother’s Day is in the rearview mirror and Memorial Day is coming up quickly. That means the championship month of June is right around the corner and the spring sports season doesn’t have long to go until the biggest events will be held.

Another exciting week is in the books and this week features an abundance of compelling action.

Here’s a look back and a glimpse ahead:

Softball

Freeport’s softball team continues to enjoy one of the finest seasons in program history. One year after posting just three wins, the Falcons improved to 9-0 with a 14-4 (five-inning) home victory over Wells Friday. Freeport broke the game open with an eight-run third inning. Rosie Panenka singled, doubled and drove in two runs, Vanessa St. Pierre drove in a pair, Izzy George had three hits and scored twice and Norah Albertini finished with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI.

“Sometimes (a big inning) is a surprise, sometimes you kind of expect it and I think that (third) inning, especially, I could really feel it,” said George. “I felt like something was coming on.”

“We knew our potential coming into this season, we knew what other teams thought of us because of our record,” said Panenka. “We knew we had the potential to turn it around and make this season what we wanted it to be. We have a ton of talent, we have young talent too, we’ve got a lot of leaders and we’ve just been having a lot of fun.”

“The team is just jelling,” added first-year coach Chris St. Pierre. “Everything about this team is just showing that they’re enjoying the season and having fun. Everybody’s got that winning mentality right now and I think that’s contributing to everybody throwing themselves around on the field the way they are.”

Freeport (ranked third in the Class B South Heal Points standings at press time) goes to Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, has a compelling interclass showdown at reigning Class D champion North Yarmouth Academy Friday, hosts Yarmouth in a makeup game Saturday morning and visits reigning Class B champion York Monday of next week.

Greely was 6-5 and sixth in Class B South following an 11-0 (five-inning) victory at Fryeburg Academy, a 17-6 (six-inning) home loss to York and a 9-4 home win over visiting Cape Elizabeth Against the Raiders, Sophie Smith had three hits, Mia Stewart drove in three runs and scored two and Lucy Axelsen and Katie Wallace each had two RBI. Against the Wildcats, Wallace had two hits and two RBI and Fiona MacArthur scored twice. In the win over the Capers, Wallace had three hits and two RBI, Jenna Carignan had three hits and scored twice and MacArthur scored three runs and had a pair of hits. The Rangers visit Yarmouth Wednesday and travel to Wells Monday of next week.

Yarmouth was 3-4 and 14th in Class B South after a 10-4 home win over Cape Elizabeth Friday. Drea Rideout hit a three-run home run, Leah Muentener’s two-run single snapped a tie, Avery Buchanan scored twice and Ana Brenes had two hits as the Clippers erased an early three-run deficit. The Clippers welcome Greely Wednesday and Gray-New Gloucester Thursday, travel to Freeport for a makeup game Saturday morning, go to Poland Monday, then return home to meet Lake Region Tuesday of next week.

In Class D South, NYA improved to 12-0 and first in the standings following recent mercy rule victories over host Old Orchard Beach (10-0, in five-innings), visiting Oak Hill (12-2, in six-innings) and five-inning wins over visiting St. Dom’s in a doubleheader Monday (13-6 and 11-7). Against the Seagulls, Lily Rawnsley had three hits, three runs and two RBI, Sadie Morgan added two hits, two runs and two RBI and Aurora Blier had two hits and scored twice. In the win over the Raiders, Rawnsley had three hits and two RBI and threw a two-hitter to earn the victory, while Brooklyn Goodman had four hits and two RBI and Hayden Wienckowski drove in two runs. In the first game against the Saints, the Panthers dug out of an early 4-0 hole and prevailed behind two RBI apiece from Blier, Goodman and Rawnsley and three runs and two hits from Wienckowski. In the nightcap, NYA got three hits from Jordan Nash and two more from Rawnsley. The Panthers host Old Orchard Beach Wednesday, then will get a key test against visiting Freeport Friday, in what could be a battle of unbeatens.

In Class A South, Falmouth was 1-8 and 15th after a 15-0 (three-inning) loss at Marshwood Friday and a 9-2 home win over Sanford Monday. The victory was the Navigators’ first since June 7, 2021, when they stunned Scarborough in the preliminary round of the playoffs (5-2), and snapped a 41-game skid, In the win, Kate Barter had three hits and scored twice, Tabita Worthen added two hits and Katherin Piveronas earned the victory on the mound. Falmouth goes to Noble Wednesday, hosts undefeated Cheverus Friday, visits Thornton Academy Monday and travels to Biddeford Tuesday of next week.

Baseball

Falmouth’s baseball team fell from the unbeaten ranks last week. The preseason favorite Navigators improved to 9-0 by handling host Massabesic (15-3) and visiting Deering (6-0) before dropping a 4-2 decision at Marshwood Friday. Against the Mustangs, Falmouth broke open a 2-1 contest with seven runs in the fifth and five more in the seventh. Jacoby Porter earned the victory and had two hits, drove in three runs and scored twice, while Brennan Rumpf singled and tripled, Josh Polchies had a pair of hits and both Thomas Healey and Nick Wyse scored twice and had two RBI. In the win over the Rams, Wyse and Polchies combined on a two-hit shutout, while Rumpf had two hits and drove in four runs. In the setback, the Navigators took a 2-1 lead to the bottom of the fifth, but couldn’t hold it as two errors proved costly. Rumpf had two hits but suffered his first loss and Tyler Simmons and Brandon White both had a pair of hits.

“I want to give all the credit to Marshwood,” said Falmouth coach Mike D’Andrea. “That team competed really well today. They had energy. They made plays. They were better than us today.”

The Navigators (ranked second in the Class A South Heals) went to Portland Tuesday, host Scarborough in a pivotal showdown Thursday (see our website for game story), welcome Sanford Saturday and play at Kennebunk Tuesday of next week.

In Class B South, Greely is surging, defeating host Fryeburg Academy (3-1) and visiting York (7-1) last week, before rallying to down visiting Cape Elizabeth in a thriller Monday, 7-5. Against the Raiders, Ryder Simpson threw a three-hitter and struck out 11 and Wyatt Soucie singled in Jackson Leding, who had tripled, with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning. Leding also doubled, while Ben Kyles had two hits and drove in a run. In the win over the Wildcats, Keeler Vogt and Gehrig Donnelly combined on a one-hitter and Marky Axelsen and Wyatt Soucie each drove in a pair of runs.  Soucie, Greely’s catcher, also threw out two base runners and had two hits, as did freshman Kyle Soule.

“My fastball worked really well today,” Vogt said. “I got a lot of spin on it that got a lot of swings and misses. We just have to figure what works and replicate that every time I go out there.”

“We have great pitchers,” Soucie said. “Keeler was locating everything. (York) had no chance. They didn’t hit the ball hard and he got outs efficiently.”

“I thought it was great all-around effort and execution in all phases of the game against a quality York team,” added longtime Greely coach Derek Soule. “It was just a good day for the Rangers today.”

The Rangers committed six errors against the Capers and fell behind 4-1, but scored four times in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single from freshman Kyle Soule before surrendering the lead on an error with two outs in the top of the seventh. In the bottom half, Ryder Simpson ended the game in dramatic fashion, with a two-run home run.

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard,” Simpson said. “I was seeing it well today. I was looking for my pitch and it was in my ‘go zone.’ I took it. I thought it had a chance. After a second I knew.”

“That was a huge team win,” said Axelsen, who had singled prior to Simpson’s home run. “A textbook team win. Every single one of our guys came up huge. It was awesome. It was sweet.”

“Bottom line, I’m really proud of how we fought back,” added Derek Soule. “We had some really good at-bats and hit the ball late in the game. Even when we gave up that (tying) run, I felt good with the top of the order coming up. With the momentum we had offensively, I thought we had a pretty good chance to come up with a run. Cape’s a rival. It always feels good when you get a win against your rival.”

Greely now goes on the road for tests at Yarmouth Wednesday, Freeport Friday and Wells Monday of next week.

“This is a tough league with a lot of good pitchers,” said Derek Soule. “We’re focused on becoming a team that can produce against good pitchers and play fundamentally sound defense, try to control other teams’ running games and we want to be the best small-ball team we can be and we’re getting there.”

Reigning regional champion Yarmouth extended its win streak to six games Friday by avenging its lone loss with a 3-1 home victory over rival Cape Elizabeth. Jack Janczuk had two hits and an RBI, Max Gilbert broke a tie with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth, Andrew Cheever added an RBI hit and Sam Lowenstein earned his fourth victory and Cheever his second save. Monday, the Clippers fell to  7-2 (and second in the Heals) with a 7-1 loss at Freeport. David Swift had two hits in defeat. Yarmouth hosts Greely Wednesday, welcomes Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and goes to Poland Monday of next week.

Freeport was 7-3 and fourth in Class B South after an 8-1 home loss to Wells and Monday’s 7-1 home win over Yarmouth. Against the Warriors, Aaron Converse had two hits and Liam Emmons had an RBI. In the win over the Clippers, Ben Bolduc hit a three-run home run, Arlo Boutureira earned the win and both players, along with Converse and Thomas Roy had two hits. The Falcons go to Fryeburg Academy Wednesday, host Greely Friday and visit York Monday of next week.

In Class C South, the Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team fell to 4-7 and ninth (10 teams make the playoffs) after losses last week at Richmond (12-2, in five-innings), at home to Traip Academy (6-1) and at home to Oak Hill (9-3) and Monday to visiting St. Dom’s (4-2). Against the Rangers, Nico Herrera had a hit and an RBI. In the loss to the Raiders, Kellen Gardiner had a hit, RBI and a run scored. Against the Saints, Caden Violette had two hits. Waynflete/NYA hosted St. Dom’s Monday, visits Old Orchard Beach Wednesday and plays at Traip Academy Friday.

Girls’ lacrosse

Yarmouth’s girls’ lacrosse team improved to 7-2 with a pair of wins last week, 20-9 over visiting Marshwood and 8-7 at two-time reigning Class B champion Greely. Against the Hawks, Neena Panozzo led the way with five goals and four assists, Aine Powers added four goals and two assists, Brooke Boone scored four goals and goalie Regan Sullivan stopped 14 shots. In the win over the Rangers, the Clippers had to erase a fourth quarter deficit, pulled even, then won it on Celia Zinman’s third goal, just before the horn. Lauren Keaney also scored three times, while Powers added two goals. Yarmouth (third in the Class A state Heals) hosted Class C leader Waynflete Tuesday (see our website for game story), goes to Thornton Academy Friday, then welcomes Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week.

Falmouth improved to 8-0 and second in Class A after wins at Oxford Hills (17-4) and Cheverus (10-8). Keira Alcock and Maisy Clement both scored three times in the victory over the Stags, whose late rally fell short. After hosting Biddeford Tuesday, the Navigators travel to three-time defending state champion Kennebunk for a showdown Friday (see our website for game story). Falmouth returns home to meet Marshwood Tuesday of next week.

Greely fell to 6-3 after an agonizing 8-7 home loss to Yarmouth, when the Clippers scored at the end of regulation to win it. Asja Kelman had four goals in defeat. The Rangers (fourth in Class B) host NYA Wednesday and welcome Gray-New Gloucester/Poland Monday of next week.

Freeport, last year’s Class C state champion before moving up this spring, improved to 7-1 and third in Class B after extending its win streak to six games last week, downing visiting Brunswick (14-4) and Traip Academy (14-2). Against the Dragons, Lana DiRusso led the way with four goals and Elle Levesque and Kiley Webber had two goals apiece. In the win over the Rangers, DiRusso scored five times and Mia Levesque, Ava Stone and Emma White added two goals apiece. The Falcons were at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday (see our website for game story), visit Gray-New Gloucester Thursday, host Fryeburg Academy Saturday and play at Waynflete Tuesday of next week.

In Class C, NYA improved to 6-4 and eighth after downing visiting Gardiner (14-2) and Lake Region (12-3) last week and host Traip Academy (11-6) Monday. Against the Tigers, Lauryn Casey scored six goals and Lyla Casey and Gwen Curran added four apiece. Ava Wilkinson led the way in the win over the Lakers with four goals, while Poppy Griffin added three. The Panthers go to Greely Wednesday and visit Wells Tuesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

On the boys’ side, Falmouth and Yarmouth were each gearing up for major tests this week.

In Class A, the Navigators, who improved to 7-1 and second in the state Heals after home wins last week over Kennebunk (17-2) and Brunswick (18-1) have a showdown at three-time reigning champion Cape Elizabeth Wednesday (see our website for game story). In the victory over the Rams last week, Hayden Davis and Ty Garlock both scored three times and Gio Guerrette, Joey Guerrette and TJ Saulter added two goals apiece. Against the Dragons, Joey Guerrette had five goals, Gio Guerrette four and Saulter three. Falmouth’s lone blemish this year was a 7-6 home setback to Cape Elizabeth April 24. The Navigators go to Yarmouth Saturday night (see our website for game story).

Speaking of the Clippers, they’re second to Messalonskee in Class B after improving to 8-1 with a 15-8 victory at Scarborough last week. Yarmouth started slowly in that one, then erupted on an 8-1 third quarter run to roll to victory. Colter Olson led the way with seven goals and two assists, George Brown and Hakon Yeo added three goals apiece and goalie Will Redfield made 15 saves.

“We came into the game missing a lot of younger impact players, who are glue guys, but we showed resilience,” said Olson, who will play next year at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “It’s good to know we can start a game not great and can still come back. We just flipped the switch, decided it was time to get going and that was nice to see.”

“(Colter’s) magical,” said sophomore longstick middie Nate Buchanan. “He’s a wizard.”

“It was good to face some adversity in the first half,” Clippers coach Jon Miller added. “Scarborough came out flying. They were all over us, forcing us to make bad passes and we weren’t working hard enough off-ball. The boys cleaned it up, were patient, took care of the ball and we were able to run an effective offense in the second half.”

Yarmouth gets a chance to avenge last year’s playoff ouster when it hosts York Wednesday in a game that will go a long way toward determining who gets the top seed for the Class B playoffs. The Clippers welcome Falmouth in an interclass showdown Saturday, then play at Fryeburg Academy Tuesday of next week.

“We’re excited for those games,” said Olson. “I’m a little more focused to play York (after last year’s playoff loss). I’ve had that one circled.”

“We have two big tests next week,” Miller said. “York runs that zone. That’s their thing. We started practicing against the zone day one and we’ll be ready for them.”

Freeport improved to 5-3 and sixth in Class B after Monday’s 13-12 overtime win at Marshwood, the Falcons’ third OT victory in the past two weeks. For the second time this season, Hunter Richards played the hero by scoring the OT goal. Randall Walker had the assist. Freeport hosted Fryeburg Academy Tuesday, goes to Gray-New Gloucester/Poland Friday and returns home Tuesday of next week to host Greely.

Speaking of the Rangers, they were 5-4 and eighth in Class B entering Tuesday’s home game versus Gray-New Gloucester/Poland. Last week, Greely held off host Waynflete, the three-time defending Class C champion (5-4), then won at Gardiner (11-7). The Rangers welcome Kennebunk Friday and go to Freeport Tuesday of next week.

In Class C, NYA improved to 5-4 and fifth after Friday’s 11-4 win at recent nemesis Waynflete, which beat the Panthers in each of the past two state finals. Gavin Thomas sparked the victory with five goals. NYA hosts Wells in a key game Wednesday, goes to Class A contender South Portland Saturday, then hosts York Tuesday of next week.

Outdoor track

Greely and Freeport joined Fryeburg Academy and Sacopee Valley at Gray-New Gloucester for an outdoor track meet last week. The Rangers girls won with 98 points, edging the hosts (97). The Falcons (86) finished third. In the boys’ competition, won by Fryeburg Academy with 88 points, Greely and Freeport tied for second with 79 points.

Yarmouth joined six other schools at Poland. The boys had 99.5 points and were second to York (253). The Clippers girls tallied 140 points and were a close runner-up to York (160).

Falmouth hosted Noble, Sanford and South Portland. The Navigators girls were first with 115 points. The boys had 59 points and came in third behind the Red Riots (136) and Spartans (77).

NYA took part in a five-team meet at Cape Elizabeth. The Panthers girls were first with 114 points. NYA’s boys had 26 points and placed fourth (Cape Elizabeth was first with 92).

Tennis

The finals of the Southwestern Maine Athletic Association’s doubles tournament was an all-Falmouth affair, as Mary McPheeters and Jenna Nunley defeated teammates Gracyn Mick and Gwen Long, 5-7, 6-2 (7)

The state singles tennis tournament will be held Friday, Saturday and Monday in Lewiston.

Falmouth’s Matthew Morneault, Freeport’s Teo Steverlynck-Horne, Greely’s Charles Segal and Yarmouth’s Andi Cobaj and Alexander Gordon qualified for the boys’ field.

Falmouth’s Sofia Kirtchev, Gracyn Mick, Sophia Tucker and Charlotte Williamson, Greely’s Emma Lindsey and Isobel Wright and Yarmouth’s Adea Cobaj and Sofia Mavor will compete on the girls’ side.

In team action, Falmouth’s boys’ squad, the reigning Class A champion, improved to 9-0 after Monday’s 5-0 win at Cheverus. The Navigators were third in the South standings at press time. In Class B South, Yarmouth, the four-time defending state champion, was 6-0 and first in the Heals at press time, while Greely was 6-4 and fourth and Freeport 0-5 and ninth. In Class C South, NYA was 3-3 and sixth.

On the girls’ side, Falmouth was 6-0 and sixth in Class A South. Reigning Class B South champion Greely was 6-4 and second, while Yarmouth was atop the standings at 6-1 and Freeport was 1-7 and 12th. In Class C South, NYA was 4-3 and eighth.

Press Herald staff writers Drew Bonifant and Steve Craig contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

Copy the Story Link