Dim the lights.

The warmup act has taken its leave and it’s time for the star of the spring sports show, the postseason, to take center stage.

While there were still some games to be played when this edition went to press, we’re getting a pretty good idea of who will make the playoffs and where they might be seeded.

And while the baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis postseason is just days away, outdoor track’s biggest events are underway with the state meet slated for next Saturday.

The best is yet to come and here’s a look at what to expect:

Outdoor track

Cheverus, Deering and Portland took part in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship outdoor track meet Friday in Kennebunk.

In the girls’ competition, won by Scarborough with 127 points, Portland scored 90 points to come in fourth (Falmouth was runner-up with 93 and Windham placed third with 91.5). Senior standout Samantha Moore won the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 14.44 seconds. Alisandra Lindos was first in the long jump (16 feet, 6.5 inches) and was second in the triple jump (36-7.25). Anneliese Collin was runner-up in both the 300 hurdles (46.72 seconds) and the pole vault (9-6) and came in third in the high jump (5-0).

Cheverus (48 points) was fifth. The Stags were led by their champion 4×100 relay team (51.57). Finley Brown was third in the 300 hurdles (47.65).

Deering (34 points) finished 10th. Lara Gin was runner-up in the 400 (59.84).

South Portland took the boys’ title with 129 points. Portland had 65 points and came in fourth (Gorham was runner-up with 90 and Bonny Eagle came in third with 71). The Bulldogs featured Nathan Blades, who won the mile (4:19.73) and was second in the 800 (1:58.98), Elias Coleman, who was runner-up to Blades in the mile (4:28.12) and was also second in the two-mile (9:35.91), and Cordell Jones, who finished second in the high jump (6-4).

Cheverus had 24 points and came in 12th. Brendan Rogers led the way with a second place finish in the 400 (49.78).

Deering (21) finished 13th. Ellis Wood placed third in the mile (4:28.6) and was fourth in the two-mile (9:36.35).

The Class A state meet will held Saturday at Thornton Academy in Saco.

Tennis

The team tennis playoffs get underway at the end of the week.

Waynflete, the 15-time reigning Class C champion, was 8-4 and ranked fourth in the Class C South Heal Points standings at press time.

In Class A South, Portland finished the regular season 6-6 and was in the No. 8 spot for the playoffs (11 teams from the region qualify), while Cheverus was 2-9-1 and 12th and Deering 1-10 and 16th.

On the girls’ side, Cheverus finished a strong regular season with a record of 9-3 and was third in Class A South at press time. Portland was 6-6 and in the 10th spot (11 teams qualify). Deering finished 2-10 and 14th.

In Class C South, Waynflete was 10-2 and second to Maranacook.

The preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the tournament will be contested on the home courts of the higher seeds.

Softball

Cheverus’ undefeated softball team took part in the biggest game in the program’s regular season history Friday at reigning champion (and also unbeaten) Windham, a contest that determined the top seed for the upcoming Class A South tournament.

The Stags first improved to 15-0 after decisive victories over visiting Westbrook (18-3, in three-innings) and host Massabesic (11-0, in five-innings). Against the Blue Blazes, a 13-run second inning blew the game open. Hailey Lamontagne had two hits, three runs scored and drove in three. Addison DeRoche had three runs scored and two RBI and Delia Tremble also scored three times. Bella Napolitano Aberle drove in three runs and DeRoche, Kelsey Cassidy, Sadie Collins and Alexandria Dowling-Ingraham all finished with two RBI. DeRoche, who already had three no-hitters to her credit, then threw a perfect game against the Mustangs, striking out a dozen batters on just 53 pitches. Cassidy and Napolitano Aberle had two hits and two RBI apiece and DeRoche and Tremble added two hits apiece.

A Lamontagne RBI single in the top of the first inning gave Cheverus a quick 1-0 lead at Windham, but DeRoche, who hadn’t surrendered a run in 54-plus innings of work, threw a wild pitch to allow the tying run to score in the bottom of the fourth. Then, in the fifth, DeRoche gave up a home run (her first earned run allowed) to Kennedy Kimball and the Eagles tacked on another run to go up, 3-1. The Stags didn’t go quietly, however, as they loaded the bases in the top of the sixth and only a dazzling, diving catch by Windham rightfielder Kyla Harvie prevented them from tying the score or taking the lead. Cheverus then put the tying runs in scoring position in the seventh, but a ground out ended the game and dropped the Stags to 15-1 on the year.

“This shows a lot of about our character and ability to come back and persevere,” DeRoche said. “We stayed up until the final pitch. It was awesome. It was electric. The environment was amazing. I looked out and the whole bank (in the outfield) was filled with people. It was amazing for Maine softball.”

“I hate losing, but I’m just really proud of the kids and the way they competed,” Cheverus first-year coach John Eisenhart said. “Windham is battle-tested and we hadn’t been in a game like this. We’re a young team. I told the kids coming in that if we won, we’d learn from the game and if we lost, we’d learn from the game. We got pressure-tested today and I feel like the kids did a good job battling through.

“It was incredible. It was a beautiful day. I told the kids to soak it in and enjoy the moment. We had two Division I pitchers going, which was incredible. The kids have been looking forward it. We haven’t looked past our opponents because we have respect for every team in the league, but this game has been circled on the schedule. To me, it lived up to billing. I knew it would be a tight game.”

The Stags will be the No. 2 seed for the tournament. Cheverus will host a quarterfinal round game Thursday, June 6 and if it wins that one, it will host the semifinals two days later.

“We have to adapt to the pitches we missed and clean up the errors we made,” DeRoche said. “We know we need to do better next time.”

“What’s clicked is that the kids care about each other,” Eisenhart said. “They give up at-bats for each other. They root for each other. The path won’t be easy, so we won’t take any game for granted.”

Portland wound up 12-4, its best record in seven years. The Bulldogs defeated host Bonny Eagle (9-1), visiting Noble (14-0, in five-innings) and visiting Thornton Academy (17-3, in five-innings) to close the regular season. Against the Scots, Sadie Armstrong allowed just one unearned run on three hits, striking out nine, while Kaitlin Vigue paced the offense with two hits, three runs scored and two RBI. In the win over the Knights, Armstrong homered twice, scored twice, drove in five runs and combined with Ainsley McCrum on a no-hitter. Erin Winship drove in two runs and Vigue, Hannah Hawkes and Amina Suleiman all scored twice. Against the Golden Trojans, Ruby Chase homered and had six RBI, Armstrong threw a three-hitter with eight Ks and Vigue, Lili McCullum and Hadleigh McPartlan all drove in a pair of runs. Portland will likely be the No. 5 seed in Class A South and will host at least one playoff round.

The softball playoffs begin June 4 with the preliminary round, on the diamonds of the higher seeds.

Deering fell short of the postseason. The Rams wound up 4-12 and 14th in Class A South (where 12 teams qualify) following losses to visiting Gorham (10-0, in five-innings) and host Biddeford (13-6) and a 13-5 home win over Falmouth. Sophie Hill had a pair of hits against the Tigers. In the victory, Bella McBrady went the distance to earn the win, striking out 10, including her 100th K of the season. Hill, McBrady and Addy Blackburn all had a pair of hits.

Baseball

Deering remains the lone city baseball team to be on track to make the playoffs despite Thursday’s 3-2 home loss to reigning state champion South Portland and Saturday’s 9-1 setback at Westbrook. Against the Red Riots, the Rams fell behind 3-0 early, then got a two-run single from Miles Lawrence in the bottom of the sixth. Deering put the tying and winning runs on in the seventh, but couldn’t push them across.

“We just hang in there until the end,” said Rams first-year coach Casey Lawrence. “We know in close games anything can happen. We talked about not digging ourselves a hole to climb out of. You can’t come back and win them all. We need to avoid mistakes earlier in the game to help ourselves.”

Against the Stags, Avery Lawrence doubled and Miles Lawrence drove in the team’s lone run.

Deering (which was 10th in the Class A South Heals at press time, where 12 teams qualify) closes at home versus Westbrook Tuesday (see our website for game story).

“It would be great for us to make the playoffs,” Casey Lawrence said. “It would be a nice stepping-stone to build for the future.”

The baseball playoffs begin June 4 with the preliminary round, on the diamonds of the higher seeds.

Portland was 4-11 and 15th in Class A South after Monday’s 8-0 loss at Gorham and Saturday’s 12-0 (five-inning) home loss to top-ranked Scarborough. The Bulldogs, who were no-hit by the Rams, managed just one hit versus the Red Storm. Portland closes the season at home versus Thornton Academy Tuesday of next week.

Cheverus finished 3-13 and 16th in Class A South following losses at South Portland (5-4, in nine-innings) and at home to Bonny Eagle (9-5) and a 9-1 win over visiting Deering. Against the Red Riots, Devin Kelly and Lucas Soutuyo had two hits apiece. In the loss to the Scots, Kelly and Soutuyo had two hits, as did Liam Backman and Reis Stamaris drove in a pair of runs, but it wasn’t enough. In the victory, freshman AJ Lauture threw a four-hitter, striking out six. Max Cassidy and Chris Murphy each had two RBI, Stamaris scored three runs and Backman singled and doubled. Cheverus last missed the playoffs since 2008.

In Class C South, the Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team finished 5-11 and 11th (nine teams make the playoffs) after getting swept in a doubleheader by visiting Sacopee Valley Wednesday, 6-1 and 7-2, and beating visiting Vinalhaven (21-4, in five-innings) Saturday. In the first game against the Hawks, Kellen Gardiner and Cole Lambert both had a pair of hits. In the nightcap, Gardiner doubled. In the victory, Matt Powers and Caden Violette both had four hits and combined to score nine runs, Lambert finished with three hits and four runs scored, Gardiner had three RBI and Cael Woelflein had two hits and four RBI. Waynflete/NYA last missed the playoffs in 2019.

Girls’ lacrosse

Waynflete’s girls’ lacrosse team was 9-4 and second in the Class C Heals following a 17-6 home loss to reigning Class C champion Freeport and a 13-6 home win over Traip Academy. In the setback, against the Falcons, who have moved up to Class B this spring, Lydia Birknes and Chloe Marblestone both scored three goals, but the Flyers lost the majority of draws and dug an early hole they couldn’t escape.

“It’s a wakeup call, but we’ll learn from it,” longtime Waynflete coach Cathie Connors said. “We struggled on the draw. We know if we can possess, we’ll have more opportunities. We got a little flat and they capitalized on that.”

In the victory, Marblestone scored six times. The Flyers close at Lake Region Tuesday, seeking their first 10-win regular season since 2013.

“We’re hoping to finish strong,” said Connors. “The girls are so amazing about their attitudes. I’m super-proud of that.”

In Class A, Cheverus was 8-5 and sixth after home losses to Windham (15-14) and three-time reigning state champion Kennebunk (18-4). Reese Belanger and Sydney Brunelle both had two goals against the Rams. The Stags close at Deering Tuesday.

Portland was 4-8 and clung to the 15th and final playoff spot in Class A at press time. The Bulldogs lost at Massabesic, 12-6, in their most recent outing. Portland hosts Falmouth Monday and closes the regular season at home versus Deering Thursday.

Deering, meanwhile, was 1-11 and 22nd in Class A after a 12-10 home win over Gray-New Gloucester and a 10-8 home loss to Bonny Eagle. The Rams host Cheverus Tuesday and close at Portland Thursday.

The girls’ lacrosse playoffs begin June 4 with the preliminary round, on the fields of the higher seeds.

Boys’ lacrosse

On the boys’ side, three-time reigning Class C champion Waynflete was 4-7 and eighth in the standings (nine teams qualify for the tournament) following Friday’s 11-6 home win over Freeport. Jacob Woodman scored three goals and added three assists to pace the Flyers. Waynflete finishes at Gray-New Gloucester Thursday.

In Class A, Deering was 9-3 and fourth after it extended its win streak to seven games with an 8-4 victory at Marshwood and a 14-8 home win over Cheverus. Against the Stags, Joey Foley scored six goals and Corbin Burke added four. The Rams go to Scarborough Tuesday, then close at home versus South Portland Thursday (see our website for game story).

Cheverus was 4-8 and 16th in Class A (where only 12 teams make the playoffs) after Tuesday’s 12-1 win at Westbrook and Friday’s 14-8 loss at Deering. In the setback, Quinn McCoy had a team-high three goals. The Stags play at Massabesic Tuesday, then finish at home versus Portland Thursday.

Speaking of Portland, it was 4-8 and 18th following a 10-7 loss at Massbesic and a 10-5 home loss to Gorham. The Bulldogs host Kennebunk Tuesday and close at Cheverus Thursday.

The boys’ lacrosse playoffs begin June 4 with the preliminary round, on the fields of the higher seeds.

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

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