The weather has cooperated, fans are back in the stands and spring sports athletes are relishing an opportunity to shine after losing out on the 2020 season.

It’s been largely good news all around and we still have several weeks to go until state championships are awarded.

Needless to say, it’s a good time to be a spring sports fan and the best is yet to come.

Here’s an overview:

Baseball

Cheverus’ baseball team has won six of seven and improved to 6-3 at press time. After a 3-1, eight-inning home loss to reigning Class A champion Scarborough, the Stags beat Deering at Hadlock Field (12-2, in six innings), then swept visiting Windham in a doubleheader Saturday (3-0 and 10-0, in five innings). In the setback, Matt Connor hit an RBI double and Nick Giancotti held the Red Storm to one run in seven innings. Against the Rams, at Hadlock Field, Cheverus scored three runs in the first and six in the fifth. Brian Connolly, Connor and Jacob Lucier each threw two innings. Sam Clark had two hits, scored three runs and drove in a pair of runs and Orion Guibord had three RBI.

“This is the best field in the state, by far,” Connolly said. “The mound is beautiful. Nothing better. I think our pitching has gotten better and our defense and bats are coming alive.”

“We started out a little rough, but we’re working hard in practice and it’s paying off,” Clark said.

“I’m happy with how we played today overall,” added Stags first-year coach Tony DiBiase. “We have some great athletes who are just beginning to understand how we play the game. One through nine, we have good swings all the way through. That’s a pretty good thing to have.”

In the doubleheader sweep, Clark threw a four-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in the opener, then Header threw a three-hit shutout in the nightcap. In the second game, Giancotti singled, doubled, tripled and drove in two runs and Header had three hits as well.

Cheverus was at Gorham Tuesday, hosts Portland for a doubleheader Saturday and plays at Biddeford Tuesday of next week.

“We’re just looking to peak when we’re supposed to peak at the end of the year,” DiBiase said.

Portland got in the win column Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Gorham in the first game of a doubleheader, then fell to 1-5 after a 9-1 loss to the Rams in the nightcap. In the victory, Andrew Brewer singled in Bennett Berg in the bottom of the seventh. After facing Deering at Hadlock Field Tuesday, the Bulldogs welcome Bonny Eagle in a makeup game Wednesday. Portland plays a doubleheader at Cheverus Saturday and visits Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

Deering fell to 0-9 after losses last week at South Portland (13-0, in five innings) and at home to Cheverus (12-2, in six innings). Against the Stags, Dempsey Brady hit an RBI double and Matt Keast had a pair of hits.

“We’re keeping our energy up even though we’ve had a lot of tough games,” said Rams first-year coach Ryan Martin. “We take it one pitch at a time, that’s all we can do. I wish we made some plays, but each game we’re getting better. From game one until now, we’re making a lot of progress. We’re making routine plays more often. We’re hitting cutoff men. We’re putting the ball in play and getting guys on base. It’s all about small victories.”

Deering faced Portland Tuesday at Hadlock Field, plays a doubleheader at Windham Saturday and goes to Bonny Eagle Tuesday of next week.

“For us, our goal has been to have fun and to get better every single day and I think we’re 2-for-2 with that,” Martin said. “Guys are having fun and it’s clear we’re definitely improving.”

The Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team continued its successful campaign last week, bouncing back from a 6-2 home loss to Berwick Academy with an 8-0 victory at Richmond. In the win, Luke Josephson threw a no-hitter and struck out 13. Waynflete/NYA (5-3) went to Sacopee Valley for a makeup game Monday, hosted St. Dom’s Tuesday, plays a doubleheader at St. Dom’s Friday and visits Berwick Academy Tuesday of next week.

Softball

Portland’s softball team was 3-6 at press time after beating visiting Bonny Eagle (10-3) and Gorham (11-5) and losing to Gorham (14-3) last week. In the win over the Scots, Sadie Armstrong earned the win, striking out eight, and she also had two hits and an RBI. Hannah Hawkes added three hits and Vanessa Connolly had a pair. In the victory over the Rams, Armstrong and Jordan King hit home runs, Caroline Lerch drove in three runs and Armstrong earned the win on the mound. Hallie Chase had three hits in the loss. The Bulldogs host Deering Wednesday and play two games at Cheverus Saturday.

Cheverus began last week with a 14-1 (five-inning) win at Deering, then fell to 2-7 after losses to visiting Scarborough (9-2) and to visiting Windham in a doubleheader (4-0 and 16-0, in five innings). In the victory, Mackenzie Turner had five hits and scored four runs, Madisyn Durgin homered and Kaydenne Smith drove in three runs. Against the three-time reigning Class A champion Red Storm, Olivia Bradford and Eadie Nadeau both had a pair of hits. The Stags go to Gorham Wednesday and welcome Portland for a doubleheader Saturday.

Deering fell to 0-8 after losses last week to visiting Cheverus (14-1, in five innings), at South Portland (25-7, in five innings) and at home to Falmouth (12-5). Against the Red Riots, Sophie Hill had two hits and two RBI. Anna Krush had three hits in the loss to Falmouth. The Rams hosted Thornton Academy Monday, welcome Portland Wednesday and play a doubleheader at Windham Saturday.

Boys’ lacrosse

Waynflete’s boys’ lacrosse team remained unbeaten after downing host St. Dom’s (7-1) and visiting York (7-5) last week to improve to 7-0. Harry Millspaugh had three goals and Sam Whipple added two against the Saints. In the win over the Wildcats, the Flyers didn’t score in the first quarter, managed just one first half goal and were down, 4-1, early in the third period before coming to life. Millspaugh scored three times and goalie Alex Vest made 12 timely saves.

“I think it’s a testament to how resilient we are,” Millspaugh said. “It’s easy to get complacent because we’ve been on a hot streak. You could see it in the first half when we were a bit slow. In the second half, we pumped up the energy and played fast and scored goals.”

“Everyone is here ready to work,” Vest said. “We love to get out here and play. We prepare all week for these games.”

“We talked at halftime and the guys responded, big time,” added Waynflete first-year coach Andrew Leach. “We talk about continuing to play the next play. We’ll make mistakes, but we can’t make the next mistake. We had to keep going.”

The Flyers next have a pivotal home test against reigning Class C champion NYA Friday.

“I knew coming in, with the seniors especially, I knew it would go well, but I didn’t know it would go this well this early,” Leach said. “Playing a tough closing schedule gets us ready for the playoffs.”

Cheverus started the week 5-3 after losing at Gorham, 20-5, and snapping a three-game skid with a come-from-behind 11-10 home win over Freeport. The Stags welcome Gorham Thursday and visit Portland Saturday.

Portland improved to 4-3 after last Tuesday’s 15-5 win at Deering. Sam Gerber led the way with five goals. The Bulldogs then had games at home versus Deering and at Waynflete postponed.

Deering fell to 2-5 after its 15-5 home loss to Portland. The Rams host Lake Region Thursday and play host to Messalonskee Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ lacrosse

Waynflete’s girls’ squad remained red-hot Friday with its third consecutive victory, 10-2, at Wells. The Flyers improved to 5-2 as Jess Connors scored a career-high five goals and Lollie Millspaugh added three goals. Waynflete goes to Freeport Wednesday and plays at Berwick Academy Saturday.

Portland was 3-4 after a 9-7 win at Bonny Eagle and a 7-6 setback at Thornton Academy in overtime. Elizabeth Littell had three goals in the victory. Ella Reagan had two goals in the loss. The Bulldogs were at Cheverus Monday, host Westbrook Friday and welcome Massabesic Monday of next week.

Cheverus fell to 1-6 after losses at Massabesic (8-2) and to visiting NYA (12-11) last week. Against the Panthers, Riley O’Mara scored four goals, while Reese Belanger and Mia Kratzer each added three. Goalie Neve Cawley made 14 saves. The Stags hosted Portland Monday, played host to South Portland Tuesday, welcome Falmouth Saturday and visit Windham Monday.

Deering defeated host Gray-New Gloucester, 12-8, last Wednesday to even its record at 1-1 and earn its first win since the 2018 season. Morgan Shibles led the way with seven goals, while Shay Rosenthal scored three times and Grayson Soldati added a pair of goals. The Rams were at South Portland for a makeup game Monday, hosted Wells Tuesday, welcome Bonny Eagle Thursday and go to Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

Tennis

Waynflete’s 12-time reigning Class C champion boys’ tennis team improved to 8-0 after victories last week over Greely (3-2), Cape Elizabeth (3-2) and Fryeburg Academy (5-0). The Flyers played at reigning Class B champion Yarmouth Monday. Waynflete’s doubles tandem Matt Adey and Henry Hart won the Western Maine Conference title Saturday as well, beating teammates John Moon-Black and Henry Moore in the championship match.

The Waynflete girls improved to 5-4 after a pair of wins last week over Fryeburg Academy (3-2 and 5-0).

Portland’s boys suffered their first loss last week, 3-2, to York, then improved to 8-1 by downing Gorham (3-2), Deering (5-0) and Windham (3-2).

The Bulldogs’ girls’ squad improved to 6-3 after 4-1 wins over Gorham and Deering.

Deering’s boys fell to 1-7 after 5-0 losses to Falmouth and Portland and the Rams girls were also 1-7 following losses to Falmouth (5-0) and Portland (4-1).

Cheverus’ boys were 6-3 after beating Deering (4-1) and losing to Falmouth (3-2).

The Stags girls had a record of 3-4 after a 4-1 win over Deering.

Track

Deering’s boys and girls defeated Portland in an outdoor track meet last week.

Cheverus and Waynflete competed at Windham. The Stags boys and girls were second to the Eagles. The Flyers boys placed third.

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

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