Freeport’s Rosie Panenka drops the ball before applying the tag to Gray-New Gloucester baserunner Skye Chandler at third base during an April 22 game in Gray. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Softball and baseball teams experienced a season like no other this spring, competing in a pandemic. Now, they will get a taste of postseason play.
“We certainly want to aspire to the ultimate goal of being state champions. In order to do so we have to allow ourselves to prosper from our growth resulting from our success as well as our failure,” said Brunswick softball coach Hugh Dwyer. “As a young team competing in the playoffs we hope that the elevated competition will bring out the best in us.”
The Dragons (10-6) earned the fourth seed in Class A North and will host No. 13 Cony (1-15) in a preliminary round game Tuesday. Elsewhere in Class A North, No. 12 Mt. Ararat (3-11) will play at No. 5 Lewiston (10-6) on Tuesday for a preliminary round game.
Morse (11-4) is the No. 3 seed in Class B South, but coach Wilfred Laffley said regionalized scheduling this spring made it tougher to gauge the rest of the class.
“Because of the crazy zone setups this year it has been harder to judge the other teams as you can’t compare like opponents as you could in the past,” he said. “It looks like it could be wide open this year.”
The Shipbuilders are riding a seven-game winning streak heading into their opening round game with No. 14 Wells (3-10).
Because the coronavirus pandemic shut down the 2020 spring sports season, the Maine Principals’ Association opted for an open tournament this year.
The Mt. Ararat baseball team (4-10) only had two players with varsity experience heading into the season, but picked up some victories in the latter part of the season. The Eagles will play at No. 5 Bangor on Tuesday in a Class A North preliminary game.
“We just want to take advantage of the opportunity that’s given to us,” said Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase.
Tom Harvey of Brunswick legs out a single as Lisbon first basemen Ethan Brown stretches for the ball during a May 24 game at Lisbon High School. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
The Freeport baseball team opened the season 9-0 but dropped six of its final seven games to earn the No. 9 seed in Class B South.
“Our season has been so up and down that it’s hard to gauge our improvement,” said Freeport head coach Steve Shukie, who’s in his first year with the Falcons. “We know that we are the No. 9 seed because we couldn’t find a way to win a game against Yarmouth and/or Greely, and now we have to battle on the road against a good Fryeburg team to get another chance at those rivals.”
The Falcons will visit Fryeburg on Tuesday.
“We feel as though we have a pitching staff that is built for the postseason,” Shukie added. “We have three starters that we have confidence in to keep us in every game. If we can get rolling, we may have some matchup advantages because of our pitching depth, but we have to win first.”
Elsewhere in B South baseball, No. 15 Morse faces a tough task when it meets No. 2 Greely on Tuesday. The Rangers won the previous meeting, 7-0.
Midcoast softball teams will turn to their aces with the hopes of deep tournament runs.
Lewiston’s Brooklyn Mynahan slides safely into second base after colliding with Mt. Ararat’s Jaden Lohr during a May 14 game in Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
Camdyn Johnson of Morse and Ellie Sullivan of Brunswick have enjoyed standout season and will play crucial roles in the playoffs.
“I feel our pitching has been one of our stronger aspects of our game. Camdyn has limited the number of people reaching base, which helps ease the tension on the defense,” said Laffley.
Johnson finished with 150 strikeouts, 19 walks, and an ERA of just under 1.
Sullivan, meanwhile, went 7-5 with 90 strikeouts and and 49 walks in 88 innings. She had a 3.34 ERA.
“Ellie Sullivan has gotten stronger with each outing coming back from a knee injury as well as the lost COVID related season,” said Dwyer. “She is really beginning to reap the reward of applying her knowledge of the game to command hitters.”
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