The 2023 spring sports season is following a familiar script of far-from-ideal weather interrupted by inspiring performances when local athletes get an opportunity to shine.

With a small sample size in the books, here’s a glimpse at how things look as the calendar flips from April to May:

Baseball

Falmouth’s baseball team, which is one of the favorites in Class A South this spring, started with a 6-4 loss at Scarborough, then downed host Thornton Academy (7-2) and Bonny Eagle (12-3). In the opener, the Navigators committed five errors and left 15 men on base.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Scarborough, but we couldn’t have played any worse than we did today,” Falmouth coach Mike D’Andrea said. “From start to finish, we played poorly on defense. We played a poor game but we still had a chance to win at the end. We were never out of it. We just couldn’t get the runs home. Kudos to Scarborough. They got out of jams every inning. They made the big plays and pitches.”

In the win over the Golden Trojans, Brennan Rumpf earned the victory, striking out seven. Josh Polchies had two hits and scored three runs and Ethan Hendry hit a key two-run double. Against the Scots, Rumpf had two hits and three RBI and Eli Cowperthwaite earned the win. The Navigators were scheduled to host South Portland Tuesday in a playoff rematch, then go to Noble Thursday and welcome Kennebunk Saturday.

Reigning Class B South champion Freeport split its first six games, beating visiting Morse (11-1, in six-innings), Yarmouth (4-1) and York (11-4) and losing at home to Mt. Ararat (7-5) and at Cape Elizabeth (2-1) and Wells (3-0). In the win over the Shipbuilders, Aaron Converse, Aidan Heath and Thomas Roy all had two hits. Against the Clippers, Roy hit a key two-run double, while Arlo Boutureira picked up the win and Converse recorded the save. In the win over the Wildcats, Heath drove in three runs, while Converse and Zane Aguiar had three hits apiece. In the loss to the Eagles, Gus Hollen had three hits. Against the Warriors, Ben Bolduc had two hits. The Falcons go to Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, visit Lake Region Friday and play at Fryeburg Academy Monday of next week.

Greely started with a 4-1 home win over Fryeburg Academy and after 4-1 home losses to Wells and Brunswick, defeated host Gray-New Gloucester (10-0, in five-innings), Edward Little (5-4, in eight-innings) and Poland (12-1, in five-innings). In the opener, Keeler Vogt pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts, while Wyatt Soucie and Alex Gamache had two hits apiece. Wes Piper and Ryder Simpson had two hits each in the loss to the Warriors. Against the Dragons, Simpson doubled. In the win over the Patriots, Marky Axelsen doubled and hit a grand slam and Sam Almy threw a four-hitter. Axelsen earned the win in relief and Gamache drove in the go-ahead run in the victory at the Red Eddies. Against the Knights, Axelsen had four hits, including two doubles, scored three times and drove in two runs, while Wyatt Soucie had three hits and two RBI and Simpson earned his first career win, not allowing an earned run in six innings. The Rangers play at Yarmouth in a makeup game Wednesday, host Cape Elizabeth Friday (see our website for game story) and welcome Lake Region Monday.

Yarmouth started with a 4-1 loss at Freeport, then blanked visiting Lake Region (1-0) before falling to 1-2 with a 6-2 home loss to Fryeburg Academy. In the opener, Jack Janczuk and Graeme Roux had two hits apiece. In the victory, Sam Lowenstein pitched a gem, allowing just one hit while striking out 11. David Swift tripled and scored the lone run. Against the Raiders, Swift and Matt Gautreau had RBI hits. The Clippers were at Oxford Hills Tuesday, host Greely in a makeup game Wednesday, then welcome York Friday and visit Poland Monday.

The Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team took a 4-0 record into the week. The squad opened by edging visiting Richmond (10-9, in eight innings), then swept a doubleheader from visiting Mt. View (3-2 and 6-0), before handling visiting Maranacook Friday (9-2). In the opener, Tanner Anctil had four hits, Cooper St. Hilaire earned the victory and had three hits and Cayden Violette drove in the winning run. Against the Black Bears, Anctil, Jack Byrne and Cal Nice drove in two runs apiece. Waynflete/NYA visits Richmond Wednesday, welcomes St. Dom’s Friday and goes to Old Orchard Beach next Monday.

Softball

On the softball diamond, Yarmouth, which won just once a year ago, opened with a 21-9 (five-innings) victory at Freeport. Drea Rideout earned the win and had three RBI, while Julia Lawwill hit a bases-clearing single and Addi Lee added a pair of hits. The Clippers then fell to 1-1 Saturday with a 6-0 home loss to Fryeburg Academy. Yarmouth was at Oxford Hills Tuesday, hosts Greely in a makeup game Wednesday, welcomes York Friday and visits Poland Monday.

Freeport opened with a 4-2 home win over Mt. Ararat, then lost at home to Morse (11-0, in six-innings), at Wells (14-5), at home to Yarmouth (21-9, in five-innings), at Cape Elizabeth (9-8) and at home to York (16-1, in six-innings) to fall to 1-5. In the victory, Izzy George threw a one-hitter, Nora Albertini had two hits and Lilianna Larochelle hit a two-run triple. Albertini and Larochelle each had three hits and two RBI versus the Warriors. In the loss to the Capers, Celia Cobb had two hits and two RBI. The Falcons were at Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday, go to Lake Region Friday and visit Fryeburg Academy Monday.

Greely was 1-5 at press time, losing at home to Fryeburg Academy in the opener (8-4), then giving new coach Danielle Cimino her first victory, 8-6, over visiting Wells, before falling at home to Brunswick (15-2, in five-innings), at Gray-New Gloucester (11-7), at Edward Little (11-1, in five-innings) and at Poland (9-8). In the win, Avery Butler earned victory on the mound and had an RBI, Samantha Santerre had two hits and Mia Stewart hit a two-run double. In the loss to the Dragons, Katherine Wallace had two hits. Maia Wright homered against the Knights, while Butler and Wallace each had three hits. In the loss to the Knights, Sophie Smith had a pair of hits. The Rangers play at Yarmouth in a makeup game Wednesday, host Cape Elizabeth Thursday (see our website for game story) and welcome Lake Region Monday.

Falmouth started with losses at Noble (11-1), at home to Marshwood (14-0, in five-innings) and at home to Gorham (20-1, in five-innings). The Navigators host Deering Wednesday, go to Bonny Eagle Friday and play a home doubleheader Saturday against Cheverus and Scarborough.

NYA has returned to varsity status this spring with a flourish, winning its first three games. The Panthers opened by sweeping a doubleheader over visiting Mt. View (16-0, in five-innings, and 11-8), then downing visiting Maranacook (7-2). In the first game of the doubleheader, Lily Rawnsley threw a two-hitter and had four RBI, while Anna Belleau had three hits and three RBI. In the second game, Hayden Wienckowski had three hits and three RBI. In the win over the Black Bears, Wienckowski had two hits and Rawnsley tripled and earned the victory.

“We’re going to get better,” said Panthers coach Ricky Doyon. “It’s just getting them prepared and we’re working on the basics. Put the bat on the ball, don’t give them extra outs. The next couple of years, I’m hoping we can start building the team even more.”

NYA hosts Traip Academy Thursday, welcomes St. Dom’s Friday and goes to Old Orchard Beach Monday.

Boys’ lacrosse

Falmouth’s boys’ lacrosse team won its first three games, 15-4 over visiting Kennebunk, 12-8 at Thornton Academy and 18-5 over visiting Gorham. Against Kennebunk, Hayden Davis scored a career-high eight goals and Ty Garlock added three. At the Golden Trojans, the Navigators fell behind 4-0 after one quarter but rallied behind four goals apiece from sophomore twin brothers Gio Guerrette and Joey Guerrette.

“Sibling rivalry keeps us going,” said Joey Guerrette. “I have to do better than him and he has to do better than me.”

Yarmouth was 3-1 at press time following a 21-6 win at Gray-New Gloucester, an 11-6 loss at Cape Elizabeth and home wins over Greely (17-10) and Brunswick (16-6). In the opener, Colter Olsen scored seven goals and had four assists, while Matt Cain, Killian Marsh and Aksel Yeo added four goals apiece. At the Capers, the Clippers had a 5-4 halftime lead and got four goals from Killian Marsh, but couldn’t hold on.

“We didn’t take care of the ball in the second half,” Yarmouth coach Jon Miller lamented. “We couldn’t win faceoffs and they won the possession game and that was it. We got production in the first half with our simple offense. It was nothing special. We didn’t have to do anything crazy to score goals. We just didn’t get enough possessions in the second half to capitalize. We saw some good things, saw some bad things. Fortunately, we’ll see them again. It was encouraging. We know we can play with them.”

In the win over the Rangers, Olsen had five goals, while Marsh and Colton McCann each scored four times. Against the Dragons, where the Clippers got a measure of revenge for last year’s upset loss in the Class B state final, Olsen and Marsh each scored five goals, giving them 17 and 15 respectively this season. Yarmouth welcomed York Tuesday and goes to Messalonskee Saturday.

“It’s still early in the season,” said Miller. “We’re young. We have freshmen and sophomores and juniors getting time.

Greely started with home losses to York (18-8) and Biddeford (6-4), then held off visiting Messalonskee (16-14) before losing at Yarmouth (17-10) and at two-time Class C champion Waynflete (12-11) Monday to fall to 1-4. The Rangers go to Kennebunk Wednesday, visit Gorham Saturday and play at NYA Monday of next week.

NYA started with a 17-2 home win over Maranacook and after losing at home to Class A power South Portland (13-9), handled visiting Gray-New Gloucester/Poland (15-2), then improved to 3-1 Saturday after an 8-6 victory at Gardiner. In the opener, Zach Leinwand and Brayden Warde each had four goals, while Gavin Thomas added three. Against the Red Riots, James Brogan-Provencher scored three times. In the win over the Patriots, Brogan-Provencher had five goals and Warde added four. Against the Tigers, Brogan-Provencher led the way with three goals and Leinwand and Warde both added two. The Panthers welcomed Wells Tuesday, go to York Friday and play host to Greely Monday.

Freeport won its opener, 18-6, at Lake Region, then lost at York (15-10), at home to Wells (11-8) and at home to Waynflete (9-4) to fall to 1-3 heading into a game at Biddeford Tuesday. The Falcons host Cheverus Thursday and visit Cony Saturday.

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Greely, the defending Class B state champion, takes a 5-1 record into Wednesday’s home showdown against Yarmouth. The Rangers started with a 20-0 home win over Gray-New Gloucester/Poland and after falling at defending Class A champion Kennebunk (14-4), defeated visiting York in a state game rematch (13-8), won at NYA (10-4), then beat host Windham (14-4) and Freeport (5-4). In the opener, Charlotte Taylor had six goals and four assists, Allie Read added four goals and three assists and Lauren Dennen dished out six assists. Against the Rams, Taylor scored twice, but it wasn’t enough.

“It’s a good measuring stick for us,” said Greely coach Becca Koelker. “We can see what our weak spots are and what we want to continue doing and working on. We like playing challenging games like this. There’s definitely some nerves when you come in and play this good of an opponent. We settled in and for two-thirds of the game, we met our goals, so I’m proud.”

In the win over the Wildcats, Taylor scored five times and Dennen added three goals.

“It’s almost the same team from last year,” Taylor said. “Everyone wanted it last year and we’re striving to be even better this year.”

“That was a good win,” said Koelker. “It gives us momentum.”

Against the Panthers, Dennen and Asja Kelman both scored three goals.

“We want (to repeat) just as badly as everyone thinks we want it,” Kelman said. “We always work together every day at practice. Getting one percent better every day is our motto this season and I think we’re getting there.”

The Rangers host Messalonskee Saturday.

NYA, which won Class C a year ago, opened with a 14-8 victory at Waynflete, then lost at Freeport (12-7) and fell at home to Greely (10-4). In the win, Vy Tran scored five goals and the Panthers pulled away in the second half.

“What I learned a lot from last year was that we have a lot of athleticism, it’s just how we use it,” Tran said. “We just had to motivate each other. Waynflete’s a tough opponent. First game, a lot of new players, we just had to get our wheels on and fight through.”

“We’re proud of the way we played today,” said Molly Moss-Stokes, NYA’s second-year coach. “I think at first, we were just feeling them out, feeling the season out. We got more confident with our play as the game went on and we picked our opportunities a little better.”

Against the Falcons, the Panthers led, 4-2, at halftime, but couldn’t hold on. Tran and Lyla Casey both scored three goals.

“It’s always fun to play Freeport,” said Moss-Stokes. “It’s always a competitive game. They showed us things we need to work on.”

In the loss to the Rangers, Lauryn Casey led the way with two goals.

“We came out with an intensity which I really liked this game,” Moss-Stokes said. “Overall, I’m happy with how we played. Greely’s a great team. It’s always fun to play them.”

NYA returned to action Tuesday at Lake Region. After hosting Morse Thursday, the Panthers visit York Monday.

Freeport won its first four games, 11-5 at Massabesic, 12-7 at home over NYA, 14-3 at Lake Region and 15-1 at Fryeburg Academy. In the opener, Lana DiRusso and Mia Levesque both scored three goals. Against the Panthers, the Falcons scored 10 second half goals, as Levesque had five goals and Kate Tracy added two goals and four assists.

“Our biggest strength this year is depth,” Tracy said. “We have a bunch of girls who can step up and play big roles.”

“We came out with some intensity in the second half and our communication got a lot better,” said Levesque. “We’re happy to share the wealth.”

“It was a slow start, but we figured it out and everyone stepped up and fed off each other’s intensity,” Freeport coach Marcia Wood added.

In the win over the Lakers, Levesque, Tracy and DiRusso all scored three times. Levesque, Tracy, Emily Olsen and Emma White had one goal apiece in the loss to the Rangers. Against the Raiders, DiRusso, Levesque and Tracy all scored three times. The Falcons host Gray-New Gloucester/Poland Wednesday, welcome Brunswick Friday and visit Traip Academy Tuesday of next week.

“We just need to keep plugging away,” said Tracy. “We have a great schedule this year. We start training for states now and thinking about it now, not when the playoffs start.”

Yarmouth started by downing host Windham, 16-6, then beat visiting Massabesic (14-1) and Cape Elizabeth (14-3). Against the Eagles, Neena Panozzo had a career-high six goals, Aine Powers added five goals and four assists and goalie Regan Sullivan made 11 saves.

“This is great,” said Powers. “I’m so excited to get back out here. We started off a little slowly, but at the end, it shows how hard we worked.”

“We’ve really become a team,” said Panozzo. “We always fill the shoes of the last graduating class and we always step up.”

“You should never underestimate us, ever,” said Sullivan. “Playing against the best teams will only make us better.”

“I was pleasantly surprised,” longtime Yarmouth coach Dorothy Holt added. “I thought it would be closer. I’m proud we pulled it together and came out with a win.”

In the win over the Mustangs, Powers and Grace Keaney both scored four times and Brooke Boone added three. Against the Capers, Boone and Sadie Carnes had three goals apiece. Last Friday, the Clippers lost at Kennebunk, 15-5. Lauren Keaney had three goals and Panozzo added a pair, but it wasn’t enough.

“We played well against a really good team and know we can hang with them,” Holt said. “We’d like to see them again. We moved to Class A to play against the best and we’re doing that.”

Monday, Yarmouth improved to 4-1 with an 11-5 home win over Waynflete behind three goals apiece from Boone and Powers. The Clippers are at Greely Wednesday and host Scarborough Friday.

“I like our progress,” Holt said. “We have a big week coming up. It doesn’t get easier.”

Falmouth started with a 12-1 home loss to Kennebunk. Lucy Taylor scored the lone goal.

“We chalk it up to a learning experience,” said Navigators coach Ashley Pullen. “(Kennebunk’s) very good, but I do think we can play with them.”

Falmouth then evened its record at 1-1 with a 17-5 win at Biddeford, as Sloane Ginevan scored five times and Peaches Stucker added three. After hosting Cheverus Tuesday (see our website for game story), the Navigators welcome York Thursday and Oxford Hills Friday, then visit Gorham Tuesday of next week.

“We’re fired up to improve every day from here on out,” said Pullen.

Outdoor track

On the track, Falmouth’s boys and girls opened by finishing first in a three-team meet at Westbrook, which also included Kennebunk.

Greely’s boys were first and the girls second to York in a six-team meet at York.

Yarmouth’s boys and girls won a five-team meet at Sacopee Valley.

Tennis

Yarmouth’s two-time reigning Class B champion boys’ tennis team started 5-0. The Clippers opened by beating 13-time Class C champion Waynflete (4-1), then blanked Greely and Freeport by 5-0 scores before defeating NYA and Cape Elizabeth by 4-1 scores.

Yarmouth’s girls were 2-3 after 4-1 losses to St. Dom’s and Greely, wins over Freeport (5-0) and Waynflete (3-2) and a 3-2 loss to Cape Elizabeth.

Falmouth’s highly-touted boys’ squad started with 5-0 wins over Sanford, Westbrook and Portland.

The Navigators girls defeated Sanford (4-1), Westbrook (5-0) and Portland (5-0) in their first three outings.

Greely’s boys started with losses to Cape Elizabeth (4-1), Waynflete (3-2) and Yarmouth (5-0), then beat Freeport (5-0).

The Rangers girls swept their first five foes, downing Cape Elizabeth, York and Yarmouth by 4-1 scores and sweeping Waynflete and Freeport.

Freeport’s boys lost their first four matches, to Brunswick, Greely, Yarmouth and Waynflete, all by 5-0 scores.

The Falcons girls beat St. Dom’s by a 5-0 score and lost by a 5-0 margin to Brunswick, Greely and Waynflete.

NYA’s boys beat York (5-0) and Lake Region (4-1), then lost to Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth by 4-1 scores.

The NYA girls beat York (3-2) and St. Dom’s (5-0) and lost to Lake Region (3-2) and Cape Elizabeth (5-0).

Press Herald staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.

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

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