The home stretch of the spring sports season has begun.

Thanks to cooperative weather, local teams had a full week of action last week and it’s now a full sprint to the finish line, with much still to be determined.

Here’s a glimpse:

Baseball

South Portland’s baseball team is hitting its stride and living up to billing as a favorite in Class A South. Last week, the Red Riots defeated host Cheverus (12-0, in six-innings), visiting Deering (10-0, in five-innings) and host Bonny Eagle (11-3), then made it six straight victories Tuesday with a 4-2 home win over Kennebunk. Against the Stags, Nolan Hobbs had three hits and two RBI and Andrew Heffernan threw a one-hitter, striking out 10, and hit a bases clearing double.

“We just expected to come in and dominate,” said Heffernan, who will play next year at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. “The boys made the plays. We got the bats going. We limited strikeouts. That was a big goal of ours. It was a good team win.”

“We all know what we’re capable of,” Hobbs said. “We let everyone know that SoPo is still here. We’re a deep team. Everyone 1-through-9 can do the job. We wanted to come out and do our thing.”

“I didn’t expect this, absolutely not,” Red Riots coach Mike Owens added. “Cheverus is a really good team. We just got a little momentum going early and then we got a couple breaks, then we took advantage of errors. We got some big two-out hits. The energy we had today was unreal. We made them make plays and we found gaps.”

In the win over Deering, Hobbs hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run, Easton Healy had two hits and Hudson Iacuessa won his first varsity start, allowing just one hit. Against the Scots, Hobbs earned the win, had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs and Heffernan added three hits. In the win over Kennebunk, Nick Swain allowed just two runs in 4.2 innings, then Heffernan came on to get the save. Heffernan also hit a two-run single, tripled and scored.

“I love those situations where I get to come in and I have my guy Swain’s back,” Heffernan said. “Just execute the pitches in a high-pressure situation.”

“I thought this game was going to difficult and we had Nick against their number one,” Owens said. “I thought Nick did a good job but it seemed they were starting to time him up. I just felt like that game was kind of in the dire straits and we had a chance to go get the win and you want to get wins when you can.”

Heffernan has so far this season produced seven more hits with his bat than he’s surrendered on the mound (17-10), has walked four times while only giving up two and has scored 12 runs while giving up just two (both unearned). Heffernan is hitting .459 and slugging .676 and has fanned 42 batters.

South Portland (9-2 and third in the Class A South Heal Points standings) was at Marshwood Thursday and goes to Hadlock Field Saturday to take on Portland.

“I’m not positive we’re that team everyone thinks we are, not right now,” said Owens. “We might be that team in June, but we still have some holes. If we can lengthen our lineup and get more experience in the outfield, with our pitching, we have the ingredients. It’s just a question, can we do it against the top teams? We have to bring it every single day. We’re hoping to keep this momentum going.”

Scarborough was 8-2 (and first in Class A South) after a 6-2 home win over Noble, a 4-3 victory at Kennebunk, an eight-inning (5-4) setback at Windham and a 5-4, eight-inning home win over Cheverus. Against the Knights, Erik Swenson and Tyler Archambault combined to throw a no-hitter, Mason Porter homered and Ashton Blanchette, Matthew Fallona and Lewis Moynihan added two hits apiece. In the win over the Rams, Fallona hit a two-run single, Archambault earned the victory and Nate Masters got the save. In the loss, the Red Storm let a 4-0 lead slip away. Against the Stags, Scarborough trailed by four runs with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the seventh and miraculously rallied, tying the score on a passed ball. The Red Storm then won it in the eighth when Blanchette came home on a wild pitch. Scarborough was at Westbrook Thursday, welcomes Gorham Saturday and plays host to Portland Tuesday of next week.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth improved to 8-0 after a wild 3-2, 10-inning home win over rival Greely last Friday. The Capers were down to their final strike in the eighth, but Owen Tighe hit a game-tying double. Then, in the 10th, with two outs, Antonio Dell’Aquila’s single scored Gabe Harmon to win it.

“I was just trying to put it in play,” said Dell’Aquila. “I was just looking for one down the plate that I could put on the ground or get in the air and bring Gabe in. I knew it was going to drop. That was one of the greatest feelings ever. I wanted to be up there. I was excited to have the bat in my hands.”

“It’s a big win for us,” said Cape Elizabeth’s first-year coach Donny Dutton. “These guys are resilient and they won’t go down without a fight. You just have to stay in it. We’re good and I think everyone is starting to take notice of that. It’s been special so far.”

Monday, the Capers suffered their first loss, letting a 3-0 lead slip away in a 4-3 setback at Poland. Harmon and Brady Inman each had a pair of hits. Cape Elizabeth (8-1 and first in Class B South) was at Brunswick and hosted Mt. Ararat Thursday, then visit Freeport Friday and Wells Monday before playing host to York Wednesday of next week.

“We think we can go super-far,” Tighe said. “We’re building confidence game-after-game.”

Softball

Scarborough’s softball team lost at Gorham (6-5) last Wednesday, then enjoyed victories over visiting Deering (22-1, in five-innings) and at Bonny Eagle (15-1, in five-innings) before dropping to 8-3 with a 5-3 loss at Thornton Academy. In the loss to the Rams, Samantha Cote scored twice and Sophia Rinaldi had a pair of hits. Against Deering, Jamie Kemper, Natalie Moynihan and Sophia Nelson all hit home runs and Gabriella Pelletier threw a two-hitter. In the win over the Scots, Angelina Pizzella doubled, homered, scored three runs and drove in three, Alana Sawyer had three hits and two RBI, Kemper scored three runs and drove in two and Meghan Robinson earned the victory and had two hits and two RBI. Against the Golden Trojans, Scarborough scored three runs in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough. Moynihan had two hits. The Red Storm (fourth in the Class A South Heals) host South Portland/Westbrook Friday (see our website for game story), welcome Portland Monday and play at Massabesic Wednesday of next week.

The South Portland/Westbrook co-op squad was also 8-3 after five-inning victories last week over visiting Falmouth (14-1) and at Cheverus (15-5) and Monday’s 13-2 loss at preseason favorite Windham. Andrea DiMauro had four RBI and earned the victory against the Navigators. In the win over the Stags, Rachel DiMauro hit a home run, Delaney Whitten added four hits, two RBI and three runs scored and Andrea DiMauro and Ella Nickerson added three hits. In the setback, Nickerson and Grace Wallace both had two hits. South Portland/Westbrook (sixth in Class A South) hosted Thornton Academy Wednesday, visits Scarborough Friday, plays at Noble Monday and hosts Marshwood Wednesday of next week.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth fell to 5-4 and 10th in the Heals after losses to visiting Greely (18-7) and at Poland (24-1, in five-innings). Against the Rangers, Elsie Maxwell had four hits and Grace Callahan and Lauren Steinberg added three apiece. Sophia Chung drove in the lone run in the loss to the Knights. The Capers were at Brunswick and hosted Mt. Ararat Thursday, then visit Freeport Friday and Wells Monday before playing host to York Wednesday of next week.

Boys’ lacrosse

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team improved to 9-0 and extended its two-year win streak to 15 games after beating host Yarmouth (14-6) and visiting Thornton Academy (13-7) last week. Against the Clippers, a six-goal first period set the tone, the Capers put nine different players in the scoring column and were led by three goals from Sam Cochran and two apiece from Connor Goss, Nick Laughlin and Keegan Lathrop.

“It definitely feels good to keep winning games after losing all our great seniors last year,” said Laughlin. “It shows we can bring new guys up and they can contribute.”

“Large stretches of the game were not great, but I think we played really well in the first quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s what’s really important,” said longtime Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond. “We talk about keeping our focus in the middle portion of the game. It’s hard to do.”

The Capers then trailed the Golden Trojans by two goals in the third quarter before erupting for nine straight goals, seven coming from Lathrop, who finished with a career-high eight.

“I was hot, so I kept firing away,” said Lathrop, who wound up one goal shy of his brother Tiernan Lathrop’s program record for goals in a game. “My outside shots were on. It got the bench and the whole team fired up.”

“Keegan’s a really good player, a very good shooter,” said Raymond. “Their zone allowed for him to get those shots. They were contested though. He wasn’t just standing there. We were on him earlier in the week for his shooting percentage, but he’s trying hard to place it more. He’s a big difference maker.”

Cape Elizabeth (first in the state-wide Class A Heals) was at York Wednesday, then faces a big test Saturday at red-hot Falmouth (see our website for game story). Tuesday of next week, the Capers host Scarborough.

“We want to go undefeated,” Lathrop said. “Losing (to Yarmouth and Thornton Academy) last year was devastating. We want to go undefeated like (my) freshman year. It’s hard to do, but with this team, I think we can do it. We’re finding our rhythm. We’re doing fine right now. We just need to have to play more consistent. Falmouth will be a big game. We’ll get ready for that.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what Falmouth has when we go there,” said Raymond. “We’ll see what adjustments they made to what we did last time. That’ll be a good test.”

South Portland extended its win streak to seven games last Wednesday, beating visiting Windham, 10-6, but Saturday, the Red Riots fell to 7-2 with a 19-7 home loss to Falmouth. Brady Demers, Beckett Mehlhorn and Lucas Mehlhorn all had three goals in the win. Demers also scored three times against the Navigators. The Red Riots (third in Class A) look to bounce back Saturday when they host Gorham. They go to Portland Tuesday of next week.

Scarborough was 3-7 and 12th in Class A following a 7-6 home win over Gorham and losses at Yarmouth (21-7) and Thornton Academy (13-2). In the victory, Olin Pedersen and Drew Witas each scored twice and Ben Kerbel made 15 saves. The Red Storm welcome Portland Saturday and go to Cape Elizabeth Tuesday of next week. 

Girls’ lacrosse

On the girls’ side, Cape Elizabeth has won three straight to even its record at 4-4. Last week, the Capers handled visiting Lewiston, 16-5. Tuesday, they held off visiting North Yarmouth Academy, 8-7, behind Kaity Woods’ three goals and a pair of goals from Phoebe Altenburg. Cape Elizabeth (13th in the Class A state-wide Heals) goes to reigning Class B champion Greely Friday, then visits Marshwood Monday and York Wednesday of next week.

Scarborough fell to 2-6 and 18th in Class A after a 14-2 loss at Falmouth last Friday. Grace Carlista and Isabela Hernandez each scored once. The Red Storm hosted Marshwood Wednesday, visit Portland Saturday, then play at two-time reigning Class A champion Kennebunk Monday.

South Portland was 2-8 and 17th in Class A following an 18-0 home loss to Biddeford and an 11-1 win at Westbrook. The Red Riots welcome Gorham Saturday and play host to Windham Wednesday of next week.

Track

On the track, South Portland joined Cheverus and Westbrook for a meet at Gorham. The Red Riots boys and girls both placed first.

Scarborough joined Sanford and Thornton Academy at Portland. The Red Storm boys and girls both finished first.

Cape Elizabeth joined York at Gray-New Gloucester. The Capers boys and girls were both third. York was first in both the boys’ and girls’ meets.

Tennis

Scarborough’s girls’ tennis team lost its showdown versus Falmouth, 5-0, then improved to 8-1 with a 4-0 win over Massabesic Tuesday.

The Red Storm boys fell to 6-3 with a 5-0 loss to Falmouth.

South Portland’s boys improved to 6-5 Tuesday with a 5-0 win over Sanford.

The Red Riots girls were 5-5 after losing to Scarborough (4-1) and Sanford (3-2).

Cape Elizabeth’s fell to 6-3 after a 4-1 loss to 13-time Class C champion Waynflete.

The Capers girls fell to 5-4 after a 5-0 loss to undefeated Greely Monday.

The state singles tournament will be held this coming weekend.

Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig contributed to this story.

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

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