The postseason dash to the finish line began, appropriately, Saturday with the outdoor track state meets.
Where Scarborough’s girls stole the show, winning the Class A championship.
Now, the Red Storm are chasing titles in baseball, softball and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse.
The best part of the spring sports season promises to continue to produce drama and memories.
Here’s an overview:
Outdoor track
Scarborough’s Emerson Flaker of Scarborough surges ahead of Lewiston’s Makenna Drouin at the finish of the 100 meters at the Class A girls’ track and field championship meet. Flaker won the race to help Scarborough win the team title. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
Scarborough’s girls tallied 101 points to hold off Bangor (86.5) to win the Class A state outdoor track and field title last Saturday in Saco. It was the first state title for the program since 2012 and the 11th all-time.
The Red Storm were led by junior standout Emerson Flaker, who won the 100 (12.15 seconds), 200 (26.14) and 400 (57.96).
Flaker’s opening win was the 100, as she dueled with Lewiston senior Makenna Drouin to the final step, winning on a lean-in a photo finish that showed Flaker ahead by four-thousandths of a second. Both Flaker and Drouin were officially clocked in 12.15 seconds, a personal-best for Flaker.
“I was not expecting to win the 100,” Flaker said. “Especially it being that close. When I saw the times, it was a shock. And a school record. I definitely leaned as hard as I could. I almost fell.”
Flaker was also part of a champion 4×400 relay team, which also included Margaret Booth, Avery Pettingill and Kyleigh Record, which posted a time of 4 minutes, 8.23 seconds. Record was also first in the 800 (2:19.71). Laurel Driscoll captured the two-mile (11:05.66) and was runner-up in the mile (4:57.15). Isabella Harmon won the pole vault (10-7) and tied for fourth in the high jump (5-0).
Bailey Stoddard-Baughman came in sixth in the 100 hurdles (16.41) and was eighth in the triple jump (33-10.75). Rowan Driscoll finished sixth in the racewalk (11:18.13). Caroline Benson tied for sixth in the pole vault (8-3). Maezy Gleason was eighth in the shot put (32-5).
Scarborough’s 4×800 relay team (Pettingill, Maya Taylor, Sabrina Ocampo and Record) placed third (10:01.81). The Red Storm’s 4×100 relay squad (Eva Alvarez, Amelia Caruso, Stoddard-Baugham and Abigail Denbow) finished seventh (47.8).
Scarborough’s Nate Murray prepares to fling the discus at the boys’ Class A state track and field meet. Murray finished eighth with a best throw of 132-feet, 11-inches.Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
In the Class A boys’ meet, won narrowly by South Portland over Gorham (79.5 points to 79), Scarborough had 48 points and placed seventh, the first time the Red Storm finished out of the top five since a sixth-place showing in 2012.
Scarborough’s 4×800 relay team (Landen Springer, Baxter Merriam, Ethan Keller and Atticus Merriam) finished first with a time of 8:09.65. Dylan Brown won the javelin (170-3).
Miguel Torres placed third in the javelin (161-1). Atticus Merriam finished third in the two-mile (9:46.38). Keller was fourth in the two-mile (9:49.57). Baxter Merriam was fifth in the mile (4:29.37). Nate Murray was sixth in the shot put (48-1) and eighth in the discus (132-11). Colby Shumway placed seventh in the mile (4:31.83). Owen Falcon was eighth in the javelin (150-0).
Baseball
Scarborough’s baseball team earned the top seed in Class A South after a 15-1 regular season, the Red Storm’s best since 1995. Scarborough hosted a quarterfinal round game Thursday against No. 9 Gorham (9-7). The Red Storm shut out host Gorham, 3-0, April 30 and won two of three prior playoff encounters, with a 4-0 win in the 2016 Class A South quarterfinals the most recent.
If the Red Storm move on to Saturday’s semifinals, they will host either recent playoff nemesis No. 4 Marshwood (11-5) or 12th-ranked Windham (7-10).
The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Class A state game is Saturday, June 15 in Augusta.
Softball
Scarborough pitcher Meghan Robinson throws a pitch to open Tuesday’s preliminary round playoff game versus Marshwood. The Red Storm rallied to advance, 6-5. Hoffer photo.
Scarborough’s softball team won its final five regular season games to earn the No. 6 seed in Class A South and rallied to beat host No. 11 Marshwood in the preliminary round Tuesday, 6-5.
Each team scored a run in the first inning, as Gabby Pelletier hit an RBI double for the Red Storm. After the Hawks went on top in the top of the third, Jamie Kemper hit a two-run homer in the bottom half and Laine Niles added a two-out RBI single for a 4-2 lead. Marshwood then got a three-run home run of its own in the fourth and held a 5-4 lead entering the bottom of the seventh.
There, with one out, pitcher Meghan Robinson doubled, Alana Sawyer followed with a double of her own to tie the score, then Kemper ripped a shot down the leftfield line, good for another double to score Sawyer to end it in palpitating fashion, 6-5, as Scarborough won its sixth straight game and improved to 12-5.
“It’s amazing,” Kemper said. “I knew right away that was the game. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without Alana doing it right before me.
“I’m thinking, ‘Let’s get this over with.’ I didn’t want to have to go back out there. I just saw the pitch all the way into the barrel and I just swung. I had confidence in myself and I knew we could get it done. As soon as Alana touched home, I ran off second and the celebration was amazing.”
“I had a lot of confidence in Jamie,” Sawyer said. “I saw the ball come off the bat and I’m like, ‘I’m scoring on this.’ I was just going. I came around third hard and Coach (Brian Rice) waved me in. It was an amazing feeling.”
“The game kind of went like our season,” added Rice. “We got off to a slow start and we had to claw our way back like we did in the regular season as well. It was a fantastic job by the girls. They never gave up.”
The Red Storm earned the right to go to No. 3 Gorham (13-3) for the quarterfinals Thursday. Scarborough lost to the Rams in the regular season, 2-1, May 3 on the road, but had won two of three prior playoff encounters with an 8-0 victory in the 2017 quarterfinals the most recent.
“This was a lot of fun and now, we just need to keep the energy up and keep playing the game like we know how,” Sawyer said. “We’ll go in there (to Gorham) and just play our game.”
“We have nothing to lose,” Kemper said. “That’s the mindset. If we can come together like we know how, we’ll see.”
“We’ll have some confidence going into Gorham, but they’re a different breed,” added Rice. “I hope the kids will be loose. Now we got the first playoff game out of the way, so hopefully a lot of the jitters will be gone and we can play good ball from the get-go.”
If the Red Storm passed that test, they will play in the semifinals Saturday, likely against No. 2 Cheverus (15-1).
The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Class A state game is Saturday, June 15 in Auburn.
Boys’ lacrosse
Scarborough’s Drew Witas winds up to score one of his three goals in Monday’s state preliminary round win over Oxford Hills. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
Scarborough’s boys’ lacrosse team, which began the year 0-3, finished the regular season 9-5 after last Thursday’s 16-9 win at Marshwood, which placed the Red Storm fifth in the Class A playoff field. Monday, Scarborough hosted No. 12 Oxford Hills in the state preliminary round.
Scarborough was stuck in neutral in a first quarter which ended 1-1. Senior defenseman Drew Witas then scored his first goal to help open up a 4-1 halftime advantage. Witas was even more prolific in the third period, scoring twice in just over two minutes to help the Red Storm open up an insurmountable 11-3 lead and Scarborough cruised from there to a 13-4 victory.
“Coach (Zac Barrett) says I’m arrogant and I come into every game with arrogance, which I think is a good thing, but I think our team came in with too much arrogance today,” said Witas. “We changed that around in the second half. We just started playing our game.”
“There was just no energy, no focus at the start,” Barrett said. “I don’t know what it was. Oxford Hills was no pushover, so we had to get back to fundamentals and do the little things right. At halftime, the message was to get back to what we’ve doing all year. We couldn’t do hero plays and go off-script. I’m just happy the guys responded to that and they went out and played more fundamental and made the right plays.”
The Red Storm placed seven different players in the scoring column, as Olin Pedersen led the way with four goals, Witas had three, Wes Merrill two and Sebastian Furr, Ryan Gambardella, Jackson Peters and Liam Sellinger all contributed one. Nick Harmon had four assists, Sellinger added three, Furr had two and Pedersen and Avery Currie finished with one apiece, as 11 of the 13 Scarborough goals were set up by a teammate.
“We have guys who can make plays,” Barrett said. “Having them get that confidence in a game like this is good. We’ve had different guys streak at different times all year. If we can put it all together at the right time, that’s the dream.”
The Red Storm won their sixth game in a row, improved to 10-5 and in the process, advanced to meet No. 4 Deering (10-4) in the state quarterfinals Friday at 5 p.m., in Portland.
Last week, host Scarborough shut down Deering’s potent attack en route to a 7-4 victory. The Red Storm also prevailed in the teams’ lone prior playoff meeting, 5-1, way back in the 2004 West Region preliminary round.
Scarborough will have to win at Deering this time around and while that won’t be easy, it’s up for the challenge.
“We’re ready for the next game and whatever it takes to beat them, we’ll do it,” Witas said. “I know we can do it again. I’ve considered us to be an elite team from the beginning. It’s good to be considered an elite team by everyone else.”
“We have to be confident and we have to be aware that they’re sour and they’ll bring everything they’ve got,” Barrett said. “We have to go in thinking about what works for us and focusing on that. We have to have another strong defensive effort and find an offensive rhythm and get enough guys involved that they’re getting a lot of shots and putting them in the back of the cage. We have to try to tighten things up all over the field and if we play our game, I think things will work out for us.”
Girls’ lacrosse
Scarborough’s girls’ team finished the regular season 6-8 after a 20-9 home win over Noble. The Red Storm wound up 12th in Class A and opened the playoffs with a preliminary round game at No. 5 Gorham (10-4) Wednesday. Scarborough lost the regular season meeting, 13-6, May 3, in Gorham. The Red Storm had won all three prior playoff meetings, with an 11-3 victory in the 2021 quarterfinals the most recent.
If Scarborough sprung the upset, it would go to No. 4 Windham (12-3) in the quarterfinals Friday. The Red Storm didn’t face the Eagles this year and the teams have no playoff history.
Tennis
Scarborough’s boys’ tennis team earned the No. 5 seed in Class A South, but was ousted by No. 4 Gorham, 4-1, in the quarterfinals to finish the year 9-4.
The Red Storm girls, ranked eighth in Class A South, defeated No. 9 Bonny Eagle, 5-0, in the preliminary round, but Monday, Scarborough lost, 5-0, to top-seeded Falmouth to wind up 8-6.
Press Herald staff writer Steve Craig contributed to this story.
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