It’s coming down to the wire for local baseball and softball teams making their push for the playoffs as the regular season concludes this week.
The Caribou Vikings’ baseball team, just two years removed from its first regional championship, are on the verge of not qualifying for this year’s post-season. Caribou is currently in 13th place in Class B North, with only the top 12 advancing. The Vikes, with their 5-10 record, need a victory at Presque Isle tonight combined with an Ellsworth loss at MDI Tuesday to still have a chance to get into the field.
Caribou scored only one run in Saturday’s home doubleheader sweep at the hands of Old Town. Gunnar Bondeson of the Vikings pitched well in the 3-1 loss in game one, going the distance. Caribou went on to lose the second game, 5-0.
The Viking girls were also beaten by the Coyotes twice, 21-3 and 16-0. They finish up at PI tonight and are out of the playoff picture with their 3-12 record.
Despite Monday’s 6-0 home loss to Houlton, the LCS/MSSM softball team is in third place in Class C with its 12-2 mark. The Eagles, with games remaining against Hodgdon and Fort Kent, should stay in third or be somewhere in the top five when the final standings are released later this week.
The Eagle baseball team, at 6-8, also finishes up against the Hawks and the Warriors and will need at least one win to move up into the top 11 and gain a playoff berth in coach Pierre Huntress’s first season at the helm of the Eagles.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers are in third place in Class D with their 12-2 record. A meeting with No. 4 Washburn (9-3) this afternoon will most likely determine who gets that No. 3 position and a bye into the quarterfinals.
The 5-7 FF girls will most likely hold onto the No. 13 and final playoff position in softball. They wrap up the regular season against the winless Beavers.
