The regular season will soon be a fond memory for most softball squads as only a few days remain until the playoffs.
The postseason begins June 6 with preliminary rounds, followed by quarterfinals on June 8, semifinals on June 10. Regional championships for Class D will be on June 13 and Class C on June 14, with those games being played at Brewer High School.
As of Tuesday morning, Houlton (10-5) was ranked third in Class C North, behind No. 2 Bucksport (13-0) and No. 1 Mattanawcook Academy (15-0). Limestone/MSSM (10-3) and Narraguagus (12-2) could both leap over Houlton in the final days of the regular season as they have more games left to play than Houlton. The Shires end their season Wednesday against Lee Academy. If Houlton can remain among the top five teams, it will avoid having to play a preliminary playoff.
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook (12-2) has moved into the top seed thanks to winning nine of their last 10 games. The Warriors beat Ashland and East Grand last week, and were slated to play Woodland Tuesday and again on Thursday to close out the season. SACS should earn a first round bye before hosting a quarterfinal contest.
Hodgdon (9-5) was in third place Tuesday morning, despite struggling through a four-game losing skid. The Hawks had another tough challenge Tuesday against Limestone/MSSM. Only the top three teams earn a bye in Class D North, and a win over the Eagles would go a long way to helping Hodgdon achieve that bye.
East Grand (7-5) is in seventh place and will likely host a preliminary playoff game. Katahdin (4-9) is 17th and not in the playoff picture this year.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday,
Southern Aroostook 15, East Grand 9 — At Danforth Monday, the Warriors picked up the win. Individual results were not reported.
Houlton 11, Calais 4 — At Houlton Saturday for a doubleheader. Emma Peterson belted a triple and three singles and drove in two runs to lead the Shires. Aspen Flewelling contributed three hits and two RBIs and Mikayla Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Mooers each had two hits for the Shires.
For Calais, Kendra Parks, Faith Tirrell, Helen Harris and Katie Cavanaugh produced a pair of hits apiece.
About to connect on this pitch is Houlton’s Aspen Flewelling during the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with Calais. The Shires won both games.
(Joseph Cyr)
Houlton 10, Calais 6 — In the second game, the Shires were again victorious. Individual results were not reported.
Hodgdon 10, Central Aroostook 11 — At Mars Hill Saturday, Keara McCrum stole home in the bottom of the seventh to lift Panthers by the Hawks. Eighth-grader Maci Beals cranked a home run for Central Aroostook and Annika Nicholas added a double.
Megan Russell hit a home run and double for the Hawks, while Sydney Crane added two doubles.
Katahdin 20, Bangor Christian 2 — At Bangor Saturday for the first game of a doubleheader, the Cougars struck early and often, plating eight runs in the first inning to run away with the victory. Katahdin bashed 19 hits in the contest with Kelsey Hamm (triple, double) and Lindsay Drew (double) both collecting four hits.
Lilly Cullen pitched three innings for the Cougars, allowing one run on three hits and one walk, with three strikeouts. Josie Brownlee twirled the final two innings, yielding one run on two hits, with two strikeouts.
Katahdin 28, Bangor Christian 3 — In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cougars leted 25 hits and tallied 12 walks to easily beat Bangor Christian. Drew had five hits, including a triple and double and scored six runs to pace the Cougars. Georgia Landry also had five hits, including a triple and double, while scoring five runs.
Cullen tossed three innings, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk, with two strikeouts. Brownlee pitched the final two innings, yielding one run on one hit, with a strikeout.
Woodland 5, East Grand 4 — Individual results were not reported.
Houlton 10, Presque Isle 6 — Mikayla Fitzpatrick went the distance in the circle for the Shires and Emma Peterson had two hits and scored three times in Thursday’s victory at Presque Isle.
Savannah Rodriguez doubled and singled and Sydney Thompson contributed a pair of singles for the Wildcats.
Houlton is now 8-5 and in fifth place in Class C, while Presque Isle is 6-7 and in 11th in Class B.
Southern Aroostook 7, Ashland 1 — At Ashland Thursday, Kylie Vining struck out 14 batters and allowed just two hits as the Warriors took over first place in Class D North and improved to 9-2 on the season.
Taylor Libby had a two-run double and Vining helped her own cause by singling twice for SA. Olivia Tardie and Cassidy Pelletier provided the hits for the Hornets, who dropped to 4-6.
Washburn 8, Hodgdon 7 — At Washburn Wednesday, Macey Barker knocked a two-run double to help lead Washburn (1-10) to its first win of the season in a big upset over top-ranked Hodgdon (9-4). Carly Bragg doubled in a run for the Beavers.
Megan Russell paced Hodgdon with a three-run homer.
Mattanawcook Academy 11, Houlton 5 — At Houlton May 23, the Shires (7-5) fell to visiting MA. Individual results were not reported.
