With the regular season is rapidly coming to a close, local teams are starting to make their final runs for a postseason berth. All five local teams are in the mix for playoff spots this year.
In Class C North, Houlton (9-3, 55.0781 Heal Points) is currently fourth and would have a first-round bye in the playoffs. The top five squads punch their ticket directly to the quarterfinal round.
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook (9-3, 92.5657) moved back up to the No. 1 spot, after slipping to third last week. Katahdin (7-3, 68.4821) is third, Hodgdon (5-7, 348.2789) is fifth and East Grand (7-5, 27.4698) is 10th.
Only the top three squads receive a bye in the Class D North region.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday that were reported to the newspaper.
Hodgdon 18, Southern Aroostook 5 — At Hodgdon Monday, the Hawks gathered 10 hits over five innings to beat top-ranked SACS. Sidney Crane tripled and drove in a run, while Grace Graham had two doubles and a single, with an RBI. Tabitha Ganzel also had two singles with two RBIs.
For Southern Aroostook, Kylie Vining, Taylor Libby, Emily Bubar and Katie Stevens each had a single.
Southern Aroostook 3, Madawaska 1 — At Madawaska Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader, Kylie Vining had 11 strikeouts to pace Southern Aroostook to victory.
Marissa Boulier and Maddie Cummings each doubled for the 8-2 Warriors while Cummings had an RBI.
For 6-2 Madawaska, Hannah Nadeau hit a solo home run.
Southern Aroostook 11, Madawaska 6 — In game two of the doubleheader in Madawaska, after trailing 6-2 at the start of the sixth inning, Southern Aroostook took advantage of three walks and three errors to score five runs to pull ahead en route to the win.
Boulier led the way for the Warriors with a triple, two singles and two RBIs. Maddie Cumming added two singles and two RBIs while Katie Stevens and Emily Bubar each singled twice and drove in a run.
Vining struck out 12 batters from inside the pitching circle.
For Madawaska, Hannah Nadeau had three singles and an RBI. Gabby Cyr, Alexis Levesque, and Aspen Cote each had two singles.
Shead 1, Houlton 13 — At Houlton Saturday, Kristen Graham allowed three hits and struck out seven batters to pick up the win for the Shires. Elizabeth Ward had three hits, Morgan Grant had two hits and Aspen Flewelling drove in three runs.
For Shead, Katelyn Mitchell had two hits and Taylah Kilby had a hit.
Calais 8, Houlton 11 — At Houlton Friday, Tyra Gentle had three hits and drove in four runs to propel the Shiretowners past the Calais Blue Devils.
Aspen Flewelling added a triple and an RBI while Kristen Graham had two RBIs for Houlton.
For Calais, Kyra Porter had two hits and three RBIs. Logan Huckins chipped in two hits.
Limestone 15, Hodgdon 2 — At Hodgdon Thursday, Jessica Lindsey hit two singles and a double to lead the Eagles to victory over the Hawks. Madeline Williams added two doubles while Bethany Millette singled and doubled.
For Hodgdon, Lexi McGuire hit a solo home run.
Hodgdon 11, East Grand 5 — At Danforth May 18, freshman Kora Lambert led the Hawks offensively with a single and a double as the Hawks came away with the victory. Janelle Goff and Grace Graham added two singles a piece. Sidney Crane hit a double and Tianna McEwen and Taylor Desrosiers both singled.
For East Grand, Sarah Stoddard, Jennifer Crone, Jordyn Cowger, Beth Lindsey and Kianna Caissie all singled. Haleigh Shay helped her own cause with a single and a double.
Pitchers Haleigh Shay (East Grand) and Lexi McGuire (Hodgdon) both struck out four batters.
Caribou 7, Houlton 4 — At Houlton May 18, the Vikings capitalized on five errors and used timely hitting to beat Houlton. Rachel Soucy sparked Caribou with a triple and RBI. Searra Herbert also drove in a run and had two hits.
For Houlton, Tyra Gentle and Morgan Grant both had a hit and RBI.
Stearns 9, Katahdin 2 — At Stacyville May 18, Cassidy McLeod and Audrey Dunstan each belted fourth-inning home runs to lift the Minutemen past Katahdin. Stearns received three RBIs from Abby Russell.
Bailee Moody-Kay singled three times and Molly Cunningham added two singles for the 7-3 Cougars.
Katahdin 6, Southern Aroostook 1 — At Dyer Brook May 17, the Warriors fell to Katahdin for the second time on the season, this time a 6-1 home loss. The Cougars were led offensively by Georgia Landry, who bashed a three-run home run in the seventh inning to break open what had been a close affair up to that point.
Sophie Vetter had two singles for the winners and scored a run. Courtney Stevens also had a single and scored a run.
Katahdin’s Kacyee Cintron allowed one run on two hits and one walk, with five strikeouts. Kylie Vining pitched the loss for SACS, allowing six runs on four hits and five walks, with seven strikeouts.
East Grand 11, Wisdom 6 — At St. Agatha May 17, Haleigh Shay pitched the Vikings to the win, striking out 13 Wisdom batters.
