MHS Spring Sports Playoff Preview
A year ago the Messalonskee boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams entered the playoffs as the No. 1 and 3 seeds respectively, but both fell short of a regional title.
This spring they hope to finish the job.
The boys are ranked No. 1 and enter the playoffs with an 11-1 record in Class B North, the lone loss to third-ranked Yarmouth.
As for the girls, they, too, are ranked first with a 10-2 and riding a six-game winning streak, including a 10-7 victory over third-seeded Cony to close the regular season.
“We’re excited,” Messalonskee coach Crystal Leavitt told the Morning Sentinel after the game. “We started the season with a great game, double overtime. To end the (regular) season with a close game is great. That’s what you want to see as a coach, you want to play tough games, you want to play tough teams, especially close to playoffs.”.
Before the season began Tom Sheridan, coach of the Messalonskee boys, said, “We are very strong, probably stronger than last year. We pretty much returned everybody and added to the team.”
That assessment appears quite accurate at this point, but now the Eagles, both the boys and girls, need to replicate their regular season success in the postseason.
In other sports, the Messalonskee boys’ and girls’ track teams compete in the Class A state championships Saturday in Bangor. Both are coming off six-place finishes at the KVAC title meet last weekend.
Still, both the boys and girls had several outstanding individual performances. Caden Cote captured a KVAC title in the pole vault, while Tieran Croft took second in both the 110 and 300 meter hurdles. Michael D’Amico also excelled, finishing second in the pole vault and third in the high jump.
On the girls’ side, Rylee Spadea won the pole vault and Nicole Salvadori notched second in the high jump and third in the 300 hurdles. Katie Elliott took third in the shot put.
The baseball and softball teams completed their regular seasons this week and are poised for first-round playoff games next Tuesday.
Fifth-ranked Messalonskee baseball (9-7) is slated to host No. 12 Brunswick (3-13) at 4:15 p.m., while the ninth-seeded softball team (5-11) travels to Lewiston to face the No. 8 Blue Devils (6-10) at 7 p.m.
As for the girls’ tennis team, 2022 has been a season to remember – and it’s not over yet.
The Eagles won their quarterfinal Class A North against Mt. Blue, 3-2, on Thursday to advance to play No. 1 Brunswick on Saturday. Camdyn LaMarre, Kirsten Frost, and Heidi Quist prevailed in their matches to lead Messalonskee to the victory.