01 May 2026 5 min read Newsletters

Newsletter #41...Early dominance

The spring season is just hitting its stride, but one thing is clear in the early going, the preseason favorites are living up to billing.

*Senior Ben Kyles and his Greely teammates have been crushing the ball this spring, to the tune of 53 runs in three victories. File photo.*

Greely's baseball team, the reigning Class B champion, scored 17 runs in its first contest, a home win over Yarmouth, then followed that up with 18-run performances in victories at Lake Region and York.

Cheverus' softball team scored 10 runs in a mercy rule victory over Thornton Academy to begin, then put up seven runs in the first two innings at Westbrook before settling for an 8-1 triumph and Wednesday, blanked Biddeford, 15-0. So far this season, Stags' junior ace Addison DeRoche has worked 16 innings and allowed one run on two hits, walking one and striking out 39 of the 51 hitters she's faced. The Florida State University-commit is already in postseason form, which must give the rest of the league nightmares.

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Several boys' lacrosse contenders have been scoring goals with abandon. Thornton Academy, the reigning Class A champion, has 47 goals in three decisive wins to start. Falmouth, meanwhile, has scored 38 goals in its three wins. Deering has outscored both of those powers, scoring a whopping 57 goals in three games (all victories) to start.

On the girls' side, Windham, the defending Class A champion, has 48 goals in three wins to start the season. Right behind the Eagles are Falmouth, which has scored 45 times in four victories.

Expect to hear from all of these teams all season.

T-shirts to share

As many of you know, Hoffer's High School Sports names a Player of the Year from each sport following the season.

We have some catching up to do, as T-shirts have been distributed to four athletes from the fall and winter.

Finn Coburn, Scarborough, boys' soccer

Liana Edwards, Gorham, volleyball

Ellie Skolnekovich, Cheverus, girls' hockey

Kylie Lamson, Cheverus, girls' basketball

In case you missed it

Game stories from the past week...

Kennebunk girls beat Thornton Academy

Greely girls rally to beat Freeport in another classic

Cheverus blanks TA in softball opener

DeRoche denied perfect game in win at Westbrook

Thornton Academy's fast start earns first baseball win, at Falmouth

Cheverus girls win at Yarmouth for the first time

Windham's rally falls short at Bonny Eagle

Gorham walks it off on wild pitch to beat South Portland

Media

Tuesday's radio spot with WGAN's Matt Gagnon:

https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-28/

Features

Hoffer's High School Sports, in conjunction with cPort Credit Union, named Cheverus junior ace softball pitcher Addison DeRoche our Athlete of the Week.

Tuesday brought the latest polls for baseball, softball and lacrosse:

Thursday's Hoffer's High School Sports Podcast featured Cheverus softball coach John Eisenhart, who joined his brother and me to talk about his playing and coaching career, this year's Stags team and his leadership philosophy.

What's on tap

The action heats up over the next week with some key showdowns.

Friday features three big girls' lacrosse battles, as defending Class B champion Freeport plays host to Class A contender Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth goes to undefeated Kennebunk for a playoff rematch and reigning Class A champion Windham gets a big test at Thornton Academy. Deering's undefeated boys' team will measure itself against Falmouth.

Saturday, weather permitting, Scarborough's baseball team, the 2024 Class A champion, plays host to last year's surprise champ, Biddeford. A few hundred yards away, Scarborough's resurgent softball team will welcome Thornton Academy, while South Portland's softball team plays host to Westbrook in what could be a compelling battle.

Monday, the schedule is highlighted by the first of two (likely three) meetings between the Cheverus and Windham softball teams, who have played memorable regional finals the past two years. The Stags are hoping to avenge last year's ouster when they welcome the Eagles. Yarmouth hosts a terrific lacrosse doubleheader, as the York boys come to town for a renewal of that rivalry which has seen overtime classics in each of the past two Class B state finals, followed by the Kennebunk and Yarmouth girls meeting with plenty of Heal Points at stake.

Tuesday, Cheverus at Gorham highlights the baseball schedule, while the best girls' lacrosse game will likely be Falmouth at Windham, as the surging Navigators try to take down the defending champions in a playoff rematch.

Wednesday, we get a renewal of the ancient Cape Elizabeth-Greely baseball rivalry as the teams meet for the first of two (likely three) times this spring, in Cumberland.

Thursday, Falmouth's boys' lacrosse team hosts York and defending Class A champion Thornton Academy will likely get its first test when Deering pays a visit On the girls' side, Cape Elizabeth welcomes Greely and on the diamond, we get a rematch of last year's Class A South baseball final, as Biddeford plays at Thornton Academy.

Let's wrap this up with the play of the week...Greely's Hadley Hatch scores the winning goal, from Avery Bush, late to beat Freeport in last week's thriller.