05 Jun 2026 7 min read Newsletters

Newsletter #46...What a season it's been, and the best is still to come...

The regular season has concluded.

It's playoff-time.

And that has to be music to the ears of local sports fans, as almost every school in the coverage area has multiple teams ready to make a postseason run.

With many of them realistically entertaining championship dreams.

Baseball has witnessed Gorham's dominance, South Portland's brilliance and Cheverus' resurgence and that's only Class A South, which also sees Thornton Academy, Scarborough and Falmouth in contention. Class B South is wide open, where not only reigning champion Greely entertains title aspirations, but Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth do as well. Even Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy won't be an easy out in Class C South.

Softball has been dominated by Addison DeRoche and her Cheverus Stags from the get-go. The Stags are heavy favorites to bring home the Gold Glove in a couple weeks time, but don't overlook the likes of Gorham, Westbrook and reigning champion Windham. Greely, with its booming bats, will be a factor in Class B South.

Many expect Falmouth and Thornton Academy to reprise their stunning, dramatic boys' lacrosse Class A state final of a year ago and what great theater that would make, but Yarmouth might just crash that party. Deering and Scarborough can't be overlooked either. In Class B, no one saw Greely soaring into the top seed, arriving a year ahead of schedule. North Yarmouth Academy has what it takes to repeat in Class C.

On the girls' side, NYA is in contention in Class C, Greely appears to be the heavy favorite in Class B and four teams lead the way in Class A, as Kennebunk, Thornton Academy and Cheverus join Windham atop the heap.

Speaking of the Eagles...

The new standard

Windham senior girls' lacrosse Abby Trainor long ago established herself as one of the special players in state history.

Tuesday evening at home, Trainor accomplished something no previous high school player in Maine had done, reach 400 points for her illustrious career. Trainor set up longtime teammate/fellow senior standout Neve Ledbetter for a goal in a 23-3 victory over Portland to hit that plateau.

And that was just the beginning...

Trainor, who will play next year at Fairfield University in Connecticut, was right back at it Thursday and scored a career-high 11 goals in a 21-10 win at Scarborough, including the 300th of her career.

Trainor's simply one of one.

Actually, on second thought, Trainor isn't the only standard-bearer.

Thursday, in Kennebunk, Falmouth senior Hayden Davis set a new boys' lacrosse record for career points with 319 in a 15-5 victory.

Davis, who will play next year at Lafayette, and his teammates, capped an undefeated season and look to win the Class A state title which eluded them in 2025.

Call him Mr. Gatorade

Gorham junior pitcher Hunter Finck was named Maine's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year earlier this week.

Finck, who has verbally committed to the University of Alabama, went 5-0 during the regular season. In 29.2 innings, Finck has 43 strikeouts. He's also one of the top hitters in Class A South.

Milestones

Another week, more milestones, starting with a big one from the coaching ranks:

Mike Owens, the baseball coach at South Portland since 2011, earned his 200th career victory when the Red Riots blanked Massabesic, 5-0, in the regular season finale Tuesday.

Owens has led South Portland to a pair of state championships, in 2021 and 2023, and has the Red Riots in position to make another title run this spring.

Deering junior Caleb Arris, a standout on the boys' lacrosse team, recently reached the 100-point plateau for his career.

Sophomore Sully Toher recently accomplished the same feat.

Freshman sensation Matt Ciampi has already set the program record for points by a freshman.

It's clear that the Rams have a very bright future.

Falmouth junior Tessa Woodbury, a goalie on the girls' lacrosse team, made her 200th career save in Wednesday's home win over Yarmouth.

North Yarmouth Academy junior Ava Wilkinson, a standout on the Panthers girls' lacrosse team, reached the 100 goal mark for her career in Wednesday's victory over Waynflete.

Yarmouth senior Celia Zinman, a standout and captain on the Clippers girls' lacrosse team, recently reached 100 goals for her career in a game against Thornton Academy.

Zinman joins Emily Johnson, Laurie Baker, Danielle Torres, Grace O'Donnell, Eva Then, Annie Lowenstein, Katelyn D'Appolonia and Aine Powers as Yarmouth players to reach that milestone.

Cape Elizabeth signings

Cape Elizabeth held a Student-Athlete College Commitment Ceremony for seniors who are planning to compete next year in college.

The large group of athletes includes:

Standing, from left: Jasper Rogers, Callum Mitchell, Harry Converse, Nick Eremita, Nolan Bryant and Caiden Johnson.

Sitting, from left: Adelaide Mazzeo, Sloan Gardner, Noelle Mallory, Hannah Frothingham, Audrey Alberts and Avery Palmore.

Former Scarborough standout in College World Series again

Former Scarborough baseball standout TJ Liponis, now a senior at Endicott College in Massachusetts, has enjoyed quite the college career, reaching the Division III College World Series four different times, including this spring. Liponis is a shortstop and captain for the Gulls. Liponis is believed to be the first Mainer to ever take part in four consecutive College World Series.

In case you missed it

Game stories from the past week...

Cheverus girls fall short at Kennebunk

NYA girls remain red-hot with win over York

Deering boys put on a show in interclass win at NYA

Greely girls beat Yarmouth for 12th straight victory

Greely's seventh inning rally stuns Yarmouth

Greely boys' lacrosse continues surge with win over Wells

Falmouth baseball falls at home to Sanford

Falmouth boys topple TA in highly-anticipated showdown

Cheverus girls earn biggest win yet, ending TA's streak

Falmouth girls fight off Yarmouth in finale

Windham girls finish on high note with record-setting win at Scarborough

Cheverus baseball gets back on track with win over Bonny Eagle

And a feature on the surging Gorham baseball team, which might just be the team to beat in Class A

Media

Tuesday's visit with Matt Gagnon of WGAN:

https://wgan.com/morning-news/hoffers-high-school-sports-30/

Last Friday's spot on Middays with Mannix and Mannix:

https://thebigjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/MMM-5-29-26-Michael-Hoffer.mp3

Features

Hoffer's High School Sports, in conjunction with cPort Credit Union, named Greely senior softball slugger Katie Wallace our Athlete of the Week.

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

Thursday's Hoffer's High School Sports Podcast featured a recap of the regular season and a look ahead to what should be a fabulous postseason.

What's on tap

The baseball and softball playoffs are scheduled to begin next Tuesday with the preliminary round. The quarterfinals will be Thursday. Both rounds will be contested on the home field of the higher seeds.

Lacrosse preliminaries start Tuesday and Wednesday (there could be a Monday game or two as well, stay tuned) on the homefields of the higher seeds.

Look forward to plenty of postseason game stories in the days to come.

It's getting real folks!

Play of the week

Let's wrap this up with the play of the week...What else could it be other than Abby Trainor's 300th career goal in Windham's victory at Scarborough Thursday, one of a jawdropping 11 goals on the day for Trainor.