Fryeburg, Greely and Cape Elizabeth have been the teams to beat in Western B in recent seasons and should be among the top clubs in the standings again.
Fryeburg was the top-seed last year but lost to Western Maine Conference rival Greely in the semifinals. The Rangers went on the win the Western B title. Cape Elizabeth was the second seed but lost to Gray-New Gloucester in the semifinals. The Patriots went on to lose to Greely in the regional final.
Gray-NG hopes to be a contender again. Veterans Steph Greaton, Maria Valente and Zoe Adams lead a group of returning players to the Patriots lineup.
Poland was also a tourney team last year, going 9-6 before losing to the Capers in the quarterfinals. The Knights were the 10th seeded team and beat Falmouth in a prelim.
The Knights graduated six seniors but return junior pitchers Kylie Martin and Kolby Woods and junior catcher Kelsey DeBurra. Lindsay Theriault, the lone returning senior, is back at short. Also returning as juniors are Haley Whitworth, Michaella Arsenault and Emily Gibson.. Poland also adds veteran third baseman Kalor Plummer from Lake Region. The Knights have some holes to fill but have a promising group of eight new players in addition to some experienced talent.
Oak Hill was the third seed last year but lost to Gray-NG in the quarterfinals. The Raiders return six starters including Kelsey Collins, Lauren Beganny, Sadie Goulet, Kayla Veilleux, Jamie Prue and Brooke Surette.
Collins and Veilleux were both All-Conference players last year. Collins batted .400 and was a force in the infield while Veilleux batted .348 while splitting time in the infield and outfield. The Raiders, who went 12-3 and won the Mountain Valley Conference title, lost their pitcher, catcher and shortstop. There will be some players adjusting to new roles this season, but Oak Hill could still be one of the top teams in the MVC and in the Western B playoff hunt.
Leavitt hopes to improve after winning five games last year. The Hornets return seasoned seniors Annie Castonguay, Sierra Santomango, Emily Perkins, Nicole Bradley, Melissa Richardson and juniors Morgan Knowlton, Angela Daigle and Livie Gilbert. All those players back have starting experience but the Hornets will have new players stepping into the pitching role.
Spruce Mountain earned the ninth seed and went 10-6 before losing in the quarterfinals to Lincoln Academy. The Phoenix only have a handful of players back. Ladesta Tracy, Hayley Doyen, Emily Keene, Destiny White and Kailee Newcomb are the only players with much experience on a young Spruce Mountain team.
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