Lewiston’s Emily Mousseau is out on a double play at first base as Oxford Hills’ Brooke Carson completes the play during a game in South Paris earlier this season. Oxford Hills and Lewiston finished second and third in Class A South. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal File Photo)
The final softball Heal point standings look awfully familiar at the top this year.
Many of the teams that finished in first place in their respective regions last year occupy the same coveted No. 1 spots this season. In some regions, local teams weren’t far behind after all the regular-season games were played.
Skowhegan (Class A North), Wells (B South) and Madison (C South) all replicated their regular-season finishes from a year ago, while Greenville ended Richmond’s long-standing run atop the Class D South (and formerly West) final Heals.
A North
Many of the coaches in Class A North pointed to defending regional champ Skowhegan as the prohibitive favorite this season, and the Indians didn’t shy away from that prediction, either. They also made it ring true.
The year started with a no-hit shutout of Lewiston, which finished the season in third place, and ended with a 16-0 record. The closest the Indians came to a defeat was a comeback 2-1 victory over eventual No. 2 finisher Oxford Hills.
The Vikings edged out the Blue Devils for the second spot. Both teams lost to Skowhegan and split their two-game series. Oxford Hills opened the season with a loss to No. 4 Messalonskee, and Lewiston lost a late-season matchup at No. 6 Hampden Academy.
The Blue Devils will face the Broncos again in the playoff-opening quarterfinal round. Skowhegan draws No. 8 Bangor, Oxford Hills will host No. 7 Mt. Ararat, and No. 5 Edward Little will travel to Messalonskee looking to avenge a 4-2 loss early in the season.
If seeds hold, Skowhegan and Oxford Hills are set to face off in the regional final for the second year in a row.
B South
Parity ruled Class B South this season, yet Wells still ended up on top for the second year in a row.
The Warriors did suffer five losses, finishing with the same 11-5 record as No. 2 Gray-New Gloucester and defending regional champ Fryeburg Academy, which is slotted in third.
Morse, out of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, finished 12-4 and in the No. 4 spot, while Mountain Valley Conference member Oak Hill had a region-best 13-3 record to finish in the No. 5 spot.
The Western Maine Conference occupies the next four slots in the final standings, with No. 6 Greely, No. 7 Poland and No. 8 Yarmouth all finishing 9-7, and No. 9 Cape Elizabeth going 8-8.
Leavitt survived a tough KVAC slate to finish 7-9 and grab the No. 9 spot, while Spruce Mountain went 9-7 in the MVC to beat out 5-11 York of the WMC for the 10th and final playoff spot.
C South
For the seventh year in a row, Madison will be the designated home team in all of its regional playoff games. The Bulldogs have finished No. 1 in Class C South/West every year since 2012.
One thing that has changed is who finished right behind Madison — or more importantly, what conference that team is from.
Sacopee Valley ended the MVC’s stranglehold on the second spot in the region, going 14-2 while playing a mostly WMC schedule to beat out some of the MVC’s Class C heavyweights. The Hawks were even in the No. 1 spot for part of the season.
Lisbon finished in the No. 3 spot despite going into the season expecting a rebuilding year. A late-season win over No. 4 Winthrop helped the Bulldogs’ cause.
Monmouth Academy, which went through a youth movement this year, edged out Carrabec for the No. 5 spot. Both teams earned first-round byes, however.
Traip Academy (No. 7), Hall-Dale (No. 8), Maranacook (No. 9), and Telstar (No. 10) will all play in the preliminary round. Neither matchup will be a rematch of a regular-season game.
D South
A red region for years, the top of Class D South is instead dressed in blue this season.
Greenville, with a 15-1 record against teams against teams almost exclusively outside the region this season, finished well ahead of perennial No. 1 Richmond. The Bobcats (14-1) had to settle for the No. 2 spot, which only means they will be the designated away team instead of home should they meet the Lakers in the regional final at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish.
Buckfield finished in the No. 3 spot after improving its schedule difficulty. The Bucks went 12-4, with two losses each to Richmond and Class C Traip, but did beat Class C South No. 2 Sacopee Valley.
Searsport, the only team from the region Greenville faced, is slotted at No. 4, ahead of No. 5 Vinalhaven/North Haven, No. 6 Temple Academy and No. 7 Rangeley.
Madison head coach Chris LeBlanc gives Sydney LeBlanc a high-five after her two-run triple gave the Bulldogs the lead in a win over Oak Hill in Wales earlier this season. Madison earned the top spot in Class C South for the playoffs. (Wil Kramlich/Sun Journal File Photo)
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