If you’re still catching your breath from the final two days of the Maine high school sports season, we can’t blame you. From Orono to Portland to Standish, so much happened in Friday and Saturday’s state baseball, softball and lacrosse championship games.
There’s a lot to take in from such a busy weekend, and with 14 state finals taking place in little more than 24 hours, there’s much you might have missed.
Here’s a look at the five biggest storylines from a memorable finish to spring sports.
ST. DOM’S BASEBALL GOES OUT A WINNER
There will be giant hole in Maine high school sports next year with St. Dominic Academy closing after 84 years. On Saturday, though, the St. Dom’s baseball team gave the school one last piece of glory when it beat Bangor Christian 9-6 for the Class D title at the University of Maine.
The victory completed a remarkable turnaround for St. Dom’s, which won its final 12 games after starting the season 2-6. The Saints became the first team in Class D baseball history to win four straight state titles — a bittersweet honor for a young squad that won’t be able to go for a fifth.

“It took a lot of hard work, and I’m happy for the guys because they were committed and kept pushing,” said St. Dom’s coach Bob Blackman. “I wish I could be coaching them again next year — I think five (straight championships) would be achievable — but unfortunately, we’re not going to get that chance.”
THORNTON SLAYS THE FALMOUTH GIANT
All season, the top team in boys lacrosse had been ironclad. An undefeated Falmouth squad that won every game by at least eight goals and was looking to stake its claim as the best lacrosse team in state history.
Thornton Academy had other ideas — and shocked the Navigators in the Class A final at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Thornton (14-3), which lost 19-7 and 19-6 to Falmouth in the regular season, never trailed Saturday in an 8-6 win. The Trojans controlled possession and slowed down the tempo to throw off the Navigators (16-1), prevailing even as Thornton’s Jack DeLeo, one of the state’s top players, missed the entire second half because of an injury.
“We’ve had this game plan for a year; like, we wanted to go to states and play Falmouth last year, and that was our game plan, the one we used today,” said Ben White, who had two goals and two assists. “We saved it, and it worked out.”
TWO LACROSSE CLASSICS
One was déjà vu from last year; the other was a clash of two newcomers to the biggest stage. The Class B boys lacrosse championship between Yarmouth and York and the C girls game between Maranacook/Winthrop and Traip Academy both produced memorable finishes.
Last year, an overtime goal gave Yarmouth a 13-12 win over top-seeded York in the Class B boys final. Meeting the No. 1 Wildcats (14-3) in a title game rematch Saturday, the Clippers (14-3) again prevailed in OT, this time 14-13 on a goal from Hakon Yeo midway through the extra period.

Maranacook/Winthrop’s win over Traip Academy (11-6) the night before was no less thrilling. In a back-and-forth game between two teams playing in a state final for the first time, Stella Stewart — coach Zach Stewart’s daughter — scored with 7.1 seconds left to seal a 10-9 victory for Maranacook/Winthrop (13-4).
BIG-TIME COMEBACKS
There were also two thrilling finishes in baseball. Both were one-run games won by teams that trailed much of the way, Biddeford 7-6 over Mt. Ararat in the Class A final, and Greely 6-5 over Ellsworth in the Class B game.
In the Class A game at St. Joseph’s College, Biddeford (16-4) twice erased three-run deficits. Not until the sixth inning did the Tigers take the lead, which they held thanks to a SportsCenter Top 10 play by Payton Blais.
Greely (17-3) was behind by four runs and was down to its last strike twice in the seventh inning against Ellsworth (14-6) at UMaine. Yet somehow, the Rangers rallied for five runs to claim their seventh state title.
END OF AN ERA
No Maine high school softball team has ever won five consecutive state titles. That remains true after Bucksport defeated four-time defending state champion Hall-Dale 6-2 in Saturday’s Class C title game.
It was sweet vengeance for Bucksport (19-1), which lost to Hall-Dale in agonizing fashion in both the 2023 and 2024 state finals. As for Hall-Dale, a state runner-up finish was still a point of pride given that this year’s Bulldogs lacked the experience of their 2021-24 predecessors.
“Out of all the teams, I’m probably more proud of this group for what they accomplished, compared to the other teams we’ve had in the past,” said Hall-Dale coach Steve Acedo. “I’m really happy with what they did.”
Staff writers Drew Bonifant and Cooper Sullivan contributed to this report.
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