Unbeaten or one-loss teams are normal at the midway point of the short high school baseball season in Maine.

A handful exist this spring in Class A (six), Class C (five) and Class D (four). In Class B, though? Only one team, 8-1 Belfast, fits that description.

“You kind of get the sense this time of year how the season is going to flow, and at this point, you’re seeing that everybody is really competitive,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Donald Dutton. “Regardless of what team we play, it’s always competitive baseball.”

Greely opened the season as the favorite in Class B South. Although the Rangers have as good a shot as anyone at the title — they’re still in first place in the Heal point standings at 9-3 — Cape Elizabeth (8-3), Medomak Valley (8-2) and York (8-2) make this race anything but a runaway.

Dutton’s Capers, ranked ninth in the latest Varsity Maine poll, might have the most momentum. After dropping three in a row to Wells, Greely and Mt. Ararat, Cape Elizabeth has won five straight, including wins over Wells and Greely, as well as victories over York and Lake Region (7-2).

“We’re always a competitive team, regardless of if we win or lose, but we’re getting hot at the right time, which is huge in baseball,” Dutton said. “We have arguably two of the best pitchers in Class B (Jameson Bryant and Brady Inman), and our lineup is starting to find its stride at the plate.”

In the North, Cony is atop the region at 9-2, while fellow KVAC team Belfast is ranked fifth. Between the Rams and Lions are three Penobscot Valley Conference squads — Hermon (7-4), Old Town (4-4) and Ellsworth (6-4) — that everyone expects to be title threats.

“With how short the baseball season is in Maine, I don’t think you can look at a 10-game stretch to see who someone is; I think you have to go with past history,” said Cony coach Don Plourde. “Those (PVC) teams, whether they’re having a great season or not, you know they’re going to have an opportunity.”

Just as the KVAC-PVC mix makes for an interesting field in B North, the same can be said for the KVAC and Western Maine Conference in the South. With a pitching staff that has only allowed 13 runs all season, Medomak coach Keith Simmons believes his team can compete with the WMC’s best.

“With our defense and the pitching staff, I’m pretty confident,” Simmons said. “I think you’re going to get a good game out of any of these teams come playoffs. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.”

LAKE REGION RISING

Speaking of competitive WMC teams, Lake Region — 3-13 last season after going 1-15 in 2023 — is clearly in the mix with a veteran group that is slugging the ball.

In its wins, Lake Region is averaging 10.7 runs while allowing 2.7. Along the way, the Lakers have beaten Freeport for the first time in coach Andrew Stacy’s eight seasons, as well as Greely, a 9-3 win that avenged a season-opening 13-3 setback.

“You’ve got Cape, Greely, York, and I would put us and Fryeburg in that group,” Stacy said, noting Medomak Valley is a team he hasn’t seen. “While we’re in that group right now, there’s a lot of work to do to make sure we’re in that group at the end of the year.”

Leadoff hitter Matt Plummer (over .500 OBP, 13 runs) and Brock Gibbons (.360 batting average, 12 runs) have set the table. Cleanup hitter Braydan Wilson (over .500 average, 12 RBI, 11 runs), Shane Plummer (.300, 11 RBI) and Jaiden Meehan (.346, six RBI, nine runs) have been driving them in.

“We have four or five who play travel ball, and that’s a big number for (Lake Region). And also credit to some parents helping to run the summer stuff,” Stacy said. “The majority of the credit goes to the kids and all the extra help.”

‘RUNS ARE AT A PREMIUM’

Class A South’s top six teams all have gaudy records. Marshwood (8-1) was No. 1 entering Tuesday’s action, followed by Scarborough (8-0), Biddeford (8-1), Gorham (8-2), South Portland (7-1) and Thornton Academy (8-0).

Wes Ridlon, coach of defending Class A champion Scarborough, said the key down the stretch will be finding multiple ways to score runs, because the region’s strong pitching will limit big innings.

“Offensively, you’re not going to beat (teams) by getting three hits in a row; you’re going to have to find a way to put pressure on the other team, to force them to make mistakes,” Ridlon said. “Teams that can do that are going to rise to the top. And you are seeing a lot of games decided by one run — 1-0, 2-1. Runs are at a premium.”

EAGLES PERCHED ATOP A NORTH

With what Messalonskee returned from last year’s Class A North title-winning team, it was a popular pick to repeat in 2025. Instead, it’s another group of blue-and-white Eagles — Mt. Ararat — atop the standings.

Mt. Ararat (8-1) has won seven consecutive games since a 5-4 loss to Mt. Blue on April 25. That stretch has included a 4-1 win over Cape Elizabeth, a 3-2 win over Brunswick and a 6-5 victory over Messalonskee in which Mt. Ararat came back from a 5-1 deficit to win via walk-off.

“We knew coming into the year that we’d have a lot of pitching depth, and our defense has been playing great,” said Mt. Ararat coach Brett Chase. “We’ve left a lot of men on base, but with our pitching and defense, we’ve set ourselves up and have been able to get the big hit when we needed to.”

BUSY FINISH

Most teams are more than halfway through their schedules, but not all. Mountain Valley (3-4), for instance, is set to play nine games in 15 days.

“We’ve only played two games in the last two weeks, so they’re champing at the bit to get out there and play,” Mountain Valley coach Mason Corriveau said. “They see how the playoff picture’s shaping up. It’s awfully tight up there, and they know we need a couple of big wins to help secure our spot, so they’re just really, really excited to get out there and see what they can do.”

Corriveau said pitching depth will be key for the Falcons over the next two weeks.

“I’ve got five guys I can put on the mound that I feel give us a chance,” Corriveau said. “We’re just going to have to have everybody else elevate themselves a little bit to help us out.”