For the first time since 2019, there’s a team not named Hall-Dale holding a firm grasp of the No. 1 seed in the Class C South softball Heal point standings.

Monmouth Academy currently sits atop the standings. After a 4-0 victory over Hall-Dale — the four-time defending Class C champion — on Monday afternoon, the Mustangs (13-0) are nearly locked in as the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs.

“It’s been a long time, nearly six or seven years” since Monmouth defeated Hall-Dale, Mustangs coach Dave Kaplan said.

The Mustangs are led by senior pitcher Shannah Parsons. The fiery left-hander throws hard and keeps the energy high in the circle, crying out, “Let’s go!” after every strikeout. Against Hall-Dale, Parsons struck out 11, managing to hold off right-handed bats by regularly hitting the outside corner of the plate. She also helped out her own cause with an RBI double in the sixth inning to seal the win.

Monmouth is a perennial contender under Kaplan. Last season, the Mustangs finished 13-5, then fell 7-5 in extra innings to Spruce Mountain in the regional semifinals. Kaplan was excited about the 2025 season from the start, knowing Parsons and nearly all of his starting lineup was returning, including strong hitters in Riley Smith and Rileigh Chase.

“We’ve been coming to play (all season),” Kaplan said. “Leadership (has been key). We have great captains. The team camaraderie this year has been the best it’s been in a long time. We’ve had good chemistry through the years, but this is something special. Chemistry means as much as talent, any day, in my book, and we have chemistry.”

Hall-Dale (11-2) is in the No. 2 slot, and right in the thick of title contention. The Bulldogs entered the season needing to overhaul their starting lineup, including replacing starting pitcher Ashlynn Donahue and longtime starting catcher Zoe Soule.

Senior Lucy Gray (1.20 ERA, 91 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings) has been the leader in the circle this year and has been a standout at the plate with a .452 batting average and 11 RBI. Senior Jade Graham (.500 batting average, 14 RBI), made the move from third base, her longtime position, to catcher. Senior shortstop Torie Tibbetts (.634 batting average, 9 RBI) has been the leader in the field and in the dugout, giving instruction to each of the five younger players who have taken over spots in the starting lineup. Genevieve Ciccarelli, a freshman, has shown good fielding skills and a strong arm at third base, while outfielder Emma Perry has shown ability with the bat near the bottom of Hall-Dale’s batting order.

Hall-Dale coach Steve Acedo has been happy with the progress of the team during the regular season, though he’d like to see some improvement in defensive precision — the Bulldogs made three errors against the Mustangs — and attitude in the final games of the regular season.

“They know the mistakes they made; it’s pretty simple as far as that goes,” Acedo said after Monday’s game. “I just want to see a little more effort and enthusiasm when they step on the softball field.”

STAGS STAYING SOUND

For Cheverus, the toughest foe so far has been complacency. The defending Class A state champions have perhaps the best pitcher Maine has ever seen in Addison DeRoche, and a powerful lineup that, entering Tuesday, had outscored opponents 147-12 over an 11-0 start.

Even the rare challenges haven’t materialized. Windham and Kennebunk have aces, but the Eagles pitched Kennedy Kimball for only two innings in a 6-2 loss, and the Rams didn’t use Julia Pike in the circle in a 10-0 defeat.

Stags senior catcher Bella Napolitano Aberle acknowledged that staying focused can be difficult.

“We’ll catch ourselves looking (ahead) to closer games,” she said, “but then we’ll get that out of our heads and think, ‘No, this is the next team we have to focus on. Let’s focus on hitting or fielding or stuff that we can control.’ We can’t control who the other team is, but we can control how we play against them.”

Cheverus coach John Eisenhart said he keeps his team dialed in by finding the small flaws that can be corrected, even in blowouts. He pointed to a moment during the Kennebunk win in which a player strayed too far from second on a line drive to shortstop, leading to an unassisted double play.

“Your team will teach you what you need to work with them on,” he said, “whether it’s base running, whether it’s fielding, whether it’s positioning our catcher correctly for Addison, whether it’s rundowns. The team always teaches you.”

FOR THE CAUSE

South Portland’s Annie Soucy is organizing a softball game to benefit the Special Olympics. The game is open to players in grades 8 and up, and will be played from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at Wainwright Field in South Portland.

The fee to play is $20 per player.