The Cheverus Stags will take on the South Portland Red Riots at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Cheverus will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
Cheverus is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Maine's top teams: Gorham, who was ranked 21st at the time (Cheverus was ranked second). The Stags never let the Rams get on the board and left with a 2-0 victory on Tuesday. The two-run effort marked the Stags' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Not much got past Addison DeRoche, who gave up just two hits and racked up 13 Ks to keep Gorham off the board. DeRoche has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
South Portland came out on top against Falmouth on Monday thanks in part to the team's impressive 15-run first inning. The Red Riots blew past the Navigators 18-3. The Red Riots haven't had any issues with the Navigators recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Rachel DiMauro and Maegan Berry made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, DiMauro tossed two innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Berry struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). The dominant performance also gave DiMauro a new career-high in strikeouts (four). At bat, DiMauro got on base in all four of her plate appearances with four runs, two RBI, and one double, while Berry got on base in two of her four plate appearances with two runs.
In other batting news, Jillian Edgar was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. Annalise Soucy was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
South Portland kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 2-1 when they post 11 or more hits.
Cheverus pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.5 runs on average over those games. As for South Portland, their victory bumped their record up to 2-5.
South Portland's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cheverus has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 12 hits per game. It's a different story for South Portland, though, as they've been averaging 8.7 hits. Given Cheverus' sizable advantage in that area, the Red Riots will need to find a way to close that gap.
Cheverus took their win against South Portland in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 13-0 score. Do the Stags have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Riots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
