BRUNSWICK

On Wednesday, the Brunswick and Mt. Ararat high school baseball teams opened its 2015 regular seasons. Thursday, Richmond opened, and today, Lisbon and Wiscasset begin the search for the postseason, with Freeport slated to kick things off on Monday.

Take a look below to see what is expected come the start of the season:

Dragons

After finishing at an even 8-8 just a year ago, Dragons head coach Luke Potter hopes his team can battle its way to an even better finish this season.

Pearson Cost (infield), Bobby Lewis (catcher), Charlie Lowell infield/pitcher), Josh Parker (pitcher/utility) and Andrew Kapocius infield/outfield) make up the returning senior class, with two juniors in Will Bessey (outfield/infield) and Elias Henze (infield/pitcher) coming back for another year.

Potter brings in a healthy amount of newcomers, with seniors Cam Berry (outfield/ infield), Cade Bussell outfield) and Zach Meggison

Garrett Olson

Morse High School baseball coach

(pitcher/utility) seeing the varsity level for the first time. Josh Goddard (junior, infield) and Thomas Hanson junior, utility) are also added to the mix. Senior Jacob Beaulieu (utility) and junior Alex Larson (pitcher/ infield) will swing up from the jayvee level when needed.

“We’ve worked really hard to be efficient with our use of the gym,” Potter said about the cold and wet preseason. “We’ve gotten a lot of good swings in, but what will be hard is our defensive adjustment. We’re ready to play and ready to be outside. don’t think we’re at our best baseball, but we’re in a good place.

“When I first started coaching in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, everyone had a chance to be good. There are a lot of good teams. Oxford Hills will be a good test and Mt. Ararat is always tough because of the emotional piece. Lewiston and Edward Little are good competition as well. If we can punch out from the middle of the pack, we’ll feel pretty good.”

Eagles

Mt. Ararat won just two games last season, all in part of a 2-14 final record and finishing at the bottom of the Eastern Class A Heal Point Standings.

However, the Eagles are looking to rebound with a mix of talented, young players and a strong senior class.

Returning to the squad is senior captain Kevin Carter, who will find his time regularly in the pitching rotation and at first or third base. Sophomore Cam Cox will do the duties behind the plate, with newcomer Chris Giroux serving as his backup. Senior Liam Brannigan and junior Harper Moutal return to the infield, with both finding time on the hill throughout the season. Senior Dylan Johnson and sophomore Jacob O’Neill round out the returnees and can be seen in left and right field, respectively.

“They’re exceeding my expectations,” head coach Bob Neron said. “We played Lincoln Academy (in a scrimmage) and it was an errorless game and in past years that was something that we struggled with. It wasn’t because of lack of effort, it was just what it was. These guys have been working hard to better themselves. They’re ready to go and it shows.”

Coming to varsity for the first time and getting time off the bench are seniors T.J. Ackerman (outfield), Colin Coffin (outfield) and Mason Griffin (first base), while junior Wyatt Card joins the outfield crew. Three freshmen in Ryan Mellow, Nick Merrill and Nate Leslie will see varsity action.

Neron has confidence that his group of players are more than motivated to turn things around, but expects yet another tough schedule.

“I can tell you Brunswick always battles us hard, they always do and it’s a good rivalry,” he said. “The East is really tough because you have Oxford Hills in there too. They’re always competitive every year and have a strong system. Lewiston and Edward Little are tough too. There are really no easy teams and we’ve been looking from the bottom, up the last few years.”

Shipbuilders

The 2015 year has already started out on a high note for the Shipbuilders, with each of the starting pitchers from last year returning to the bump this year.

Senior Zack Holbrook and junior Jacob Cressey will see a majority of the time on the hill. Newcomers in sophomores Tait Nygaard, and juniors Ricky Warren and Nicholas Doughty hope to make the most of their first varsity year on the mound.

Other returning players include Andrew LaCavera and Ethan Winglass, with both looking to be the main offensive power at the plate. Holbrook is also included in that mix. LaCavera is also looking to improve on his recent bid of First Team All- KVAC.

Tucker Banger is a new addition to the team and per coach Garrett Olson is “expected to be a solid defensive addition to the outfield.”

The remaining seniors on the team include Trevor Drouin (outfield), Brandon Magliozzi (outfield), Matt Fontanez (utility), Josh McDougal (catcher), Dakota Jacobs (pitcher) and Thomas Brown (outfield). Cressey and Doughty are part of a strong junior class, with classmates Brendan Harper (first base), Tyler Young (utility) and Ricky Warren (pitcher and outfield) also getting time during the upcoming year.

“This year Morse is lined up with a lot of veterans,” Olson said. “I have nine seniors on my roster which didn’t leave a lot of room for additions in 2015. The newcomers that I expect to see this year are going to make most of their appearances on the mound.”

Due to the heavy veteran team, Nygaard and Banger are the two youngest players on the squad. However, Olson is prepared for a successful year.

The remaining seniors on the team include Trevor Drouin (outfield), Brandon Magliozzi (outfield), Matt Fontanez (utility), Josh McDougal (catcher), Dakota Jacobs (pitcher) and Thomas Brown (outfield). Cressey and Doughty are part of a strong junior class, with classmates Brendan Harper (first base), Tyler Young (utility) and Ricky Warren (pitcher and outfield) also getting time during the upcoming year.

“This year Morse is lined up with a lot of veterans,” Olson said. “I have nine seniors on my roster which didn’t leave a lot of room for additions in 2015. The newcomers that I expect to see this year are going to make most of their appearances on the mound.”

Due to the heavy veteran team, Nygaard and Banger are the two youngest players on the squad. However, Olson is prepared for a successful year.

“This has been a very difficult preseason with the weather this year,” he said. “We have a lot of returning guys that I think will handle it well. We are looking forward to kicking off the season against Lincoln Academy on Friday. Our pitching looks good this year and we have a great deal of depth on the mound, more than we have had in years past.”

Falcons

Freeport finished 7-9 last year and fell to Wells in a preliminary playoff game in Western Class B. This season will mark coach Bill Ridge’s second season with the Falcons after moving over from Brunswick.

He’ll see the return in two of his top pitchers in senior Peter Lamagna (3-3, 1.91 ERA) and junior Jack Davenport (2-3, 1.77 ERA). Both will also return with solid hitting at the plate, finishing last year with a .440 and .391 batting average, respectively.

Other returners looking to make an impact are sophomore Bennett Hight (right field) and senior Nathaniel Cyr (third base). Colby Wagner joins the varsity squad in his first high school season and will find time behind the plate.

“We are looking to build on the success we had in the second half of the season last year,” Ridge said. “We are bringing back several key position players and most of our pitching from last year’s team. Davenport was a first team all-conference selection as a sophomore. Lamagna was a second team all-conference as a junior. We’re still a relatively young team with three seniors, six juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen making up the varsity roster.”

Freeport, which plays its games in the Western Maine Conference, will face tough opponents in Greely, York, Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth, with other big games against Wells, Falmouth and Kennebunk.

“We are hoping to be a playoff team,” Ridge said. “We like our chances with our pitching staff. Peter, Jack and Caleb Rice are solid on the mound and keep us in most games. We need to hit more than we did last season, but we have a lineup with eight out nine hitters returning. There is a big hole at shortstop we are hoping to fill with Davenport moving back to his natural position (first base).”

The Falcons are scheduled to open up their season at Wells on Monday (4 p.m.).

Greyhounds

After falling to Sacopee Valley, 8-6 in the Class C West quarterfinals, Lisbon returns a majority of its team from the 10-6 regularseason squad in 2014.

Coach Randy Ridley, who is entering his 16th season at the helm for the Greyhounds, brings back seniors Kyle Bourget (pitcher), RJ Sargent (second base), Joe Philbrick (third base) and Darren Ward (outfield). Outfielder Troy Garlarneau remains as the only junior on the returning squad, with sophomores Tyler Halls (outfield), Ryley Austin (shortstop) and Noah Francis (pitcher/first base) rounding out the remainder.

Seniors Adam Desjardins and Austin Fournier will find time in the outfield for their first varsity season, with Fournier also getting looks at first base. Senior Eric Kane comes in to protect the middle at second, with sophomore Nick Lerette doing the catching.

“We have a great group of veterans in the seniors,” Ridley said. “With a nice group of sophomores that played a lot as freshmen. I think the strengths will be the senior leadership and experience since we don’t have a lot of depth with varsity experience.”

Ridley expects tough matchups throughout most of the season, with the Greyhounds first game coming against an experienced squad in St. Dominics Academy.

“Our season opener at St. Dom’s (today, 4:30 p.m.) with their group of seniors will be a tough game,” he said. “Bob Blackman does a great job over there. Then we go to defending Western Class D champ Wiscasset. Other teams to look out for will be Dirigo, Oak Hill, Winthrop, Monmouth and Madison.”

Wolverines

Second-year coach Mike Bowles and his team fell just short of a Class D state championship a year ago, falling to Bangor Christian, 5-4 after being just two outs away from taking the trophy themselves.

“I think they’re hungrier than they were than last year and they’re showing that this year,” Bowles said.

Eight of the team’s 13 players return for the upcoming season. Seniors Matt Craig and Tyler Flavin will find time in the outfield, while Craig will make appearances on the mound. Daren Wood (catcher/pitcher), Tyler Bailey (third base/pitcher) and Brycson Grover (second base) make up the team’s three returning juniors. The rest of the returning squad is made up of three sophomores in Grant Hefler (utility), Logan Orr (outfield) and Conlon Ranta (first base).

“We have a lot of leadership this year which is great,” Bowles said. “It took a while last year for guys to gel. They were getting used to my way of doing things in my first year. This year from day one there’s been leadership. The upperclassmen have made my job easier in a way because I haven’t had to be as strict as I had been.”

New to the team this season are juniors Alex Weber (utility), Josh Howard (first base) and Chayse Reed (outfield), while Ronald Drake (infield/pitcher) and Ryan Medina (outfield) will find time on varsity in their first year of high school baseball.

Unlike a majority of the other sports, the Wolverines battle the ranks in Class D West come playoff time, but still play a Mountain Valley Conference schedule consisting mainly of Class C teams.

“It gives us that element of surprise when we do go down to the playoffs,” Bowles said. “But in the Mountain Valley Conference it gives us that competition that we need day-in and dayout.

I would say our toughest competition is St. Dom’s, always. I would say Lisbon too, that’s always a good game. If I had to pick another team I would say Monmouth or Oak Hill, and we have those teams right out of the shoot, so it’s not like we can sit back. It’ll be one of the toughest weeks we have during the season.”

Bobcats

Finishing the 2014 season losing only one game as part of a final 12-1 regular-season record, the Bobcats found themselves on the outside looking in after Wiscasset captured the 9-3 victory in the Western D semifinals.

Richmond already looks to pave the way for more success down the road, with nine freshmen making up the 17-player squad. Seniors Cam Emmons (second base) and Bailey Johansen (outfield) lead the way for the Bobcats, with juniors Mike Stewart (infield/pitcher), Tyler Soucy (catcher) and Curtis Anderson (third base) looking to improve their game. Sophomore Brendan Emmons (shortstop/pitcher) is the youngest returnee in 2015.

Sophomore Brady Johnson (outfield) and senior exchange student Pedro Borges (outfield) join in for another hopeful run. Zach Small, Matt Rines, Kyle Provencal and Dustin Simmons make up the freshmen infielders, while Nate Kendrick, Noah Sposato, Nick Ridenour and Tristan Shea will rotate through the outfield. Shea will also serve as Soucy’s backup behind the dish.

“We have a lot of speed,” Bobcats head coach Ryan Gardner said. “That will be in a lot of our game plans. We also have our top two pitchers back. Last year we lacked timely hitting in some big games, so that’s one thing we’ll be working on.

“This year we’ll be facing Old Orchard Beach and playing Sacopee Valley, which won the Class C championship last year. Those are two big games for us. Buckfield is always our rivalry game and Valley has some pretty good potential. I think our season is going to be jam packed in a short period of time and the kids that are your threes and fours are going to have help out a lot.”