FREEPORT

Two seasons ago, Bill Ridge led the Freeport High School baseball team on an improbable run, with the Falcons running the tables in Class B South on their way to the State Class B title game in Bangor.

Last year, Freeport scrambled at the end of the season, winning three straight contests to advance to the postseason again as the No. 11 seed with a 6-9-1 record.

This time, the playoff run didn’t happen, as the Falcons fell to Spruce Mountain in a B South preliminary contest, 13-8.

Ridge has a young lineup back in the fold at Freeport, with an interesting side note as a trio of Wagner brothers will have sports writers double checking their facts as senior Colby, junior Shea and sophomore Gabe will be positioned right up the middle, with Colby catching, Shea handling the bulk of the pitching and Gabe chasing down balls in center field.

“Shea (1.57 ERA, 3-3 last year) is our only returning player with any innings pitched at the varsity level,” said Ridge. “So far we’ve been happy with the effort and focus from the players this spring. We have some young pieces that will be given chances to fill large roles.”

Injuries may play a part, especially in the early going as senior Josh Burke is recovering from knee surgery along with junior Ben Morang.

Colby Wagner had a solid 2016 season, hitting .396 with a home run and seven stolen bases while handling an ever-changing pitching staff. Caleb Salter and Jack Sawicki are the other seniors that Ridge hopes will lead his squad.

“Like always, we will likely go as far as our seniors can carry us. Spring season is a challenging one for high school athletes and often senior leadership is what determines the direction of a season. Luckily, we are blessed with four seniors that can be great leaders on and off the field for us,” Ridge said.

Shea Wagner hit .314 last year, while classmate Toby Holt mans first base and is coming off a shortened year where he played in just eight games, but hit .340.

Newcomers Ridge expects to see significant time are sophomores Heath Cockburn (infielder), along with Gabe Wagner.

As always, the Western Maine Conference appears to be a difficult road.

“Cape Elizabeth will be very tough,” said Ridge. “They have a lot of pitching returning and an All-American catcher. Wells, Yarmouth, Greely and York are always contenders as well. All four of those teams graduated some talent but also return some very strong core players.”

Freeport opens its season on Thursday at home against Poland (4 p.m.). The Falcons then have 13 days off before visiting Lake Region on April 25.

Lisbon

It has been said before. Few programs have endured tough championship results like Lisbon has over the past few seasons.

Randy Ridley’s squad added to that last season. Leading Orono, 3-0, in the seventh inning, it appeared the Greyhounds were going to win a State Class C baseball title.

But, Orono had other ideas, scoring four runs to walk-off with a 4-3 victory and the title, leaving the ’Hounds stunned just months after several of these same athletes watched as Maine Central Institute scored off a botched field goal try in the football title game.

One thing that need never get lost was the success Lisbon athletes shared over this time period, with the baseball team advancing to the Class C South regional final two seasons ago before knocking off Sacopee Valley, Traip Academy and Monmouth last year to become regional champions.

Ridley’s squad lost some key components, including infielder/pitcher Ryley Austin and catcher Nick Lerette to graduation, but returns a solid core.

“We will be solid this year with the return of Noah Austin (Mountain Valley Conference Second Team), Lucas Francis, Cole Bolduc, Nick Austin and Sean Scott,” said Ridley. “Also, we have a lot of first-year varsity players this year that will need to step up this year — seniors Ben LeClair, Brandon Keith-Williams, Jonah Sautter, Noah Buniskas; sophomores Levi Levesque and DJ Douglass; freshmen Daytona McIver and Justin Le.”

Lisbon, which opens its season April 23 at Boothbay (4 p.m.), will need to find more pitchers.

“The strength of this team is the core of players we have coming back from last year’s team,” said Ridley. “We will need to develop a couple more pitchers and fill the catching position with the loss of three-year starter Nick Lerette, along with getting better on defense with all the changes in the lineup.”

Mt. Ararat

It was a great run for Mt. Ararat last year.

The Eagles entered the Class A North postseason with an 8-8 mark, good for the No. 7 seed. But wins over Messalonskee (3-1), No. 2 Brewer (3-2) and No. 3 Edward Little (4-2) had the Eagles one win away from a regional title.

Top-ranked Bangor ended that with a 3-0 victory in Augusta.

This year, Brett Chase takes over as the team’s manager and hopes to build on last season’s success. He certainly has a solid group of athletes to work with, led by Nick Merrill, a Second Team All-KVAC selection, as well as a Maine State underclassman All-Star team member last year. Hunter Lohr (KVAC Second Team), Garrett Moody, Nate Leslie and Kaileb Hawkes also return.

Among the newcomers are Dakota Lopez, Devin Tobin and Austin Damon.

“I’ve been very impressed with how hard this group works,” said Chase. “The senior class sets a great example for the underclassman on work ethic and accountability. Players reported in great shape and continue to work hard on getting better every day in preparation for our first game on April 18 at Skowhegan.”

Hitting was a struggle at times last season.

“We need to improve on hitting the ball to all fields and aggressive, yet smart, base-running,” said Chase, who sites his team’s solid pitching as a strength. “Our team speed, pitching depth, all around baseball IQ and experience are strengths.”

Brunswick

A familiar face is back in baseball, as former Mt. Ararat leader Craig Rogers takes over the Dragons.

Rogers will be challenged, as Brunswick is coming off a winless 2017 campaign, a year that saw the Dragons score just 27 runs in 16 games.

“ I’m encouraged with our depth in the infield and our fast outfield,” said Rogers, whose squad opens at home April 18 against Cony. “ We have five pitchers that will eat up innings. No dominant arm, but the depth is good. We will need to play solid defense and not allow four or five outs in an inning.”

Seniors Kyle Hanson ( infield), Zach Grant (infield/outfield) and Will Stevens ( outfield) are joined by a deep junior class that includes Sam Sharpe (third base), Cam Dunton ( first base), speedy Dalton Dickey ( center field), Ichinco Honda (exchange student from Japan), Kyle Labbe (outfield) and Kam Labbe (pitcher/infield).

A key according to Rogers will be the development of his talented sophomores, with Coenradt Taylor ( pitcher), Noah Goddard ( pitcher/ catcher/ infield), Scout Masse (catcher) and Cam Daly (pitcher) making up three-fifths of his pitching staff. Freshman Henry Burnham ( first base/ catcher) is also in the fold.

“ Our new players will get their opportunity,” said Rogers. “We will have to manufacture runs. We have to score and stay away from mental errors. Physical errors will happen, but it is hard to overcome those mental lapses.”

Morse

Garrett Olson led his Shipbuilders to a solid 11-5 season last year, good for the No. 7 spot in Class B South. A loss at home to Mountain Valley in the quarterfinals ended Morse’s season.

This year, Morse has a heavy preseason schedule, including a trip to sunny, and warm, Florida, with the regular-season opener set for April 20 at Lake Region (4 p.m.).

“I expect this year’s Shipbuilders to be very competitive. We have a great mix of guys that can play anywhere,” said the Morse coach.

Senior Parker Onorato will hit leadoff and man center field. “He has tremendous speed and athletic ability, I expect him to have a break-out season,” said Olson.

Juniors Jackson Walker (third base/pitcher) and Austin Magliozzi (shortstop) will be looked upon to provide leadership, while Olson has a sophomore newcomer, Asa Hodgdon, behind the plate.

Olson expects the ’Builders to be solid on defense, with hard work taking place at the plate as Morse struggled at times offensively last season.

“We need to expand our depth at the plate. We have several newcomers and if they can produce at the plate, it will make for a successful season,” Olson said.

Wiscasset

Baseball has returned after a one-year varsity break at Wiscasset, with Gregg Wood back on the bench to lead his young Wolverines after a six-game junior varsity campaign last season.

Wiscasset will again play an MVC schedule against Class B and C teams, but come postseason time will compete in Class D South.

The Wolverines are young, with eight of the 13 players on the roster newcomers.

“It is hard for me to give a true assessment of their talent/ capabilities as we have been cooped up in the gym,” said Wood, whose Wolverines are slated to host Hall- Dale on April 20 (11 a.m.). “However from what I’ve seen, I am much more optimistic of our chances. I should have five pitchers and two catchers. I’ve told all of them it is about throwing strikes and not striking people out.

“Ronald Drake and Andrew Hendrickson (both seniors) will be my two strongest and consistent pitchers. They will be followed by (junior) Haiden Dunning, (freshman) Brian Foye and (freshman) Josh Dualan. All three can throw the ball over the plate, which is all I am asking for this year. None of the five will be overpowering hitters, so I suspect they will all get hit around on. We’ll just have to play defense.”

James Hodson is a junior newcomer, while sophomores CJ Roberts and Archie Brewer return. Also from the freshman class are Matthew Echert, Ryan Potter, Kyle St. Pierre, Kasey Mills and Dalton Roy.

Wood is playing the waiting game when it comes to his team’s ability to hit and score runs.

“That is a huge unknown at this time,” said the coach. “The soft toss we have been doing is showing me there are five or six players — Andrew Hendrickson, Ronald Drake, James Hodson, Matt Echert, Brian Foye and Haiden Dunning — have very aggressive swings.”

After a year of struggling with numbers, Wood is pleased to see more players playing baseball at Wiscasset.

“I’m just glad there are at least 13 kids that are willing to put down the controllers for 15 hours a week to get some fresh air and participate in competitive sports. I think that is so important,” said Wood.

Richmond

The 2017 season was another solid one for the Bobcats, who compiled a sterling 14-2 mark and garnered the No. 2 seed in Class D South.

A pair of easy wins followed (26-4 over Forest Hills in the quarters; 11-1 victory against Greenville in the semifinals) before a 6-2 loss to rival Searsport in the regional final ended Richmond’s season.

Head coach Ryan Gardner returns seven starters to the fold, including seniors Matt Rines (pitcher/shortstop), Zach Small (pitcher/shortstop), Nate Kendrick (pitcher/ outfield), Tristan Shea (catcher), Dustin Simmons (utility) and Noah Spogsato (utility). Junior first baseman Danny Stewart also returns, along with sophomores Ben Gardner (second base), Justin Vachon (outfield/ pitcher), Dakota Gilpatrick (outfield) and Kyle Tilton (pitcher). Newcomers include Damien Little (Lisbon transfer) and freshman Andrew Vachon.

“We expect success every year,” said Gardner, whose Bobcats open April 19 at North Yarmouth Academy (4 p.m.). “Last year, we were a younger team that was able to get some valuable experience. It takes good skill and a bit of luck to go far. Our nucleus is solid.”