BRUNSWICK

We had a “soft” season-opening to the spring sports season last week.

On Wednesday, things start up again with students enjoying the April vacation before things really take off on Monday.

This week, Brunswick, Mt. Ararat, Morse and Wiscasset open the baseball and softball season, with Richmond baseball seeing action Thursday at North Yarmouth Academy.

Here is a look at some of the teams looking for success for this season:

Softball

Two teams took big steps last year.

Mt. Ararat finished 6-10 and qualified for the postseason. After downing Lawrence, 8-0, in a prelim, the Eagles fell to eventual State Class A champion Messalonskee, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.

A quarterfinal rematch kicks things off Wednesday as Mt. Ararat hosts Messalonskee at 1 p.m.

“Expectations are high, and if we do as expected we should improve over last year,” said Mt. Ararat co-coach Al Graffam. “The league this year is a little different. We are playing everyone in both divisions once and only two teams in our division twice (Brunswick and Cony). We will see several teams we have not seen in a few years.”

Mt. Ararat returns a majority of its starters from last year, including Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Second Team member and shortstop Katelyn Cox.

“We return eight starters, but we’ll still be young,” said Graffam, whose squad visits Cony on Friday before meeting up with “Battle of the Bridge” rival Brunswick on Monday. “We will rely heavily on returning players who have played on the varsity since they were freshmen. We have significant varsity experience.”

Morse had a solid 2015 campaign as well, going 8-8 and qualifying for the postseason in Class B as the No. 10 seed. The Shipbuilders fell to Fryeburg Academy in a prelim, but like Mt. Ararat returns significant parts of last year’s squad.

“We are looking pretty good despite only being outside a few times,” said Morse coach Will Laffely, whose Shipbuilders open at Erskine Academy on Friday at 1 p.m.

Pitcher Marissa Parks is back after throwing every inning last year, and Alizhay Gagnon (second base), Hope Faulkingham (shortstop, second team All KVAC) and catcher Meghan Stover (.385 batting average) return to the fold.

“We improved our team batting average by 100 points last year,” said Laffely. “We need to continue as this was a big key to our success.”

Morse hosts Medomak Valley on April 27 in its home opener.

At Brunswick, Hugh Dwyer’s team ended a long losing streak with an early-season win over Lewiston. But, the Dragons finished 1- 15 and will look to open solidly with a home date with Hampden Academy slated for Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Brunswick visits Skowhegan on Friday and entertains Mt. Ararat on Monday.

First-year Wiscasset coach Gordon Campbell and his Wolverines have worked hard in preparation of their home opener on Friday against Boothbay (4 p.m.), while at Lisbon, Terri Tlumac’s Greyhounds have extra time to prepare before hosting Wiscasset on Monday (4 p.m.).

The Richmond softball team will look to extend its 52-game winning streak when it visits Searsport on Monday. The Bobcats will be road warriors to start the season, visiting Buckfield (April 30) and Valley (May 4) before playing their home opener on May 6 against Sacopee Valley.

Baseball

Wednesday kicks off the KVAC season for Brunswick and Mt. Ararat, with the Dragons home to Hampden Academy and Mt. Ararat hosting Messalonskee in the battle of the Eagles. Both games begin at 1 p.m.

Brunswick will look to improve on last year’s 8-8 regular season. The Dragons were the No. 8 seed and defeated Lewiston, 2-1, before falling to top-seeded Bangor, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.

Brunswick visits Skowhegan on Friday and entertains Mt. Ararat on Monday.

Thinking of the Eagles, Bob Neron’s squad will look to improve on last year’s 1-15 season. But, the schedule is certainly difficult early, with a visit to Cony slated for Friday and the rival Dragons on Monday.

Over in Bath, Morse is prepping for its opener at Erskine Academy on Friday (1 p.m.).

The Shipbuilders made the postseason last year after finishing 7-9. Morse lost to Lake Region, 1-0, in a home prelim.

Morse plays its home opener on Wednesday against Medomak Valley.

Randy Ridley’s Lisbon Greyhounds had themselves a superb regular season in 2015, finishing 13-3 and qualifying for the postseason as the No. 4 seed behind the pitching of Kyle Bourget and Tyler Halls.

Bourget is gone, and three-sport athlete Halls is expected to be the top starter this year.

Lisbon opens Monday at home against Wiscasset before three games in three days — Wednesday at Mountain

Valley; Thursday at St. Dom’s; Friday at home against Mt. Abram. The depth of the Greyhounds’ pitching will surely be tested.

Gregg Wood’s Wiscasset squad opens at home on Friday against Boothbay. Wood, in his first year at the helm, hopes to lead his team to a good start before visiting Lisbon on Monday.

Richmond, coming off an appearance in the Western Class D Regional finals last year, jumps into the fray on Thursday at North Yarmouth Academy 4 p.m.

The Bobcats face Searsport in a rematch of the Regional final (a 13-3 Searsport win) on Monday.

Girls lacrosse

Mt. Ararat, Brunswick, Morse and Freeport are set to begin the regular season.

The Eagles are the first to open, with North Yarmouth Academy set to visit Topsham on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“My team is young as far as experience,” said Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard. “We had 13 freshman come out this year. My team has looked very competitive at times and not so much other times. We have some weaknesses right now that we need to address and we’ll hopefully do so by the time our season opener comes around.”

Last year, Mt. Ararat went 11-1 in the regular season before a 12-7 victory in the quarterfinals over rival Brunswick. But, Portland ruined the Eagles’ run in the semifinals with a 10-9 overtime win.

Chard has several key players that he is excited about.

“Erin Tome will again be one of my top scorers, with Emily Welch and Ronni Pelletier as contributors,” said Chard, whose squad visits Brunswick on April 26. “When firing on all cylinders, we have a pretty competitive squad.”

Over at Brunswick, Alexandra Sullivan returns for her second season after a 3-9 campaign in 2015.

After hosting the Eagles in their opener, Brunswick visits Lewiston (April 28) and hosts South Portland (April 30).

Thinking of solid 2015 seasons, the Morse girls certainly had that, going 8-4 to claim the top seed in Western B. But, Freeport, which opens Monday at Falmouth (5 p.m.), ended the Shipbuilders’ season with perhaps the game of the year, 17-16, in the semifinals.

Morse receives some home cooking to begin the season, with Camden Hills (April 26) and Oceanside (April 28) set to play on the McMann Field turf.

Just a note for your calendars, Morse visits Freeport on May 16.

And, the Falcons open their home slate on April 28 against Fryeburg Academy before visiting Yarmouth on May 4.