BRUNSWICK

Bowdoin College teams have already opened spring seasons, with baseball and softball recently returning from Florida, and the men’s and women’s teams facing challenging schedules in California.

Here is a look at those four teams as they begin their New England campaigns this weekend:

Baseball

Mike Connolly’s Polar Bears are 6-6 after an opening loss at Brandeis and an 11-game schedule (6-5) in Florida, and returns to Maine to face NESCAC rival Bates this weekend in a key Eastern Division three-game set.

The series was supposed to be held in Brunswick today and in Lewiston on Saturday. However, due to snow-covered fields, Colby College’s turf field in Waterville will play host.

The first game is scheduled for today at 3 p.m., while Saturday will feature a doubleheader, slated to begin at noon.

In Florida, Bowdoin had a rough start, dropping four of its first five games, before rallying for five straight wins. The Polar Bears hit .285, while the pitching staff struggled, compiling a 5.82 earned-run average.

The Polar Bears are captained by Sawyer Billings, Joe Gentile and Max Vogel- Freedman.

Bowdoin went 15-18 in 2017, including a 9-9 mark after a 6-8 Florida trip. Last year against Bates, an early season sweep had the Polar Bears chasing the rest of the season, with Bowdoin missing out on a NESCAC playoff berth.

Brandon Lopez received First Team All-NESCAC recognition after posting a 2.62 ERA with 26 strikeouts and a 4-1 record. At the plate, Lopez ranked second on the team in hitting (.333) and slugged .473 with 31 hits and 15 RBIs. Senior Evann Dumont-LaPointe led the team with 18 RBIs.

Lopez is back in the fold, along with Billings and Colby Joncas. The trio represented three of the top four run-producing players from last season. Lopez and captain Vogel-Freedman each started seven games on the mound and look to build on last season. Vogel-Freedman averaged 7.34 strikeouts/ nine innings. Jack Wilhoite can close games for the Polar Bears, recording a pair of saves last season and a win. Wilhoite struck out 22 batters and walked just one in 10 1/3 innings of work.

After facing Bates, the Polar Bears have a challenging Eastern Division schedule, including a a road series against Trinity (April 6-7), a three-game home set with Tufts (April 13-14) and a matchup with rival Colby (April 27-28). Bowdoin also faces the University of Southern Maine twice, Saint Joseph’s College, Thomas College, the University of Maine and Husson among its contests this year.

Softball

Ryan Sullivan’s squad had a solid Florida road trip, going 13-3 and ending with a six-game winning streak.

The Polar Bears head to Tufts today for a three-game series with the Jumbos, with a single game today and a doubleheader on Saturday.

Bowdoin scored 93 runs during its Florida trip and hit a solid .344. Pitching was solid as well for the Polar Bears, who enter today’s game with a 1.88 team ERA.

Last year was one to remember for Bowdoin (28- 10, which won the Eastern Division regular-season title and hosted the NESCAC Championship. The postseason appearance was Bowdoin’s fourth in five seasons, as the team ranked second in the league in hitting (.335) and posted the lowest ERA in the conference (2.17). Senior Marisa O’Toole led the NESCAC in hitting (.447) and RBIs (37). Senior Emily Griffin recorded 12 wins in 17 appearances with 80 strikeouts and 99 1/3 innings on the rubber. Allison Rutz posted a breakout first season with a 1.49 ERA (third in the league), while recording seven wins. Rutz was second on the team with a .385 batting average and 23 RBIs.

Bowdoin dropped its playoff opener to Amherst (9-0), but stayed alive in the tournament with a 9-3 win over Trinity. The Polar Bears relinquished a late lead to Amherst, falling 3-1.

Rutz returns to lead to pitching staff, and is joined by Caroline Rice. Both earned Second Team conference honors last year. Ruby Siltanen joins the staff, while Ali Miller is back after a solid 2017 season. Rice, Rutz and Claire McCarthy represent returning power in the middle of the lineup.

Bowdoin’s Eastern Division slate features threegame sets with Colby (April 6-7), Trinity (April 13-14) and Bates (April 20-21) as well as home matchups with the University of Southern Maine (April 11), Maine- Farmington (April 15) and Saint Joseph’s (April 17).

Men’s tennis

Bowdoin entered the season with high expectations, and a perfect 8-0 trip to California did little to quell those expectations as the second-ranked Polar Bears return to Maine.

Conor Smith has put together a solid group of players, with captains Kyle Wolfe, Gil Roddy and Luke Tercek giving the Polar Bears a solid core.

Last year, Bowdoin came up just short in its bid to repeat as NCAA Division III champions. The Polar Bears enjoyed a phenomenal season, winning their second NESCAC championship and advancing to the Division III semifinals. The Polar Bears finished the regular season with a 15-4 mark and then advanced to the conference title match with easy wins over Bates and Wesleyan. There, in the finals, Bowdoin edged rival Middlebury in a dramatic 5-4 decision to win the NESCAC crown for the first time since 2008.

Bowdoin advanced out of their NCAA regional with shutout wins over Nichols and MIT before tipping Washington University, 5-3, in the national quarterfinals. Despite leading 2-1 after doubles play, eventual national champion Emory rallied past Bowdoin 5- 2, to end the Polar Bears’ season in the semifinals. Tercek and Grant Urken were named singles All-Americans by the ITA, while Wolfe and Jerry Jiang collected All- American doubles recognition.

In the fall, Bowdoin enjoyed a rousing start to the campaign as Tercek and Urken won the ITA New England doubles championship and finished as runners-up at the ITA Oracle Cup. Every member of Bowdoin’s lineup returns.

Bowdoin faces MIT on the road today in a rematch of its NCAA second round matchup last year, with the Polar Bears visiting Connecticut College on Saturday in its NESCAC opener.

The NESCAC has five teams ranked in the top-10 alone, and the Polar Bears will face all of them in April, including home matches against ninth-ranked Amherst (April 8) and eighth- ranked Williams ( April 21). The annual regular- season clash with third- ranked Middlebury is slated for April 14 in Vermont.

Women’s tennis

Graduation hit Hobie Holbach’s squad hard, and his Polar Bears had an up-and-down 4-5 California trip.

Bowdoin is captained by Tess Trinka. Key losses include Joulia Likhanskaia, Samantha Salder and Pilar Giffenig. The trio finished with 61 career victories and three NCAA quarterfinal appearances, making them the most successful class in Polar Bear women’s tennis history.

Last year, Bowdoin made its fifth appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals after opening its season with a 9-1 record and reaching as high as No. 3 in the national rankings. The Polar Bears defeated No. 7 Wesleyan to advance to the quarterfinals, where they fell 5-1 to No. 3 Emory.

The doubles team of Likhanskaia and Stalder qualified for the NCAA Individual championship, while Likhanskaia and Trinka earned bids for the singles tournament. Trinka advanced to the second round of NCAA singles play after winning her first match, 7-6, 6-0.

Trinka looks to fill the top spot and pair with Tasha Christ at No. 1 doubles. Trinka and Christ won a pair of matches at the fall ITA Regional, falling to the reigning doubles national champions from Wesleyan. The first-year duo of Rachel Bercovitch and Izzy Essi won their first match of the regional as well.

As usual, the NESCAC slate is challenging, with the Polar Bears slated to host Amherst (April 8), Williams (April 21) and Tufts (April 29). Bowdoin opens its New England schedule Saturday with matches against Connecticut College and Babson.