St. Dom’s has appeared in 11 of the past 12 Class C West baseball championship games. Three out of five state titles this decade have gone to Dirigo.

If you’re expecting those two MVC powers to come back to the pack this spring, you’re probably out of luck. Each team returns a one-two combination atop the starting rotation, with enough experience up-and-down the lineup to fuel another title run.

Dirigo is rated the favorite on the the strength of Kaine Hutchins and Gavin Arsenault on the hill and Tyler Frost behind the plate. All three are major threats with the bat.

“Frost is one of the best players in the conference,” Dirigo coach Ryan Palmer said. “His leadership will dictate how far this team can go.”

Palmer dismissed the idea that the Cougars start the season with an edge.

“There’s a lot of parity in the the MVC this year,” he said. “I feel the conference is seven teams strong.”

One of those clubs, obviously, is St. Dom’s, with Mike Bryant and Mitch Lorenz bringing the heat from the mound.

Ray Mosca and Ryan Harvey also return to the middle infield. Justin Keaney is back for his second season behind the dish, and freshman Gavin Bates should make an immediate impact.

“The key ingredient among the top six teams is that all of them return two top starting pitchers, minimum,” St. Dom’s coach Bob Blackman said. “That keeps you in every game.”

One of those arms was a question mark for Lisbon coming into the spring, but senior ace Kyle Bourget has been cleared to play after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in a November football playoff game.

Sophomore Tyler Halls could emerge as one of the top throwers in the league, as well, and the Greyhounds’ infield is strong with R.J. Sargent at second base, Joe Philbrick at third, Ryley Austin at shortstop and Noah Francis at first.

“We’re hoping for a solid year that builds on the success we had last year,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said. “The MVC is a very tough conference with a lot of teams bringing back the majority or all of their players.”

Winthrop has been a perennial playoff participant in recent years, and this season should be no exception with seniors Ben Allen and Matt Sekerak armed and ready. Mario Meucci is a four-year standout at third base.

Sekerak missed his junior campaign with a knee injury. The Ramblers suit up seven seniors in all, including six starters.

“There used to be one game a week that you knew was probably going to be soft,” Winthrop coach Marc Fortin said. “Now you don’t have that. All those teams have a guy who can pitch and can beat you.”

Monmouth saw a five-run lead slip away in the seventh inning against eventual Class C West champion Sacopee Valley in last year’s semifinals. Ten seniors graduated from that top-seeded club, putting this year’s fate largely in the hands of juniors Nick Sanborn, Jariah Caissie and Gage Cote and sophomore Hunter Richardson.

Sanborn is the top returning pitcher. Cote, a catcher, transferred from Lewiston. Caissie and Richardson solidifty the left side of the infield.

“It’s going to be tough,” Monmouth coach Eric Palleschi said. “There are six really good teams, so we have to figure out how to steal one or two games from them and stay ahead of the bottom.”

Mountain Valley, Mt. Abram and Telstar were a combined 10-36 in 2014, but each has reasons for renewed enthusiasm.

The Falcons’ pitching staff is mostly intact, and the team added key transfer students from Arizona and Alaska. The Roadrunners have a new coach, with Frank Orcutt moving up from junior varsity, and the Rebels sustained only three substantial graduation losses.

Hall-Dale and Madison also are rated threats within the MVC, and Sacopee’s undefeated run to the regional title ensures that the WMC outsider won’t sneak up on anyone.