Every year, Forest Hills is competitive with about 50 students in the school. The school has a group of talented senior athletes led by Crystal Allen, Elise Begin and twins Jasmine and Jessica Worster, and all four are part of the softball team this spring.

Aside from those four players, the Tigers have only two returning players, and one is a freshman.

The catcher will be either Jessica Worster or eighth-grader Erica Turner, and coach Ernie Giroux was sorting through his options at first base in the preseason.

“If we can (solidify) those two positions, I think we’re going to be pretty good,” Giroux said.

As they look to challenge league favorite Buckfield, the Tigers have one of the strangest schedules in the state. The season begins April 28, and the Tigers’ first eight games are on the road. Then the season ends with five consecutive games at home — doubleheaders May 19 and 30, and a single game May 21.

At Rangeley, the Lakers have 11 returning players from a team that finished 7-10 last season. In preseason, coach Erin Pathiakis told the team that every starting job was essentially up for grabs.

“This group needs to work as a team,” Pathiakis said. “All 18 players need to come ready to play. The kids on the bench need to fight to come off, and the kids on the field need to fight to stay there. And if they’re fighting for their jobs, maybe we’ll get a better team out of it.”

Rangeley has four talented returning seniors in Karissa Allen, Samantha Olivieri and sisters Angela and Hayley White.

Pathiakis said the upperclassmen have come back strong after some injuries, and the underclassmen look promising.

Another team fighting for one of the Western D playoff spots is Valley.

The Cavaliers finished fourth last season, but lost in the quarterfinals to No. 5 Rangeley. This spring, Valley is hoping a nucleus of 10 returning players can lead it further into the tournament.

Pitching duties will be split between juniors Torie Costello and Kassandra Gilbert. Coach Robin Lindeman said she has other pitchers, and Costello is also a top-notch center fielder.

“Torie Costello plays center field, but she plays the whole outfield,” Lindeman said. “She’s got wheels.”

Valley also has a strong defense with senior shortstop Jessica Brown and sophomore catcher Cindy Schultz.

Lindeman is in her third season and believes that familiarity has helped in preseason.

“I obviously want them to have fun, and winning is more fun than losing,” Lindeman said. “I just want them to gain more confidence in themselves and more confidence as a team.”

At Richmond, the Bobcats are fighting an uphill battle after losing five key seniors to graduation from a team that went to the Western D finals in 2008.

Coach Rick Coughlin hopes the team can rely on freshman pitcher Leandra Martin to make a quick adjustment to the varsity high school level.

“We’re young and inexperienced,” Coughlin said. “(Martin’s) been working on it. She’s got to make that transition from middle school to high school, which is a difficult jump.”