BUCKFIELD – “Buckfield’s Got Talent” reads the sign in front of Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

The declaration is to advertise an upcoming talent show at the school, but it could easily have applied to what was going on in the gymnasium Monday as the two-time defending state softball champions opened the spring season with their first practice.

Opening day is April 16 for high school softball and baseball programs throughout the state, and even though a thick crust of snow on the field made it seem further away than 24 days, pitchers and catchers assembled here to begin defense of their back-to-back state crowns and three straight Western Class D titles.

In one week, 28 girls, a large number for a Class D school, will crowd the gym. But only 10, the maximum allowed under Maine Principals’ Association rules, could take part in Monday’s practice. It was probably just as well, as the number of rusty arms meant softballs weren’t always hitting their targets.

“A lot of these girls haven’t even thrown the ball since last year,” coach Ken Farrington said. “We’ll do a lot of light throwing. The pitchers will start doing their thing. By the end of the week, we’ll put a (radar) gun on them, see what they’re throwing and we’ll use that as a judgment to help them pick their speed up. We’ll try catchers this week, see if they can make the throw from home to second. And a lot of it is just conditioning.”

Farrington and his staff put the players through a one-hour session, most of it spent throwing but with a little running and a short pep talk added into the mix. The hope is to help the players ease into their preseason routine while establishing some chemistry among the batteries.

“We’re just warming up our arms and getting ready, trying not to pull any muscles or anything,” said senior captain LeAnn Abbott, an outfielder last year who spent part of the session in catcher’s gear.

While the Bucks return much of their nucleus from last season, two of the three seniors they lost from last year were their top pitcher and catcher. Senior shortstop Ashlee Hamann is also out for the season with a knee injury suffered during basketball season.

“I’ll have a little different team this year,” Farrington said. “We’re going to have a different pitcher this year, although we brought her in in some big games last year just to let her throw and get familiar with it. She’s waited two years to do her thing and it’s kind of her time.”

Junior Brittany Wiley, a second baseman last year, will be the Bucks’ top hurler, a role she admitted comes with a lot of pressure.

“I’m actually pretty surprised. I did a lot better than I thought I was going to,” Wiley said. “I’m trying to get faster.”

A program with 12 regional titles and nine state championships in the last 23 years obviously knows how to prepare for the season. Even though the first pitch that counts seems many warm spring days away right now, the Bucks knew the road to becoming the first squad in their history to win three states in a row began Monday.

“This sets the tone for the rest of the year,” Abbott said. “Like if you have a bad practice, you’re going to have a bad game. If you have a bad preseason, you’re not going to be very good later on.”

“Coach was talking to me about it a couple of days ago, saying ‘You know you’re going to be the captain and it’s your job to keep us working as a team,'” she added. “We’re just going to have to stick together. A lot of times girls’ teams can get into some fighting and stuff. I think if we really stick together, we can do it again.”