Rain, rain go away.

The Spartans are ready and eager to play.

True to form, Washington weather has once again wreaked a bit of friendly havoc on the Bainbridge High School baseball schedule, postponing what was to be the first game of the year on Monday, calling the next few slated outings into question as well, and also moving practice indoors.

Still, the team’s taking it all in stride, said BHS Head Coach Simon Pollack, returning for his second year at the varsity helm.

“It’s been a challenge, certainly, to stay in it mentally in the indoor space,” he said.

“But, I think overall the guys have been doing a pretty good job of sticking with their work, putting in some good work, and they’re getting sharper and sharper as the days go by.”

Forty students turned out for tryouts this year, Pollack said, down slightly from last year’s 45. Also to be found in less abundance this year are seniors. The 2016 squad boasts only four, having lost 11 senior Spartans to graduation following last year’s epic 17-game winning streak and fourth-place showing at state.

It’s not a situation that the BHS squad finds itself in alone, however, Pollack explained.

“It’s going to be a competitive league,” he said. “A lot of teams had a lot of guys graduate last year, so I think a lot of teams are looking at younger rosters this year, which is really cool.”

This early in the season it’s too early, Pollack said, to know who the powerhouse teams would be, though strong showings could undoubtedly be expected from the usual suspects.

“I would expect the normal teams to be the normal teams,” he said. “I would expect that the league pretty much breaks down into power rankings the way it did last year — with the exception that I think last year we had a pretty special group of guys, so I think that we’re going to be in more competitive games this year.

“We’re going to win a lot of games,” he added. “But last year was kind of a magical time with those 17 wins. That’s something that doesn’t happen very often.”

That being said, Pollack is confident that this year’s Spartan squad will bring the goods when they finally do get to hit the field.

“We are going to compete with the top four teams for sure,” he said. “We’re going to be a solid team and we’re going to finish top in the league and I expect we’ll go back to the sweet 16.”

Even though most of the team is younger, the roster is chock-full of talent. Players, Pollack said, who have already, “played at high levels of baseball.”

Though the team was shaping up to be outfield-heavy talent-wise, many younger players were showing versatility in numerous positions.

Leading the Spartans on the field will be team captain Truman Miller, the team’s returning primary catcher. Matt Spence is the alternate catcher.

The primary BHS pitchers this season will be Jason Snare — who had several strong showings on the mound last year, including a nice run against O’Dea in the Metro tourney — David Wellbrock, Garrett Aichele, Tadashi Grindeland and Nate Boegl.

On the coaching side, longtime assistant Gregg Mesmer will return, and Pollack will also be aided by JV Coach Ian Ritchie and C Team Coach Jordan Schager.

Returning on the heels of such a stellar season, his first as Head Coach, Pollack said he had learned a great deal about himself and baseball, lessons that he looked forward to implementing for the good of this year’s team.

“I keep some things close to the vest and personal reflection is important to me,” he said. “I reflected every day last season and I learned a lot about myself and about the game of baseball, for sure and how to be a better coach.”

His greatest practical lesson, Pollack said, was the difference between the mindset of a practice and a game coach.

“I’ve always considered myself a good practice coach,” he explained. “I’m good with drills, I can keep guys working consistently and well for as long as I have them, but to change your mentality and to think about strategy during a game is something different.

“The whole year was a tremendous learning experience for me,” he added. “I think I learned to be a different kind of coach. I think I learned that a coach needs to work with the team that he’s got and I was thankful for every moment that I was on the field.”