Here comes the tough stuff.

The Bainbridge Spartans picked up pretty much where they left off last year in girls varsity lacrosse — stitching together a string of lopsided wins to start the season undefeated.

Bainbridge opened the regular season with a 15-5 win over Lake Sammamish, and has held its last four opponents to single-digit scoring; or, in the case of Ballard last Friday, scoreless in a 16-0 defeat.

But Bainbridge — who rolled through the season last year and only lost once, in the state championship game against Eastside Catholic — will face EC in the first game after Spring Break.

And for the following game, the Spartans head to Mercer Island April 18 to face one of the other top contenders for the state title this year.

Spartan Coach Tami Tommila has known since late last year that Bainbridge’s schedule would turn brutal come April. That made Friday’s matchup against the Beavers, despite the score, a welcome opportunity.

“For us, we very rarely have a game on a Friday night going into Spring Break, but I’m glad that we did because we play Eastside Catholic the following Tuesday when we come back.

“It’s a huge value to play, and play them, they are an athletic team,” Tommila said of Ballard.

She recalled the words of Mackenzie Chapman during the game, who was kept continually on the go by the Ballard defenders.

“She goes, ‘They got us tired out there.’ She was doing a lot of running,” Tommila said.

Bainbridge put the game away early, jumping to a 6-0 lead with less than three minutes into the contest. The Spartans led 15-0 at halftime.

“I was really proud of the kind of effort and focus they put in on the game today, it was a good moment,” Tommila said.

So far this season, the Spartans have outscored their opponents 80-17.

Still, Tommila doesn’t discount the teams they have so handily beat this year.

“Every opportunity is an opportunity for us to get better,” she said.

“Yesterday, we faced a team [Ingraham] that hasn’t won a game this season, but our defense got to go on attack and I got to see whether our defense really understands the plays that we run. Are they really, really listening in practice, and can they execute it?

“And they did fantastic,” she said, noting that the Spartans continued to work hard while remaining respective of an opponent no matter their level of play.

The Spartans got an early look this year at the teams that will likely advance to the finals — Snohomish, Mercer Island and Eastside Catholic — at a jamboree before the season started. It gave Bainbridge’s younger players, and returning ones, as well, an early glimpse of potential roadblocks to a return trip to the state championships in May.

“Our focus is trying to get better every practice this year, and really work on the little things. And they’ve really bought into that,” Tommila said of her Spartans. “You can see the difference in how they play and the choices that they make.”

“They are doing the work in practice and it shows in the games,” she said.

For the Spartans to return once again to play for the title, it’ll take that kind of continued commitment.

“I think just working hard day in and day out in practice, and recognizing that it’s the hard work that’s going to get you there. I think being accountable, and being accountable to your teammates and having your teammates be honest with each other, is important.

“I think they are doing that,” Tommila said. “These guys are really a fun group to coach, and they work hard in practice. They want to do well for each other; you can tell. They are authentic in that.”

That’s encouraging, given the relative youth of the Spartan squad. Nine of the players on the team’s roster are sophomores, and five are freshman. The team has four seniors, and four juniors.

The team is very young, but very talented, Tommila said.

Helping guide the Spartans are Chapman and Maggie Sweeney, both seniors, who are the team’s captains this year.

“As the seniors have gone on into the season, I think they have sort of embraced their role they understand that they need those younger players for us to be successful

“And we have juniors who have stepped up nicely this year. So it’s a really good blend, I think,” Tommila said.