Three NHS teams are tournament bound
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
For one team, it was simply a matter of waiting for the calendar to confirm it, but for the two other teams that made it to the postseason this spring, the desired outcome wasn't so easily reached.

While the undefeated NHS softball team cruised into the playoffs (see related story, page 23), both the baseball team and boys' lacrosse team had to wait until the season's final week before it was official.

It didn't come until last Tuesday for the baseball team, but when it did it was sweet indeed, as Tomas Smaliorius struck out 12 to shut out Blue Hills, 12-0, in a complete game victory that sealed it for the Whalers. It will be the team's first trip to the postseason since 2004, and coach Art Crowley is glad the four-year wait is over for the high school nine.

"You can't always be there," he said, while noting that a key factor this year was a lack of injuries and the true spirit that permeated the team.

"The difference was leadership," he said. "I think Adam Spencer brought a lot to this team, along with other strong juniors. Erik Hughes and Smaliorius are mature and focused. Our only senior, Ethan Bell, leads by example."

Crowley also pointed to the pitching corps of Smaliorius, Eric Lowell, Chris Welch and Anthony Valero as a vital ingredient in the team's overall success. Lowell led the staff with a record of 6-2, capped off with a onehit, 11-strikeout performance last Wednesday against Provincetown.

But Crowley would have to go on to name his whole team, where everyone has contributed, to represent the players who have helped the Whalers back into the playoffs.

In what is turning into an expected rite of spring, the boys' lacrosse team will make its eighth tournament appearance this year since the high school program began in 1999.

Seedings were announced last Friday, and Nantucket's 9-9 record earned it a number 10 seed and a date at Norwell tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

For coach Rick Blair, the formula for playoff success is clear. "The team that plays with the most poise and the best leadership is the team that will win the game," he said, pointing out that Nantucket's seeding "is a pretty accurate reflection of where we stand in Division 3. I think Scituate and Cohasset are the class of the league right now."

The coach is pleased that the team weathered some early season losses to rebound later in the season, the time when victories matter most. And team mistakes are amplified during the tournament. "Clearly, it's single elimination; we can't absorb a loss and say we'll learn from this and improve in practice tomorrow," Blair noted. "The level of mental intensity has to be real high."

Come tomorrow, he said, "we have to look at this as a new season. The freshmen have now had a whole season of experience. It's time for the guys to sit back, take a deep breath and say, 'Okay, what have we been talking about all year?' and put that

into practice for the games." I