Warriors ready for another championship run

By Tray Mason
Correspondent

In terms of baseball at Nansemond River High School, expectations for each season are always high.

The Warriors’ teams are usually loaded with talent, and this year is no different. In fact, NR is even more “loaded” than usual.

NR returned eight starters — nearly the entire starting lineup — from last year’s team, which won the school’s first Southeastern District Tournament Championship, and made it to the Group AAA State Tournament Quarterfinal.

At 4-1 as of Monday, the Warriors have proved the ability so far this season to take advantage of the experience they bring to the field.

Returning starters from last year’s squad include outfielders Kyle Moore and Ryan O’Hara, shortstop Brandon Lowe, first-baseman Travis Johnson, catcher Zach Vann, second-baseman and pitcher Tyler Brown and third-baseman Blake Eure.

Five Warriors already have signed to play college baseball, with two more potential signees in Ryan O’Hara and Zach Vann. Vann is also considered a potential draft prospect.

With such a deep team, the Warriors are a favorite to win the SED regular season and repeat as tournament champions, but they continue to face stiff competition in one of the most difficult districts in the state.

“It’s pressure, but we can’t look at it that way,” Blake Eure said. “It actually gives us more confidence. We’re doing well as a team right now.”

Great Bridge is widely regarded as the top team, after a season in which they won the Eastern Region and Virginia AAA State Championship. They defeated Nansemond River in the Eastern Region final 14-5. The Great Bridge team features four NCAA Division I signees.

Many rank perennial SED power Western Branch behind Great Bridge and Nansemond River, although the Bruins remain the lone undefeated team in the district at 4-0.

NR was upset in their second game of the season, losing to Indian River after leading 7-4 in the final inning.

“We’ve played really well against the teams that you have to play well against to beat,” Warriors head coach Mark Stuffel said. “And we’ve had some off games against some teams that you shouldn’t have off games against.”

Despite the loss, and the pressure of being one of the top teams in the district, the Warriors aren’t worried about off-field distractions and are focused on just playing baseball.

“Our expectation should be to win every game that we can but also go as far as we can,” said Tyler Brown. “We just have to take care of our business, and we can’t look more than a game ahead.”

NR has a bit of an advantage, as it will host the SED Tournament on its home field. This can also be considered added pressure for a team from which much is expected, especially as they seek a repeat of last year’s SED Tournament Championship.

All of the players note this as an advantage of knowing the field, but Stuffel has mixed feelings about hosting the tournament.

“I don’t think that makes a difference,” he said. “Having it here is nice, because you do get a lot of our fans at the games. There’s good from it and bad, because it cuts into time when other teams are practicing, we’re getting the field ready.”

But no matter the amount of pressure, high expectations, or field preparation, the Warriors continue to press for that championship hardware.