By Tray Mason

Correspondent

Last year, with a team composed mostly of juniors and sophomores, the Nansemond River High School baseball team won the Southeastern District Tournament to clinch a berth in the Eastern Region Tournament.

Their rise made for an unlikely Eastern Region final, where the Warriors eventually lost to Great Bridge, as well as a spot in the Virginia High School League State Tournament, where they ultimately lost in the first round.

This season, playing as the top seed from the Southeastern District, they are expected to make a similar run.

“The biggest difference from this year and last year is that last year we were the underdog,” Nansemond River head coach Mark Stuffell said. “Now we’re supposed to win.”

With most of the players from last year’s team returning this season, the Warriors have the experience, but they must avoid the occasional letdown.

“All it takes is one bad inning or one bad set of pitches, and the season is over,” Stuffell said.

Nansemond River is coming into the regional tournament on the rebound from one of those letdowns, a loss in the SED tourney to Great Bridge, where one of those bad innings became reality.

The Warriors were tied with the Wildcats in the fifth inning, before an opposing grand slam capped off a six-inning run, and the Suffolk team was ousted from the tournament.

Many sports enthusiasts believe a top-tier team must lose on their way to success, but Stuffell isn’t quite buying it.

“I don’t know if that one helped,” he said. “I guess it’s a reminder that anyone can beat you on any day.”

No losses will help the top-seeded Warriors now, and as a preseason state tournament pick of many, expectations are high, although they aren’t too worried.

“The kids respond in big situations, and they’ve responded all season,” Stuffell said. “They play their best in big games.”

As for basing this season’s success on whether or not they win the state championship, the Coach of the Year winner isn’t buying that either.

“I know it’s a goal the kids set at the beginning of the season, but it’s a lot easier said than done,” he said. “It’d be great winning the state tournament, but it’s not always the best team that wins.”

The Eastern Region Tournament begins Monday for the Warriors when they take on Granby High School. They play at Old Dominion University at 1 p.m.