As the snow and ice melted into puddles of water, sure enough asphalt tracks began to appear alongside dirt infields and green outfields. Basketballs were traded in for baseballs and softballs. Singlets subbed for track and field tank tops. Hockey sticks exchanged for lacrosse sticks.
There’s something about being outside and playing your favorite game in the elements that adds a little extra delicacy to the craft. Pitchers, whether you’re on the mound or in the circle, might have to worry about the rain that’s ever so present in the beginning portions of a season.
Runners have to brave winter’s final attempt of residency. Throwers launch shot puts into the mud. Tennis players could slide around a wet court.
Elements aside, as the early and wetter portions of the spring schedule transitioned into warm and dry, area teams began to heat up as well.
The Crimson Tide baseball team capped off its season with a championship in the least most-dramatic manner. Senior Jonah Wachter pitched a no-hitter against Winnacunnet and the offense did its end of the deal as Concord won the Division I championship, 4-0, its first baseball championship in nine years.
Concord claimed 17 of 21 games (including playoffs) and was led by a junior-heavy class. But the Tide weren’t the only bat brawlers to earn hardware in the spring. John Stark had long been in search of its first championship and, behind a total team performance, it won one. The Generals’ 10-3 victory over St. Thomas in the Division II championship saw an offensive explosion in the second inning and stingy defense to mask restless pitching.
While some championships were won on the diamond, others narrowly escaped from area teams.
Concord softball made it to the Division I championship game for the 11th time in program history but left with its fifth runner-up finish. In their 5-1 loss to Salem, the Tide committed errors early and often, but four of their nine starters were underclassmen and something special may be on the way this coming spring.
One of the baseball highlights throughout the state, however, featured kids who weren’t even sniffing high school fields yet. The North Manchester/Hooksett Little League team made a historic run during the Little League World Series and tied for the most wins of any New Hampshire Little League team in LLWS history.
Part of any game is running, but for Coe-Brown track and field, running is everything. Siblings Addison and Aidan Cox each won a state title in distance running for the Bears. Addison, who now attends the University of New Hampshire, won the girls’ 1,600 meter and the 3,200 meter. Aidan, a current junior, won the 3,200 meter. Coe-Brown’s boys and girls swept Division II for team titles as well.
In the world of lacrosse, no team came close to glory like the way Hopkinton girls did.
The Hawks almost pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks in recent memory during the Division III championship game against Derryfield. They faced four- and two-goal deficits before going on a three-goal run to close within 11-10. Eventually, the Hawks were met by the clock and a talented goalie as a rematch two years in the making went to the Cougars, 12-11.
With all those 2020-21 spring seasons coming to an end, the summer brought about ample time for student-athletes to sharpen their crafts. No matter the season their sport might be played in, work was done over the summer and it paid dividends in the fall.
But more on that later.