Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s baseball team fell to Covenant School Tuesday on the road in the first round of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association’s Division II state playoffs.

The Saints’ season came to an end this week after the 3-2 loss to Covenant. NSA had entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed.

NSA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Covenant didn’t get on the scoreboard until the third inning, scoring one run. But the 2-1 lead slipped out of NSA’s hands when Covenant scored two runs in the sixth inning to win the game.

James Mullin, Caden Anselm and Nic Psimas shared the pitching duties. Mullin was pegged with the loss. The Saints combined for three hits as a team.

Regardless of the loss, the Saints felt they exceeded others’ expectations of them this year.

“I feel like we accomplished a lot more than people thought,” Mullin said. “We came together as a team and finished with a good record. Despite our finish to the year, I feel like overall we had a really good year.”

The Saints finished with a 13-8 record. Mullin was named a first-team VISAA All-State selection and a Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools first-team selection. Robby Tew also represented NSA this year as a first-team All-TCIS member.

Saints coach David Mitchell had said the team’s goal was to improve with each game.

“I was really excited to hear about the first-team All-State news,” Mullin said. “It was awesome to be recognized with all the other players on the list. I thank my teammates as well.”

The Saints are graduating only two players this year, which will make for a promising future for NSA baseball.

Covenant 3, NSA 2

CS 0 0 1 0 0 2—3

NSA 2 0 0 0 0 0—2

NSA: Hits 3—Psimas, Conway, Tew; Runs 2—Williams, Tew; RBI 1–Tew