Walsh is everyone's Player of the Year
Joe Walsh of Weymouth was looking for a scholarship -- not national attention -- when he applied for the Massachusetts American Legion Player of the Year Award last summer.
By the end of the year, Walsh was not only selected the state winner, he was honored as the regional and national player of the year.
Last month in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Walsh was presented with the 2006 George W. Rulon American Legion Player of the Year Award and $4,000 in scholarships.
"I've never won anything this big," Walsh said. "Eventually it will set in when I'm older, and I can tell my kids about it. Receiving the award just turned into an opportunity of a lifetime."
More than 100,000 athletes participate in American Legion baseball in a year. Since 1949, the league has presented the Player of the Year award to the player who best represents integrity, leadership, citizenship, sportsmanship, and general good conduct.
Walsh has played the past three years with Weymouth's Post 79, and he will play his final season with the American Legion squad this summer.
Walsh and his family traveled to Cooperstown to participate in the ceremony, which took place before an exhibition game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles at Doubleday Field.
"That was amazing," Walsh said. "We were basically treated like royalty, like major leaguers. That's something I'll never forget. It was pretty cool to be standing on the infield and have 10,000 people clap for you."
Walsh graduated from Weymouth High in 2006 and recently completed his freshman season with Worcester Polytechnic Institute as a catcher. The Engineers won 11 of their last 12 games and captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Baseball Championship.
Norfolk Aggies vie with the best
The Mayflower League large division could have been an intimidating jump for the Norfolk County Agricultural softball team. Instead, the Aggies learned they could move up a level and still compete with some of the best in the league.
Norfolk ended the regular season tied with Westport for second in its first year in the large division. West Bridgewater won the league title. In addition, Norfolk captured the state vocational championship, defeating Franklin County Tech, 7-5, and Smith Vocational, 18-3.
Norfolk entered the Division 3 South Sectional as the No.5 seed and defeated Blue Hills Regional in the first round. But the season came to end last week when league-rival Diman defeated Norfolk, 8-0.
The Aggies will lose seven seniors from this season's 16-6 squad that earned a 10-4 league record. Despite the second -round loss, softball coach Betsy Wall said she is pleased with how her team established itself this season.
"We had the respect of everybody, which is what we wanted," Wall said.
Marshfield lacrosse turns it around
The Marshfield boys' lacrosse team needed one year to turn its program around. Marshfield had a 5-11 record last year but returned this season to earn a 15-3 record and sole possession of the Atlantic Coast League title for the first time in school history.
Marshfield lost in the playoffs, but first -year coach Rick Peterson cannot help but look ahead.
"We felt like we had a lot of potential," he said. "I'm proud of our accomplishments."
Marshfield tallied a 13-1 league record and did it behind league all-stars including defenseman Wendell Chipman, midfielder Andrew Brown, goalie Matt Bak, and attackmen Luke Mulkern and Chris Walker.
Chipman was selected the sportsman of the year in the league, and Peterson was chosen coach of the year.
Peterson may have been in his first season as head coach, but he has worked with many of the players through the town's youth program.
Through the program, more and more players are entering Marshfield with lacrosse experience, and the teams are benefiting, Peterson said.
Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com. 
