Milford catcher Ben O'Connell looks for a throw that is too late to tag out Hollis Brookline's Quinn Connors during the Cavs' 8-0 win Tuesday in Hollis. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

HOLLIS – What’s up doc?

Hollis Brookline High School pitching ace Brandon Hsu is going to ask that question in a couple of days, his ailing right arm in a sling after a tough collision in this past Saturday’s loss at Souhegan.

But the phrase has meaning with the Cavaliers, regardless of what the diagnosis is. You see, before the season, HB coach James Sartell has his team watch a Bugs Bunny video – yes, your eyes aren’t deceiving you – that has a special theme, with the wascially wabbit playing every position as a one-man show.

“I would say the majority of these kids have played for me before,” Sartell said. “They understand that I preach from the beginning, there’s no one person that runs a baseball team. It’s not Bugs Bunny.”

The Cavs went out and took things out on another good team, the Milford Spartans, 8-0, to move to 8-1 on the year while Milford fell to 7-2. And the Spartans had just enjoyed a no-hitter pitched by Drew Philbrick on Monday.

“I assign that (Bugs Bunny) video and we talk about it the next day and the lesson is, that can’t happen, right?” Sartell said with a grin. “So we’re all on board. So we have to live and die by that.

“Every kid is a chess piece, and I move them around so they have to be ready to do their role. This is a team built not to have to depend on an ace. And this Milford team is good.”

But the Spartans struggled against Cavs sophomore starter Jack Lager, who pitched six innings allowing just four hits while striking out eight. The Spartans took two called third strikes with two on and then the bases loaded in the sixth down 6-0. Whatever spark they had on Monday was missing Tuesday.

“We’ve been working on that a lot, two strike hitting, and had a lot of quality at bats (on Monday),” Milford coach Todd Robichaud said. “Today we just kind of fell back to what we were doing earlier in the season, and that’s going to come with a young team.”

The Cavs were just the opposite, getting 13 hits after being nearly no-hit last Saturday.

“We saw it a little better,” Sartell said. “I think the approach at the plate, and you have to give hats off to the ace there (Souhegan’s Kylan Bagshaw). You run into an ace, it doesn’t matter how good your team is.”

Milford starter Nolan Ingemi was helped by two double plays early, but HB still scored an unearned run in the first, a run in the second on Aiden Dufoe’s RBI double, and another in the third on Quinn Connors’ RBI single. But then they broke things open in the fifth on Connors’ two run triple to deep right, and he ended up scoring on a throwing error on the play for a 6-0 lead that chased Ingemi.

Meanwhile Sartell was thrilled with Lager’s performance, and why not?

“You saw him get to the point where he can battle his way out of trouble,” Sartell said. “I think the key to today and teaching point for him and the rest of the sophomores is getting ahead in the count.”

Of course with the tournament starting Memorial Day and beyond, Sartell and the Cavs would love to have Hsu back.

“We don’t know how long it will be,” Sartell said. “One day at a time.”

And one player, one position at a time, because they’re all important. Got that, Bugs?