We’re saying hello to May in another 24 hours, and that means a lot of things for the month, including this week’s Nashua North-South Battle of the Bridge.

It also means we say good-bye to an April that had miserable weather, but there were still some things to love about the month, and here’s a few:

We loved getting a chance to see the atmosphere around the Nashua High School North baseball team created by head coach Zach Harris. Sometimes you can just tell when people were born to coach and be around student-athletes, and Harris is definitely one of those people.

He relates well to his players, gives them props when they do well, and even when they don’t. But he calls it as he sees it.

“I always feel good with these guys,” Harris said the other day after a tough 5-3 loss to rival Nashua South. “They’ve done a great job and we’ve come back in a lot of games.”

Harris has settled into the job. He’s in the building in the guidance counselor training program, and it’s made a difference. Many will tell you he interacts with his players on a daily basis during school hours.

“I love it,” Harris said. “This is a great group of kids, great to be around, and they’re buying in to being enthusiastic and passionate, and showing up every day with a love for the game.

“I think we’ve done a better job capitalizing on our opportunities. (Friday) was the first day when I felt we left a lot out there.”

Harris will tell you when he expects more out of his players. He’ll tell you when they do very well. It will be a great rematch with South on Friday night at Holman, a game that should draw a nice crowd and be a community event. The contest this past Friday morning was played in relative anonimity. And the Panthers realize the impact Harris has made.

“They’re a different North team right now,” South coach James Gaj said. “They really are. Zach’s done a very good job over there. He has these kids playing, has these kids fighting. They didn’t go away (down 5-2 on Friday). That’s something Nashua hasn’t seen for awhile. Usually kids give up a couple of runs, they get upset, they whine and cry. Now you’ve got two tough teams going out there.”

Friday will be one of the things we like about May.

— Every April, we love the NFL/Patriots draft. But this year was as crazy as it gets. You had to love Bill Belichick’s basic doubt about the talent level in this year’s draft beyond the first round, as he kept trading down, down, down. Everyone thought he’d go for Lamar Jackson. Nope. Everyone thought he’d go for lots of defense. Nope. The Patriots never see the draft that way. They got two good players in the first round who will help them in some way in the Georgia duo of offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn and running back Sony Michel.

But a couple of guys we also love: the pick in the fifth round, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley out of Purdue, and Miami wideout Braxton Berrios. Bentley is a three-year captain, almost unheard of in the college game, but you know how the Patriots love team captains. Also, Berrios is cocky kid, but he’s got the academic pedigree (lowest college grade as a B-plus) to back it up. “They can take away football and all those things,” he said on Saturday, “and they can’t take away your mind and the brain and the knowledge you have.” We better study up before we interview him, right?

-We loved the Stanley Cup playoffs that April brough, the atmosphere around the Bruins, and the fact Merrimack’s Tim Schaller was able to enjoy his first Stanley Cup series win, and play role in it with some of his work on the fourth line. The atmosphere in the TD Garden in that third period on Wednesday night was off the charts, and it will just get crazier as the playoffs keep moving along. It seems after that opening game vs. Tampa that the B’s offense could carry them a long way, which is clearly something not seen before.

— We loved the fact the Rivier University men’s volleyball team was able to return to the NCAA Division III East Regionals, and gave its first round opponent Lancaster Bible all it could handle in a tight five-set match, ableit a loss. The Raiders return to the tourney after a couple years absence further solidifies the career of head coach Craig Kolek. Again, something will be named after him (and, of course AD Joanne Merrill) at that school someday.

-Things we will like about May: Celtics-Sixers (which actually starts Monday in the last day of April), the home debut on May 12 of the Nashua Eagles semi-pro soccer team, and the buildup toward the start of the Nashua Silver Knights season. The Futures League has an open tryout slated for Holman on May 25. And the players on the Knights report for duty on Memorial Day.

Things we didn’t like about April: The weather. It stunk.

Tom King can be reached at 594-1251, or @Telegraph_TomK.tking@nashuatelegraph.com