Winning consecutive titles is hard in any sport at any level and winning three is even harder. Winning four? Rare. Winning five? Darn near impossible.

In the history of high school baseball in New Hampshire, only two schools have ever won five straight titles: Marlborough High in the early 1960s and Lisbon in the mid-80s. That's it.

So, the thought that Portsmouth High came within two wins of joining that list is pretty impressive.

The Clippers had their run of four straight titles ended last week when they lost to Lebanon, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Division II tournament. It took 10 innings.

A new champion will be crowned for the first time in five years when third-seeded Lebanon and top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas play for the title Saturday night at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester.

“For me, it's still raw,” Portsmouth coach Tim Hopley said. “I still see it as a missed opportunity. I'm still playing the game over in my head.”

Hopley can rewind the game endlessly and torture himself thinking about the what-ifs, but the bottom line is none of it may have mattered the moment he sent starter Ricky Holt back to the mound to pitch the 10th inning.

Under the NHIAA pitching rules, “a pitcher shall throw no more than fifteen (15) innings in a seven (7) day period with no more than nine (9) innings in a day.”

In that regard, it seems Portsmouth would have had to forfeit the game even if it did win.

But there are two notes attached to the rule, one that does not penalize a pitcher who is within a 1/3 of an inning of his limit for getting a double play, or within 2/3 of an inning of the limit for getting a triple play.

The other stipulates “one (1) pitch does not constitute an inning. Total innings are figured in thirds (1/3) of an inning.”

Holt faced two batters in the inning and didn't get an out. Did he go over the limit? Hopley does not believe he did. The NHIAA baseball committee may differ.

NHIAA executive director Pat Corbin said he expects the committee to review the incident. He said there is a possibility Hopley and the Portsmouth program could face sanctions.

“It's a significant violation if it happened that way,” Corbin said. “That's there for the protection of the kids' arms.”

Even if Hopley is right about the rule, he says the decision to send Holt back out to start the 10th inning was a mistake.

“It wasn't a case of not knowing the rule or misinterpreting anything,” Hopley said. “It was a case of looking at my scorecard and not knowing the right inning.”

Believable? Why would the coach of a team with one of the highest profiles in the state knowingly try to sneak in an extra inning for his pitcher in one of the biggest games of the year? I can't believe he would.

“It still makes me uneasy in the stomach to think I could make a mistake like that,” Hopley said.

Lebanon coach Doug Ashey said he knew Holt shouldn't have come out for the 10th, but he wasn't going to protest the game. But who really knows what Ashey or Lebanon school administrators would have done if the Raiders had lost the game.

If the Clippers had won, Corbin said the team would have had to forfeit.

“I'm so thankful the game didn't come down to a stupid mistake,” Hopley said.

Pitching rules are often made with the best on intentions — to protect the health of young pitchers — but they are not always consistent.

By one newspaper account, Lebanon starter Brady Boisvert threw 137 pitches in the nine innings he worked against the Clippers; Hopley said Holt threw about 101.

Little League uses a pitch count to regulate how much a pitcher can throw; Cal Ripken Baseball goes by innings pitched. Is one way better than the other? That depends on the pitcher.

Even the NHIAA is inconsistent with its rules guarding a pitcher's health.

While Holt may not have technically pitched more that nine innings because he didn't record an out, NHIAA rules require pitchers to have three full days of rest after pitching five innings or more in a day and notes that “just one (1) pitch more than five (5) innings constitutes more than five (5) innings.”

Well, which is it, one pitching into an inning or one out?

Hopley said he apologized to his coaches, players, as well as the school administration and the team booster club for the potentially embarrassing situation. Hopley demands his players to be prepared and said he should be held to the same standard.

The coach may have been doing more than just apologizing if the Clippers had won the game and then had to forfeit the victory.

“It would have been beyond devastating to me,” Hopley said. “The game was determined on the field and, on that day, Lebanon was the better team.”

Email Jim Fennell at jfennell@unionleader.com.