For the fifth year in a row, Northbar Properties (formerly East End Land Planning) won the East Hampton Town women’s slow-pitch softball playoff trophy last Thursday, this time defeating Montauk Dental 15-3 to complete a two-game sweep at the Terry King ball field in Amagansett.
The first game, played on Aug. 12, was closer; Northbar, with Katie Osiecki on the mound, prevailed 3-2, thanks largely to Khara Struble’s two-run triple in the early going.
The teams were anchored by shortstops — Kathryn Mirras in Montauk Dental’s case and by Mylan Eckardt in Northbar’s — who remain as agile as they ever were. Myhoa Nguyen led off Northbar’s batting order, followed by Kathy Sarlo, Struble, Eckardt, Osiecki, Thea Grenci, Shelley Bobek, Kim Havlik-Crozier, Robin Helgerson, and Arielle Shapiro.
As for what proved to be the finale, Sarlo said, “We hit well throughout the lineup. Montauk kept it close in the first and second innings, but we opened it up in the third, scoring 10 runs. Robin went 4-for-4, Katie had an inside-the-park home run and a triple, Mylan and Myhoa took every base they could, I had a two-run double, Thea hit well also. . . . Mylan was unstoppable at short, and hit well also. Their pitcher, Paige, was great — we just were able to find the gaps.”
Men’s Soccer
Liga de Gulag, a team of young players, continued undefeated in 7-on-7 men’s soccer play last week, upping its record to 6-0-0 by virtue of a 4-3 win over Sag Harbor United at East Hampton Village’s Herrick Park on Aug. 12.
Donald Martinez of S.H.U. got it going with a direct kick that zipped past a wall of defenders in the early going. Liga tied it up not long after thanks to a chest-high blast by Jorge Naula, and one of his teammates, Gary Gutama, made it 2-1 Liga as the result of a 20-yard, knee-high shot leading into the halftime break.
Leslie Czeladko, the league’s overseer, reported that “the pace picked up in the second half. A beautiful 45-yard direct kick by Nelson Moran soared above everyone, including Liga’s goalie, Walter Solis, for 2-2. A goal by Gary Gutama put Liga up again, but S.H.U., thanks to a goal by Gustavo Morastitla, tied it at 3-all. Play was hectic in the final minutes at both ends of the field, with many shots going wide or high. A hat trick goal by Gutama put Liga de Gulag over the top.”
In other games played on that day, the Maidstone Market shut out the East Hampton Soccer Club 4-0, with Alberto Nieto, Danny Bedoya-Salazar, John Romero Jr., and Maicol Parra scoring the goals, and Tortorella Pools and F.C. Tuxpan wound up tied at 7-7. “A record 12 goals were scored in the second half,” Czeladko said.
Cristian Compuzano scored five of Tuxpan’s goals; Leo Moran scored three of Tortorella’s.
The standings going into Tuesday’s games showed Liga de Gulag leading at 6-0-0, followed by Maidstone Market at 3-1-2, Sag Harbor United at 2-2-2, East Hampton Soccer Club at 2-4-0, F.C. Tuxpan at 0-3-3, and Tortorella Pools at 0-3-3.
Tortorella’s Leo Moran led the Golden Boot scoring competition as of earlier this week with nine goals. Liga’s Gary Gutama and Jorge Naula and Sag Harbor United’s Fernando Leon each had seven.
As for Tortorella’s lackluster showing thus far — it was the runner-up to the Market in last fall’s playoff final — Romulo Tubatan, a veteran defender, said at Ellen’s Run in Southampton Sunday that its “great goalie,” Andrew Panza, deserved better, hampered as he has been by the fact that Tortorella has rarely put its best lineup on the field this season. “We’ll have to win our last four games to make the playoffs,” Tubatan said.
