Sports

Just as there are rules of the road, there are rules of the waterways, and National Boating Safety Week this week is a good time to remember that.

Having lost three straight, East Hampton High's baseball team was looking for a win, and it got it Monday.

For the first time in over four decades a Bridgehampton High School baseball team took the field at Mashashimuet Park Friday afternoon, and won both games of a jayvee doubleheader.

East Hampton High School's softball team improved its record to 4-2 here Tuesday by defeating Westhampton Beach 5-1.

When dealing with bluefish, especially the larger specimens that have shown up en masse in our local waters in the past two weeks, it's important to avoid their powerful jaws that are equipped by the blessing of nature with razor-sharp teeth.

Jackson Carney won Saturday's Major League Baseball home run derby at the Pantigo fields in East Hampton and will now move on to regional competition.

The East Hampton High School boys track team debuted here last Thursday versus Islip, while the girls lost by a single point to that team and then had a number of personal bests at a Southampton invitational.

East Hampton Town is asking residents to weigh in on the preliminary redesign of the Montauk skate park via an online survey. Conceptual designs by Pivot Custom aim to reconfigure the park to appeal to boarders of all ages.

A variety of miscues spelled defeat for East Hampton High's baseball team in its home-opener on May 12. Westhampton Beach, the 5-2 winner, was the beneficiary.

East Hampton High's baseball team began its season Saturday with a 1-0 win over Kings Park. That same day, the softball team was "mercied" 12-0 by Sayville, a defending state champion.

On May 4 at East Hampton High School, four impressive seniors signed letters of intent to attend colleges that have recruited them for their swim teams. 

Bonackers contributed to the South Fork Islanders' 10-7 win over Riverhead Saturday, and the girls beat North Babylon 18-11 on Friday.

While the East Hampton High School girls track team lost its season-opener here last Thursday to Mount Sinai by a score of 82-65, Yani Cuesta, Bonac's coach, was pleased by the performances of first-timers and seniors alike.

It was a bit of a surprise that I was stopped on the water last Tuesday morning by the Coast Guard for a safety inspection, but it felt good to know they had checked to see that I had all I need to be safe on the water. 

Sayed Selim, the former coach of Egypt's national women's squash team, who worked so well with youngsters when he was the Southampton Recreation Center's squash director about a decade ago, continues to dream big when it comes to broadening the appeal of a sport that has largely been the province of the world's well-heeled.

Vinny Alversa and Annemarie Brown have been working hard these past few years to build their programs at East Hampton High School -- baseball in Alversa's case, softball in Brown's -- and this hard work seems to be on the verge of paying off, if last week's practices are indicative.

Before taking early retirement a few years ago, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel extensively in my job. When time allowed, especially on weekends, I often tried to visit any nearby tackle shops or fish markets to better understand and appreciate the wares and tastes of the locals.

Joe Vas, the East Hampton School District's athletic director, said Monday he thinks it will be a good spring for the high school's varsity teams, if for no other reason than the kids are finally getting a chance to play.

The eight competitors Craig Brierley took with him to the county girls swimming meet at Stony Brook University last weekend finished ninth among the 26 teams entered, and all of them turned in season-best or lifetime-best times.

Juliana Barahona and Sandrine Becht, East Hampton High's top doubles pairing, made all-state this past weekend as a result of placing third in the county individual girls tennis tournament at Shoreham-Wading River High School. The Bonac team also received the tournament's doubles sportsmanship award.

The East Hampton High School girls cross-country team finished third and the boys finished fourth in county cross-country meets last week at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park.

James Bradley, an East Hampton High School freshman, became Suffolk County's individual golf champion Tuesday, winning by three shots over Jack Bruetsch of Center Moriches, a sophomore, at the Smithtown Landing Country Club.

Before the fishing scene gets into full swing over the next few weeks, there are a few things that bear reminding for those who ply our waters with a rod and reel and more.

East Hampton's 1-0 county Class A final loss to Harborfields on Saturday came down to one set play. "If we played them 10 times, we'd win five and they'd win five," Bonac's coach said of the matchup.

After triumphing over the county's top seed, Half Hollow Hills West, in a 5-1 rout Wednesday afternoon, East Hampton High School's boys soccer team will play in a county final for the first time since 2014, facing Harborfields at Diamond in the Pines in Coram on Saturday.

East Hampton High's girls cross-country runners ran in a steady downpour at Sunken Meadow State Park last Thursday, and the team emerged, barely, as Division IV's Class B winner.

"Though it took 45 minutes for me to learn that we'd won -- by 1 point," Diane O'Donnell, Bonac's coach, said during a telephone conversation Sunday.

The reason for the long delay in posting the results had much to do with the fact that "all the electronic timing equipment had been removed. . . . Instead of chips, the girls had 3-by-5 cards clipped to their shirts with their names and numbers."

There is an old fishing proverb: "Wind from the west, fish bite the best. Wind from the east, fish bite least. Wind from the north, do not go forth. Wind from the south, blows bait in their mouth."

East Hampton High's field hockey team lost a first-round playoff game Saturday at Rocky Point. 

On Monday, for the first time this season, East Hampton High's golf team, which this past week wound up league play at 10-0, was able to play at the South Fork Country Club in Amagansett.

The East Hampton High School girls swimming team, putting in its best effort of the season, placed second to Sayville-Bayport in a virtual League III meet Friday.