High school central

Welcome to another installment of Around the Diamond.  Each week we’ll sit down with a local high school softball player and ask her a series of questions…some that relate to softball, some that don’t, and some that may even be slightly embarrassing.

This week we feature Gianna Cilluffo of East Rockaway. The senior pitcher has more wins that anyone in Nassau county this season, having...

Garden City is back in the county final. Why? Because it’s late May and it’s about that time.

Competing for championships has long been part of this program’s annual routine, and the Trojans earned themselves another trip to the title game on Wednesday, beating Long Beach, 14-7, in the Nassau Class B girls lacrosse semifinals.

Haley O’Hanlon had three goals and four assists to lead top-seeded...

History.

St. John the Baptist’s recent reputation as that “pretty good, but not on that level” team – it’s history. And they put an end to that on Tuesday by making history.

The second-seeded Cougars beat rival Sacred Heart, 14-9, in the CHSAA Class AA girls lacrosse semifinals, earning their first ever trip to the league title game.

“There was a sense of relief and accomplishment...

I was wrong.

I’ll say it again: I, Laura Albanese, being of sound mind and disposing memory and not acting under duress or undue influence, admit that I was wrong.

Some context: Earlier this week, while making my (so far, not-terrible!) predictions, I decided that Northport would pull the upset over third-seeded Ward Melville in a hotly contested Class A semifinal. And clearly,...

Wheatley found itself down in the sixth inning of game two of the Nassau Class B championship series and turned to an unlikely candidate with the game on the line.

Sophomore right hander Mike Carney was called upon to make his first varsity appearance in the most stressful of situations.

“He couldn't wait, he was anxious to get in and he loved it,” Wheatley head coach Paul Paino said....

Middle Country junior Michael Miranda won his second straight Suffolk Individual Championship on Tuesday, shooting an even-par 72 on Day 1 and a two-over 74 on Day 2 at Indian Island Golf Course for a two-day total of 146.

Miranda sank a seven-foot put for par on the par-4 18th hole for the outright win, edging out Smithtown East’s Tom Whelan and Sayville’s Kyle Burke by one stroke.

“He’s...

During practices, the Manhasset boys lacrosse team is always talking about one more.

One more pass, that is, to the guy who is slightly more open and closer to the crease than the one with the ball in his stick at the time. One more instance of unselfish play on offense in an effort to produce one more win.

“It symbolizes the greater good of the team,” said captain Mike Fahey, who leads...

Long Island Lutheran’s Boogie Brozoski and North Babylon’s Brianna Jones will spend Memorial Day weekend trying out for the USA Women’s Basketball U16 team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Brozoski and Jones, who both just finished their sophomore seasons, are two of 100 players who applied and were accepted to tryout for the team, along with 32 other players who were...

The mass migration to Delaware continues. This week, Longwood’s Kiersten West verbally committed to play basketball at the University of Delaware, making her the third Long Island girl to do so in recent weeks.

West, a junior, helped lead Longwood to a 9-4 record in Suffolk’s League I and a berth in the Class AA playoffs. The 5-9 do-it-all forward averaged 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists,...

Kellenberg’s Candace Belvedere committed this week to play basketball at St. Joseph’s University.

The junior from Merrick led the Firebirds to the league semifinals and the CHSAA Class A state tournament. A 6-2 center, Belvedere averaged 11.1 points and 11.7 rebounds – including five offensive boards – to go with 2.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. She upped her scoring to 14.6 points per...