Leading off today: Hauppauge pitcher
Nick Fanti threw his second straight no-hitter in early-season Section 11 baseball action, striking out 16 Huntington batters Monday in a 6-0 victory.
Fanti faced the minimum 21 batters. He picked off the baserunner after giving up a leadoff walk in the fifth.
Fanti (3-0) has allowed two hits and struck out 38 batters in 19 innings this spring.
Boys lacrosse: Niagara-Wheatfield (3-0) handed defending Section 6 Class A champion Orchard Park its first loss, defeating the Quakers 12-11 on Evan Printup's goal at 2:12 of the third overtime.
Niagara-Wheatfield is ranked 11th in Class B and Orchard Park 14th in Class A in the first New York State Sportswriters Association rankings of the season. (Full rankings here.)
N-W scored twice in the last 24 seconds of regulation. Junior Tyler Kilgour (three goals, four assists) and Dakota Becker tallied 14 seconds apart, the latter with :10 to go in the fourth quarter.
Logan Hill made 23 saves in goal for Niagara-Wheatfield. Kevin Goltz led Orchard Park with four goals.
"Beating Orchard Park is a big win for any program," N-W coach Vince Schiffert told The Buffalo News. "I think the only other time we beat them was three years ago and we play them almost every year."
Texas proposal moves forward: The Texas House of Representatives has given preliminary approval requiring high school athletes to undergo electrocardiogram (EKG) testing for possible degenerative heart problems before participating in campus sports.
Representatives voted 86-57 Monday to make the testing mandatory as part of physicals taken to participate in all University Interscholastic League activities. The EKG tests, which would be required before the freshman and junior years of high school, would cost families about $15.
The bill faces a procedural House vote before going to the Senate for consideration.
The non-profit Children's Heart Foundation says more than 3,600 Texas children are born year with a congenital heart defect that predisposes them to sudden cardiac death.
The American College of Cardiology and the Texas Pediatric Society oppose the legislation, citing high rates of false positives and a lack of consensus over the most effective way to address cardiac arrests in youth sports.
About 20 percent of Texas school districts already have athletes undergo EKG exams. The UIL currently requires parents to sign a two-page form on heart issues that includes a health quiz for students to help them self-identify potential concerns.
Illinois association responds: The Illinois High School Association says a concussions lawsuit filed against the organization last November is a "misguided effort that threatens high school football."
The organization submitted a 16-page motion asking the Cook County Circuit Court to dismiss the suit. The lawsuit seeks court oversight in how schools handle head injuries and asks for mandatory medical staffing at games and practices. The suit also seeks to have the IHSA pay for medical testing for former Illinois high school football players.
The IHSA said the mandates could make football too expensive for poorer schools.
