Sports

East Rockaway Baseball Preseason Saved by Town

Oceanside Park fields opened a month in advance to help devastated district.

The baseball season at East Rockaway High School has been saved by the Town of Hempstead, which will open two fields at Oceanside Park a month ahead of schedule to allow the Rocks to have enough preseason practice to compete in the upcoming league schedule.

East Rockaway won the Nassau County Class C championship during the 2012 season, defeating Friends Academy 2-1 in a best-of-three series.

"Among the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy were the neighboring communities of East Rockaway and Oceanside," Councilman Anthony Santino said. "The buildings and grounds at East Rockaway High School were devastated by the storm and the ballfields were flooded beyond repair. So, the town has stepped to the plate by pinch-hitting for the school fields with the baseball fields at nearby Oceanside Park."

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

East Rockaway High School will use two fields at Oceanside Park from March 4 through April 5.  Both the varsity and junior varsity teams will practice on weekdays after school from 4 to 7 p.m. The teams will also have three Saturday morning practice sessions in March.  

"The use of Oceanside Park is a home run for our school and our kids," East Rockaway Athletic Director Dom Vulpis said. "... Now we’re back in the game and the players can’t wait to take the field."

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here