Southold/Greenport/Mattituck shortstop Jenna McFarland awaits a throw as Babylon’s Hazel Bivona slides toward second base. (Credit: Bill Landon)
In unity there is strength. The unified Southold/Greenport/Mattituck softball team, without question, is stronger than either the Southold/Greenport and Mattituck teams would have been on their own this season had they not merged.
Softball numbers have been low on the North Fork in recent years, prompting concern and, finally, action the creation of Southold/Greenport/Mattituck. One team representing three high schools.
“We haven’t had a junior high program the last three years in Mattituck,” coach Kim Gerstung said. “You know, you can’t build programs without junior high. So, it’s been in the talking [stage] for the past couple of years. Southold would have had a JV last year, but not two years previous to that, so it’s just numbers-wise, if we didn’t combine this year [Mattituck] would have had
Seniors Ashley Young (1) and Sam McNamara (22) joined by Rylie Rittberg (4) and Sage Foster (7).
The shirts that the Mattituck High School girls volleyball players wear during warmups are unorthodox. They are T-shirts with the words “Cool Cats & Kittens” emblazoned on them along with renderings of various types of cats, big and small.
The shirts caught the eyes of the Tuckers while shopping together after going out to dinner one evening. They became a symbol of unity.
Now there is little question that the Tuckers are among the coolest cats in the county. With big performances from their Big Three of Sage Foster, Ashley Young and Bridget Ryan, the top-seeded Tuckers rolled to the Suffolk County Class C championship Saturday with a 25-13, 25-18, 25-21 defeat of Babylon at Mattituck High School. It’s Mattituck’s ninth county title overall and eighth in 19 years.
A new bike donated to Kyle Verity of Mattituck through donations from a GoFundMe. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)
Kindness toward others, particularly those who need it in a time of crisis, is not necessarily something that is part of the dialogue these days. But in four of our stories this week, you will see how people have reached beyond themselves to help others.
Their stories lift our spirits and reinforce our faith in the essential goodness of people and in our community.
Consider the story of Kyle Verity, the son of two longtime educators in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, Scott and Patti Verity. Every student who passed through the district, from elementary school into high school, knew these highly regarded teachers well.
A new bike donated to Kyle Verity of Mattituck through donations from a GoFundMe. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)
Kindness toward others, particularly those who need it in a time of crisis, is not necessarily something that is part of the dialogue these days. But in four of our stories this week, you will see how people have reached beyond themselves to help others.
Their stories lift our spirits and reinforce our faith in the essential goodness of people and in our community.
Consider the story of Kyle Verity, the son of two longtime educators in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, Scott and Patti Verity. Every student who passed through the district, from elementary school into high school, knew these highly regarded teachers well.
Ryan Oliver, 16, remembered as caring friend and talented athlete Family and friends mourned the passing of Ryan Oliver at services last week. (Courtesy photo)
A familiar theme began to emerge in the stories students shared as they remembered their friend, classmate and teammate.
Ryan Oliver, who stood about 6-foot-2 and carried himself as if he were older than a high school sophomore, was a young man so many looked up to at Mattituck High School.
“People at the services kept coming up to us and saying Ryan was their protector,” said Ryan’s father, Michael Oliver, in an interview Tuesday. “He was a shoulder for his friends. … Friends kind of gravitated toward him.”