PICS: Northwest Catholic def. H-K girls lacrosse, 18-15

BASEBALL CENTRAL: Area previews, Top 10 poll & more

The diamonds are swept and lined, uniforms nice and clean (for now), and high school baseball is set to begin.

There's all sorts of area storylines — East Hampton baseball looks to defend their Shoreline and Class S titles, Xavier gets a nod in the first Top 10 poll, H-K's Mark Brookes is back for year No. 36 ... check them all out below:

• East Hampton returns talent from last year's title team 
• 36 years later, Mark Brookes is H-K's baseball patriarch
• Xavier brings mound presence, Middletown faces learning curve
• Top 10 Poll: Xavier at No. 8, East Hampton receives votes 
• Area capsules, by team
• Area players to watch
• With new regulation, safer BBCOR bats could turn power game into small ball
• Around the state, marquee matchups this season

Did you miss the softball preview? Everything is right here.

SOFTBALL CENTRAL: Area previews

Softball opens on Wednesday with all sorts of games, firing up what should be a very interesting season for some area teams.

Locally, Coginchaug and Hale-Ray look poised to make big runs in the Shoreline and state tournaments. Mercy also has a good chance at defending its SCC title, and there's all sorts of local talent (like Hale-Ray's Katelyn Nichisti, pictured) to keep an eye on this year.

Here's your ultimate primer on this year's softball season, including area capsules, the first New Haven Register poll and all kinds of softball bits:

• Hale-Ray has plans to 'Protect the Ship,' defend Class S title
• Area capsules, broken down by team
• Area players to watch
• TOP 10 SOFTBALL POLL: Hale-Ray 9th, Mercy and Coginchaug receive votes
• CITY TEAMS: Mercy has all the makings, Middletown hopes for state tourney
• Around the state, top games to watch this season

PICS: Wesleyan men's lacrosse def. Amherst, 6-3

More on Wesleyan's win here. Photos by Catherine Avalone.

RUN TO THE SUN: Area hoop squads with eyes on a state final

The annual Run to the Sun is underway, and we've already got a couple squads dangerously close to the finish line. Mercy (Class LL) has already made its Mohegan reservation after a rousing semifinal win against Manchester, and Coginchaug and Portland Class S) will play in semifinal games Monday night.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class S (draw)
No. 1 Coginchaug, No. 6 Portland, No. 27 Hale-Ray
Need to know: Coginchaug and Portland won Thursday night to earn spots in the final four, and so did fellow Shoreline squad Morgan. Coginchaug will play Morgan Monday night in Branford, and Portland will play Capital Prep in Plainville.

Class M (draw)
No. 5 Cromwell, No. 24 Haddam-Killingworth
Need to know: Cromwell's tourney run was snuffed out by top-seeded Weaver Friday night in the semifinals.

Class L (draw)
No. 19 Middletown
Need to know: Middletown bowed out against Masuk in L's first round.

Class LL (draw)
No. 10 Mercy
Need to know: Mercy landed a spot in the finals for the 3rd straight year after a win against Manchester in the semifinals.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Class S (draw)
No. 11 Haddam-Killingworth, No. 6 Coginchaug
Need to know: Coginchaug squeaked by H-K in the 2nd round, but ran into the Capital Prep buzzsaw in the quarterfinals.

Class M (draw)
No. 25 Vinal Tech, No. 5 Cromwell, No. 7 Valley Regional
Need to know: Vinal bowed out in the first round, Cromwell lost to Brookfield in the second round, but Valley is still kicking. The Warriors will play at Waterford Monday night.

Class L (draw)
No. 8 Middletown
Need to know: Middletown was upset in L's first round by Stratford.

Class LL (draw)
No. 28 Xavier
Need to know: No magic for the Falcons this year. Xavier lost to New London in the first round, 92-77.

PICS: Den's Aquino wins UNBC belt

A sixth-round TKO landed Meriden's Danny Aquino the UNBC super bantamweight title Friday night at the Lion's Den in Middletown. Aquino defeated Coy Evans of Philadelphia. Check out some pics from the night, all taken by correspondent Todd Kalif. 

PIC: Valley's Mason King dunks against Coginchaug

Full story on how Mason King and Valley dunked their way to the Shoreline final.