Good sportsmanship and closely-contested games were the highlights as all MAA baseball leagues began play in mid-April. Here is a look at some results based on reports from winning coaches:The Mineola Lions Club won its opener 14-3 over Garden City South. Manager Gary Tuthill said strong pitching by J.P. Cifuentes and Patrick Leung along with good hitting and solid defense contributed to the win. The team has 15 boys aged 14-15.

Matt Jetter, Steve Miller and Derek Webber combined to pitch a three-hitter as Fleet Bank beat Chamber of Commerce 5-1 to run its record to 2-0. Jetter, Mike DeStefano, Miller and Anthony Allegra had run-scoring hits. Rich Marron hit a one-hopper off the center field fence and scored on Allegra's hit. Mark Lupo, Ben Volino and Tom Marron played well defensively.

Smith and DeGroat wa 3-1 after playing the other four teams in the majors. It beat Fleet Bank 8-7, as Chris Murphy and Robert Wong combined for 15 strikeouts and walked only three. Smith and DeGroat fell behind 3-0 but sent 10 boys to the plate in the second inning, scoring six runs. Dave Redmond scored two runs and Murphy, John Boland, James Walker, Mike Purdy, Rob Pagano and Chris Vanderbeck scored once each. Smith and DeGroat batters struck out only four times.

Other Smith and DeGroat victories came against Harry Katz (5-4) and Chamber of Commerce (8-0). In the first game, Murphy, Wong, Redmond, James Kelly and Wong had two hits apiece. Wong and Murphy each scored twice and Boland once. In the other game, Wong and Murphy combined to pitch a shutout. Wong and Schweyher had seven hits between them.

Sarah Mooney singled in Terry Mooney to give Astoria Federal Savings a 3-2 victory over T.K.'s Cards and Gifts. Kaitlin Orlando tripled in a run and struck out nine of the 10 batters she faced as a relief pitcher.

Install-A-Lock won two games 6-3 and 2-0. In the first game, starter Chris Lyons pitched three shutout innings and Nick Tonini went three-for-three with a double and a homer. In the second game, Lyons and Ryan Pratt combined to pitch a no-hitter and accounted for the two runs. Pratt reached first on a bunt and scored on Lyons' homer.

Nassau Chromium won three early-season games. Steven Keeler and Kevin Tiseo combined for 12 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Install-A-Lock and Kurt Hetzer and Jonathan Hock had run-scoring hits. A 7-6 victory over Mineola Florist included: a triple by Hock, two perfect innings by pitcher Chris Harnett; a nice tagout at the plate by Joe Cusker and a diving catch by Tiseo. A 13-1 victory over T.K.'s featured good pitching by Steven Keeler and Harnett, a three-for-three game by Matt Harrison and good fielding by Tommy Barbosa, Hock and Andrew Peuss.

Galaxy Photo scored 32 runs in two games. Nick Gallina, Bruce DeFino and Dennis Clark were the hitting stars. Matthew Siwinski, Troy Kerney and Matthew Dadich made good fielding plays against Dr. Brooks and Cassidy's Funeral Home.