HIGH SCHOOLS

Fryeburg softball coach returns after year away

Fred Apt’s retirement from coaching softball in Maine turned out to be short-lived.

After a one-season absence as an assistant softball coach across the border at Kennett High in Conway, New Hampshire, Apt has returned to Fryeburg Academy where in 13 seasons spread his teams went 166-56, winning five straight Western Maine Class B titles and three state championships.

“I’m glad I did coach last year,” Apt said. “I tried that assistant role and I really think if I didn’t do that I wouldn’t have been back coaching.”

Last season Fryeburg went 9-10 overall under Coach Stephen Woodcock.

COLLEGES

HOCKEY: Boston University center Jack Eichel became just the second freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award which goes to the top player in college hockey.

The 18-year-old Eichel has 26 goals and 44 assists so far this season. The Terriers will play Providence in the NCAA championship at Boston’s TD Garden on Saturday night.

The other freshman winner was UMaine’s Paul Kariya.

BASKETBALL: Frank Kaminsky of national runner-up Wisconsin won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award and the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball’s top men’s player.

Breanna Stewart of national champion Connecticut has won the Wooden women’s player of the year award

FOOTBALL: Former Florida coach and athletic director Ray Graves, who helped the Gators reach national prominence in the 1960s, died at 96 in the Tampa area.

TENNIS

FAMILY CIRCLE CUP: Madison Keys and Lucie Hradecka are surprise semifinalists at Charleston, South Carolina.

Keys, the seventh seed, beat fellow American Lauren Davis, 6-2, 6-2. Hrdecka, a qualifier from the Czech Republic, topped her second seeded player in as many days, knocking out No. 4 seed Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-4.

The two square off Saturday.

GRAND PRIX HASSAN II: Third-seeded Jiri Vesely easily advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Aljaz Bedene at Casablanca, Mexico.

The 21-year-old Czech meets Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the next round. The Spaniard dispatched Lamine Ouahab 6-4, 6-3.

KATOWICE OPEN: First-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska continued her winning streak at the Polish tournament by advancing to the semifinals following a 6-1, 6-1 win against Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Diego Costa could miss Chelsea’s next four games with a left hamstring injury that has affected the Spain striker all season.

Costa, who has scored 19 league goals, limped off after a recurrence of the injury during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Stoke on Saturday.

Chelsea leads the Premier League by seven points.

BIATHLON

U.S. TEAM: Clare Egan of Cape Elizabeth was among four women nominated for U.S. Biathlon’s national A Team for the 2015-16 season.

Egan, 27, made her World Cup debut in late January and represented the U.S. at the world championships in Finland in March.

She’ll be joined on the women’s A Team by three 2014 Olympians – Annelies Cook, Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee. The men’s A Team is composed of four 2014 Olympians — Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, Sean Doherty and Leif Nordgren.

– From staff and news services