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We can forgive WVC baseball coaches and players for perhaps getting a little queasy on Thursday.Even the briefest bit of snow flurries on April 23 is enough to provoke that sort of reaction, especially on the heels of yet another long winter in Luzerne County.Here, at the end of the fourth week of April, most WVC teams were just about fully thawed and consistently playing actual, live baseball games outdoors.Though only one game was postponed Thursday, this unwelcome cold snap isn&#8217;t helping matters &#8212; one WVC scorekeeper joked that he was reporting his team&#8217;s results from the North Pole.As it stands, how fast a team starts out in league play sometimes comes down to how much they can get done indoors during the cold.Wyoming Valley West has been slow out of the gate the last two years before heating up in the second half of the schedule. This season, the Spartans opened 6-0 before losing in 10 innings to Wyoming Area on Thursday.The difference?&#8220;In all honesty, we had some gym time this year,&#8221; Spartans coach John Milius said with a laugh after a big win over Hazleton Area earlier this month. &#8220;The last two years, we weren&#8217;t allowed in the gym because we got a new floor and new bleachers.&#8220;So I guess the bleachers are as little dinged up now and the floor&#8217;s a little dinged up, so they&#8217;re allowing us in. We had a winter in the gym. Got a lot of work done.&#8221;That&#8217;s the winter. How about the spring?The last two years have been particularly rough for teams at the start of the league schedule. In both seasons, just as the fields were beginning to fully thaw, prolonged rain ended up wiping out days at a time.The end result is that some squads&#8217; first extended work outdoors is coming in actual games. Not ideal at all.&#8220;I think we need to do a better of job of scheduling,&#8221; Wyoming Area coach Ron Musto said. &#8220;Start in the middle of April. Play three games a week. Play on a weekend. Kids want to play.&#8220;The season shouldn&#8217;t start until the middle of April. These kids should have an opportunity to get on the field, practice and take care of them. It&#8217;s actually a safety issue, putting the kids on the field for the first time. Would you play a football game after being in the gym all year? Absolutely not.&#8221;Spring sports have the disadvantage of a time crunch, getting things finished up ahead of graduation ceremonies.In District 2, the current deadline for the regular season and playoffs is Memorial Day, with the championships of all four classes being held then at PNC Field.&#8220;The bottom line is, I know it&#8217;s graduation, but baseball is just as important as any other sport in District 2,&#8221; Musto said.DIVISION 1Wyoming Valley West and Hazleton Area have emerged as the frontrunners. Before Friday&#8217;s games, the Spartans held a one-game edge on the strength of their extra-innings victory at Hazleton on April 13.St. John&#8217;s recruit Ryan Hogan hit a grand slam to lead that comeback win and is crushing the ball so far, hitting .583 with 11 RBI and a league-leading three homers. The pitching is staff has a 1.10 ERA.DIVISION 2Entering Friday, Wyoming Area had already jumped out to a three-game lead over Berwick with Tunkhannock and Dallas both four back.The Warriors are hitting north of .320 as a team, but the pitching has been perhaps more impressive, allowing just 11 runs in the first seven league games. Four pitchers &#8212; Zach Lopatka, Jeremy Zezza and Josh Kopcza &#8212; have all made three appearances and all have been effective.DIVISION 3The most open of the division races still had Hanover Area on top entering Friday, but there were four teams within two games of first.That includes defending Class A district champ MMI Prep and Northwest &#8212; the only team to beat the Hawkeyes in the last four regular seasons &#8212; at just a half-game back.

Weather still affecting WVC baseball teams as April ends