web1_Hazleton-Police.jpg

Hazleton police investigate report of students about to fight in street when armed male showed up

web1_TTL050616redash1.jpg

Newport Twp. residents complain about gunfire in neighborhood

<p>It&#8217;s not a bad time of the year to have a turf field.</p><p>Rain once again has been a nuisance to Wyoming Valley Conference baseball teams. Not just because of postponed games &#8212; a dozen this week so far &#8212; but because of practices moving indoors.</p><p>Heading into the gym on off days makes it more likely for the field to be playable for games, but it isn&#8217;t ideal for coaches.</p><p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t practiced on the field (this week) because of the rain, and that&#8217;s unfortunate,&#8221; Lake-Lehman coach Brian Gorski said. &#8220;We were in the gym twice this week, and once the season starts you want to be outside more.&#8221;</p><p>Some teams have had to make some adjustments. Dallas has turf in its outfield but not in the infield. Thursday&#8217;s game against Tunkhannock was moved to the community fields on the other side of Route 309, where the Mountaineers had played for a few years while their new field at the high school was constructed.</p><p>Wyoming Seminary, which has a full turf surface at Nesbitt Stadium, picked up an extra home game, hosting Nanticoke for a second time this spring on Tuesday. The Trojans, however, won both games.</p><p>As for some other teams, things have gotten a bit backed up. The two biggest schools in the league will have the busiest conclusion to the regular season.</p><p>Class 4A programs Wyoming Valley West and Hazleton Area are both scheduled to play WVC games on four straight days next week &#8212; Monday through Thursday. And that assumes that more wet weather doesn&#8217;t wipe out games on Friday.</p><p>Of course, weather-related frantic finishes aren&#8217;t anything new for the area.</p><p>In recent years, the end of the 2012 season may have been the craziest. A total of 28 games were postponed because of long periods of rain that affected field conditions throughout the county. That number counts games that were rescheduled more than once separately. One particular game between Nanticoke and Holy Redeemer had to be moved three times before finally being played.</p><p>That May, Valley West played games at three different fields &#8212; the usual digs at Spartan Stadium, Roosevelt Field in Swoyersville and Community Park in Plymouth.</p><p>All of it combined to extend the regular season by a few days into the weekend before the District 2 tournament. Five games were played on a Saturday and one final matchup between rivals GAR and Meyers was a very rare Sunday matinee.</p><p>On that last Saturday, Holy Redeemer even hosted a doubleheader with big implications on a division title race. The Royals played Pittston Area at noon &#8212; upsetting the Patriots 3-2 &#8212; before losing the resumption of a suspended game to Hazleton Area at 4 p.m., 8-7 in 12 innings.</p><p>The swing gave the division title to the Cougars instead of the Patriots. The teams had been tied in the standings coming into the day.</p><p>In other words, it will be tough to top that kind of hectic baseball this spring.</p><p>There will still be weekend action down the stretch in 2016. Three games are scheduled for this Saturday, including the finish of an April 11 game between Wyoming Area and Tunkhannock that was suspended after seven innings with the game tied 4-4. Two more games are set for the following Saturday.</p><p>But the current setup of the district playoff schedule means that a repeat of 2012 isn&#8217;t likely. With the championships once again set for Memorial Day at PNC Field in Moosic, the postseason will begin on Friday, May 20, with the opening round of the 3A and 2A brackets.</p><p>That gives some more flexibility for late-season scheduling when the weather does turn sour. MMI Prep and Nanticoke, for example, were able to move Wednesday&#8217;s postponed game to Monday, May 16.</p><p>And the schedule still won&#8217;t be crowded for everyone.</p><p>Whereas Redeemer got squeezed four years ago, this May will be much more leisurely. The Royals have already managed to play 13 of their 14 WVC games, clinching the Division 3 title on Thursday with a win over Hanover Area.</p><p>They&#8217;ll finish up with a non-league game against Scranton on Saturday before playing GAR on Tuesday. And with a chance at a first-round bye still in play, their first playoff might not come until May 24.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Baseball.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The recent rainy forecast has forced area baseball teams to make a few adjustments to their schedules and practice locations. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_Baseball.jpg</photo0><caption0>The recent rainy forecast has forced area baseball teams to make a few adjustments to their schedules and practice locations. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WVC baseball teams adjust to wet weather