Over the past several years, as I've returned to Pottsville from covering early-season high school games in eastern Schuylkill County, I've driven past the Schuylkill Valley baseball field in Middleport.
Each time I passed the cozy stadium along Route 209, I shook my head in disappointment.
The grass, not yet cut, looked like a wheat field. The infield, not manicured, looked rough and unplayable.
It seemed, as spring flowers bloomed and baseball season kicked into full swing, that the home of the Schuylkill Valley Legion and Teener league teams could be better utilized.
Enter the Marian baseball team.
Their field deemed unsafe due to a sinkhole problem, the Colts needed a place to play. They've found one in Schuylkill Valley, where they will play their home games until work is completed to improve their home field adjacent to the school in Hometown.
The marriage is one that will benefit both sides.
"Over the years, the field at Marian has been deteriorating due to subsidence," Marian head coach Jeff Nietz said. "Fifty-sixty years ago when it was built, they just used any type of fill. A lot of it was organic. For the last couple of years we've had a bad, bad sinkhole in left. And there's been some subsidence here and there.
"This past year, the last couple of hard winters that we've had, really took its toll. This year, that sinkhole is probably 3 feet now.
"That, combined with the fact that there's a lot of extra-curricular activity on the field during the offseason - there's football practice out there, gym classes, midget football, band practices ... everything happens out there on that field. It's just physically deteriorated to the point that it's unsafe."
Nietz said Marian is looking at a building project for the field, but permits are taking longer than expected. That left the Colts looking for an alternative field.
Marian considered Dutch Hill in Tamaqua and Pagnotti Field in Hazleton, but Schuylkill Valley really stood out.
Schuylkill Valley's field has dimensions of 302 in left, 365 in center and 314 in right. The facility also has a concrete grandstand, a concession stand building and benches for seating around the backstop. It also has a ton of space in foul territory down the lines and behind home plate.
"Dutch Hill is a beautiful field, we like the atmosphere, but it's a short porch," Nietz said. "It's got a short fence, and it doesn't hold water well.
"Pagnotti is a nice Legion field, but it's in a rougher section of Hazleton, and it's a little farther away than here.
"Coming here, we just felt the dimensions added to a high school game. It's like a college field with open spaces. The people here are just gracious to let us have the field and let us work with it."
In my opinion, playing at Schuylkill Valley is a step up for the Colts. Once the Teener League and Legion teams begin their practices and seasons, the field is one of the better ones in that region to play on.
With Marian playing there during the spring, the condition of the complex will only get better. Nietz and his staff have put a lot of work into it already, and will continue to do so as the season progresses. That eliminates some of the work the Schuylkill Valley people will have to do to get it ready in May and June.
Nietz said Marian will bring down its portable bleachers to add seating on the third-base side, and may even bring down their electronic scoreboard to use during games.
"Ed Vaz, from Middleport, has been instrumental in getting us here and working with us," Nietz said. "Our guys have been working with them.
"We're just so happy to be playing on a nice field that we'll do anything that we can to help them out and get it ready for them. We just lucked out coming here. It's in great shape, and they've been totally fantastic helping us.
"It lends itself to nice baseball. It had everything we were looking for in a field."
Trojans, Hawks off to great starts
While a lot of attention is given to the Schuylkill League teams in this column, it's worth noting the impressive starts by Upper Dauphin and Hamburg.
The Trojans are the area's only unbeaten team, going 4-0 with Tri-Valley League victories over Juniata, Newport, Millersburg and Greenwood. Line Mountain is also unbeaten in TVL action, although just 2-0. East Juniata and Millersburg are right behind the Trojans at 3-1.
Upper Dauphin was supposed to play at Line Mountain on Friday, but the game was rained out. UDA visits East Juniata on Wednesday.
Hamburg is 6-0 in April, and sits atop Section II of the Berks League at 3-1. The Hawks complete their first round of league play today at Schuylkill Valley, then host Fleetwood on Wednesday. Fleetwood (4-4, 2-1) handed Hamburg its only loss of the season 9-6 on March 26.
This week's games
Recent rainouts have created good Schuylkill League matchups the first three days of this week before the Easter holiday arrives over the weekend.
Here's a look at this week's big games:
Today - Pottsville at Tamaqua, Minersville at Nativity
Tuesday - Tamaqua at North Schuylkill, Nativity at Tri-Valley, Marian at Schuylkill Haven, Minersville at Williams Valley
Wednesday - Blue Mountain at Tamaqua, North Schuylkill at Pine Grove, Nativity at Marian, Fleetwood at Hamburg, Upper Dauphin at East Juniata
Thursday - Bethlehem Catholic at Pottsville, Tamaqua at Tri-Valley
Saturday - North Schuylkill at Hamburg
Player of the Week Hunter Bordner, Tri-Valley
You could nominate a couple of Dawgs for this award, but Bordner gets the billing after tossing a three-hit shutout and striking out 14 in Saturday's big Schuylkill League Division II win over previously unbeaten Schuylkill Haven.
(Boyer covers high school baseball for The Republican-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @pubsportsboss)Power Poll
(Through games played April 12)
Team Record Pvs.
1. Pottsville 5-3 1
2. Tamaqua 5-1 2
3. Hamburg 8-1 4
4. Tri-Valley 7-1 7
5. Blue Mountain 7-2 2
6. Upper Dauphin 4-0 8
7. Schuylkill Haven 6-1 5
8. North Schuylkill 5-2 6
9. Marian 3-1 10
10. Pine Grove 5-3 9
- Compiled by Leroy Boyer