The way Schuylkill Haven baseball coach Scott Buffington figures it, the Hurricanes might have to play through some rain at some point during the state playoffs.
So it only made sense that Buffington took his club outside to practice the last two days.
Schuylkill Haven — and three other local teams — have played the waiting game since Monday, when the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs were scheduled to begin.
Some teams — particularly those that played in western Pennsylvania — got their first-round games in Monday.
Others weren’t so lucky.
With large portions of the state covered under a swath of dark green on radar, only some games were played Tuesday.
That meant Tri-Valley (Class A Baseball), Schuylkill Haven (AA Baseball), Pottsville (AAA Baseball) and Williams Valley (A Softball) got rained out for the second straight day.
Their games were rescheduled for today, weather and field conditions permitting. Today’s winners are scheduled to play again Thursday.
Here’s the updated schedule:
• Pine Grove’s Stump Stadium will now be the site of a baseball doubleheader. Schuylkill Haven’s game against District 12 runner-up MaST Charter has been moved from Pottsville’s Steidle Field to a 3 p.m. start at Stump. Pottsville’s game will remain at Stump Stadium, with the start time against District 3 runner-up Spring Grove pushed back to 6 p.m.
• Nothing’s changed for Tri-Valley, which will play District 1 champion Christopher Dock at 4 p.m. at Spring-Ford High School in Royersford.
• For Williams Valley, the Vikings are back where they started at Blue Mountain’s Patton Field for a 2 p.m. game against District 12 champion Girard Academic Music Program. The game against GAMP was to be at Blue Mountain on Monday and at Allentown’s Patriots Park on Tuesday.
• In PIAA Class AA Baseball, Upper Dauphin moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-2 win over Richland on Monday. The Trojans will take on District 7 runner-up Quaker Valley at noon Thursday at Everett Elementary School in southcentral Pennsylvania. The early start was necessary because Upper Dauphin’s graduation is scheduled for Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, as the rain fell and the schedule-makers went to Plan
B, Buffington and his team went to work.
“We practiced Monday in the rain on the field and (Tuesday) in the rain down on the turf, both days for about an hour,’’ the veteran coach said.
The idea was to simulate conditions Schuylkill Haven might find on game day.
“That’s right. We’ve done it before, played in the rain,’’ Buffington said. “We thought we’d slop around in it. (Tuesday) it was too sloppy so we went down on the turf and hit it around, threw it around, did some things we did early in the season to try to stay in physical and mental playing shape.
“There’s no sense being out there for 2, 2 and a half hours,’’ he added. “We got done what we could get done and sent them home.’’
The coach also feels comfortable with the field switch to Stump Stadium.
“If we’re going to play in Schuylkill County (today), it would be at Pine Grove,’’ Buffington said.
“Coach (Keith) Lehman and his crew and Scott Dimon as athletic director, they really do a great job of getting it ready,’’ he added. “They know what to do.’’
Here’s a sampling from other teams waiting to play.
Tri-Valley
Coach Bob Felty Sr.’s crew went back to basics, even bringing back some drills the Dawgs do when they’re stuck inside early in the season due to snow.
“We practiced in the gym the last 2 days,’’ Felty said. “We were on the bus boarded up ready to leave Monday when we got the call. (Tuesday) we got the call early enough.
“We did what we could, a couple rounds of BP, ground balls in the gym, worked on bunting,’’ he added. “It was like a preseason workout with a lot of hitting drill work and live pitching off the coaching staff (in the cage).’’
All that remains is to play the game.
“Our guys seem focused,’’ Felty said. “They’re ready to go play, and it’s my job to keep them prepared. We did the most we could.’’
Pottsville
For coach Mike Welsh, a few things came into focus over the past few days.
On Monday, the team got in a round of batting practice on the field before the rain came.
Tuesday was a different story, as the game was postponed early in the day. The key was to get more BP off live pitching, and the Tide did that in the cage in the girls’ gym with its Nos. 3 and 4 pitchers throwing.
They also did tee work and took some ground balls.
“It felt like the beginning of the season all over again,’’ Welsh said.
“The most important thing for our guys was to see some live pitching to simulate game conditions as much as we could from that standpoint.’’
Meanwhile, ace Eli Nabholz threw a bullpen session in the boys’ gym. Nabholz, coming off two high-stress victories over Tamaqua and Blue Mountain on shorter rest, wouldn’t have pitched Monday and probably wouldn’t have thrown Tuesday, Welsh said.
“He’s ready to go. In that aspect, the rain’s been fortunate for us,’’ Welsh added.
Williams Valley
The Vikings have gotten good at juggling this week, from site changes, to Class Night to the Senior Luncheon to graduation ceremonies scheduled for 7 this evening.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun in the gym,’’ coach Lee Reiser said jokingly. “It’s been a real bear.
“I think we’re good,’’ he added. “We did what we had to do, but (the weather’s) been ugly.’’
Special transportation has been set up to enable the seniors to attend the luncheon and play in the game.
“We have a separate van to get them to the field,’’ Reiser said. “I want them to enjoy every aspect of graduation
“We’re hoping to get the game in at 2 to get home for graduation,’’ he added. “That’s the plan.’’
Local schedule
Today’s first-round games
PIAA Class A Baseball
· 11-1 Tri-Valley vs. 1-1 Christopher Dock, Spring-Ford HS, Royersford, 4 p.m.
PIAA Class AA Baseball
· 12-2 MaST Charter vs. 11-1 Schuylkill Haven, Stump Stadium, Pine Grove, 3 p.m.
PIAA Class AAA Baseball
· 3-2 Spring Grove vs. 11-1 Pottsville, Stump Stadium, Pine Grove, 6 p.m.
PIAA Class A Softball
· 12-1 GAMP vs. 11-1 Williams Valley, Patton Field, Orwigsburg, 2 p.m.
Thursday’s quarterfinal games
PIAA Class AA Baseball
· 3-2 Upper Dauphin vs. 7-2 Quaker Valley, Everett Elem., noon
NOTE: Today’s first-round winners are scheduled to play Thursday in the quarterfinals.