POTTSVILLE – The harshness of the winter is starting to give way to the harbinger of spring.

On Sunday, baseball and softball teams from the Schuylkill League gathered in Pottsville to address the upcoming season, even if the winter chill is stubbornly trying to hang on a little bit more.

And yes, the PIAA has once again continued its pattern of the grand ole game starting early.

The first official game-day is this Friday, and natural grass fields are still recovering from a winter of frozen temperatures.

“What are you going to do?” said Jeff Reading, the highly successful Tamaqua baseball head coach, about having to start the season in mid-March.

“Hey, we can’t do anything about it, so we’ve got to go out and see what happens,” echoed Rich Evancho, mentor of a Panther Valley program that should be in the hunt in Division 2 of the Schuylkill League.

Evancho is philosophical about 2025, saying he looks to reload, and will be one of the top teams in the small school division that features Shenandoah Valley, Mahanoy Area, Weatherly and Marian. To be sure, the Panthers are the defending champs three years running, but there are holes to fill.

Tamaqua, meanwhile, is still the Big Dog. This program has always been lurking in the big school Division. And, now it comes into this season as the defending league champions and a horde of solid baseball players with experience.

Mason Ligenza and Luke Kane are the marquee players who headline the Blue Raiders.

“I really don’t feel any kind of pressure,” said Kane, a three-sport athlete who just signed to play baseball at Bloomsburg University.

“Yeah, we know we are the favorite ... it’s something that we all are used to,” said Ligenza, who signed a letter-of-intent to play at the University of Pittsburgh last season as an early commit.

Ligenza will certainly be one of the most talked about baseball players in the state. He has been touring the United States throughout the winter in various showcases for Major League Baseball.

“He is very even-keeled kid,” Reading said. “But he is such a leader … we’ve got kids that are leaders on this team, which makes it easy to coach them. They’ve been in the gym all winter, they didn’t need me telling them to get in and hit. They do it on their own.”

New Gang in Town

Marian has switched personnel at the top of both its teams — John Petrilyak in baseball and Lindsey Reinoehl in softball.

Petrilyak served under Tony Radocha, who developed some of the top-notch baseball players and teams in Colts baseball history.

The new skipper is turning to a horde of 10th graders to start 2025.

“We have a number of sophomores that we want to develop,” said the Marian manager, who knows the talent level since he served as an assistant for several seasons. “We have one senior and two juniors, so we are super-sophomore heavy.”

Petrilyak says he loves the Media Day, a huge supporter of the event.

“It’s been something I have pushed for a number of years,” he said.

Reinoehl is also excited to take on her new role.

“I know must of the players, and we can continue a great tradition, that coach (Joe DeAngelo) has developed,” she said. “I played for him, and we aren’t changing too much, why would we? It has worked in the past.”

New Panther Valley softball coach Tara Yuricheck is also excited about the season and the event that brought all the teams together.

“We are getting better and better each season,” Yuricheck said, and noted her team will be young this spring.

“I think this is a great event, getting all the girls together, and there are new rules so we’re going to learn all about the changes for this season. It’s great ... to see all the girls here.”