D-2 baseball championships not permitted at PNC Field; track finals move to North Pocono
Apr. 9—One spring District 2 championship has a new home, while others are searching for new venues because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
The District 2 Track and Field Championships relocated to North Pocono High School, while the baseball championships, held annually over Memorial Day weekend at PNC Field cannot be held there this year, District 2 Chairman Frank Majikes said at a District 2 Committee meeting Thursday.
Officials from PNC Field, which is home to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, informed Majikes that Major League Baseball took over scheduling at the facility and is not permitting outside events.
Majikes said the baseball steering committee will meet to discuss options. One possibility is playing at the home site of the higher-seeded team, which is a format that was used during the fall sports season.
Having the higher seed host is also being looked at for the District 2 softball championships, which are traditionally held at Wilkes University or the University of Scranton. However, because of COVID-19 concerns, those colleges are hesitant about hosting outside events and are not likely to do so this spring.
Meanwhile, North Pocono, which hosted the track and field championships for several years in the 1990s and early 2000s, expressed interest in hosting the event after the Scranton School District opted out from hosting at Scranton Memorial Stadium this season because of COVID-19 concerns.
The track and field steering committee will meet within the next two weeks to develop recommendations on the format, dates, times and number of qualifiers because North Pocono's track is six lanes.
Also this season, District 2 intended to institute a two-day championship meet that mirrored the PIAA Championships in Shippensburg. However, the state changed its format for this spring with the Class 2A championships May 28 and Class 3A on May 29.
Majikes said it is premature to address the format until the steering committee has a chance to meet.
The District 2 tennis championship format is approved. The first three rounds in Class 3A will be at North Pocono High School while Class 2A will be at Kirby Park. Semifinals and finals are scheduled for Kirby Park.
District 2 volleyball will also use the format from the fall season with the home team hosting through the finals.
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter
