District 2 found a home for its track and field championships on Thursday, but is still looking for sites for the baseball and softball championship games.
The D2 athletic committee approved unanimously to use North Pocono High School for this year’s track and field championships. Scranton Memorial Stadium had been the longtime host, but was unavailable because of COVID-19 concerns.
District 2 was also informed PNC Field in Moosic, home of the minor league Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, can’t be used on traditional championship days during the Memorial Day weekend.
“I’ve been informed by PNC, the RailRiders group, that Major League Baseball has taking over the scheduling and the use of the fields and they’ve informed us that we’re not permitted to use the field on the Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend,” District 2 chairman Frank Majikes said. “I thought we’d be there for two games on Sunday, four on Monday, but Major League Baseball came in and said they would make the decision on who uses the field.”
PCN Field has been the site for the District 2 baseball championships annually since 2011.
District 2 was given optional dates to use PNC Field, but the D2 baseball steering committee found them impractical. The alternate dates would require both the Wyoming Valley Conference and Lackawanna League to end their seasons a week earlier. Those dates would also force the District 2 state qualifiers to wait two weeks until entering the PIAA state playoffs.
Majikes said the baseball championship games could be held at the site of the higher seed or at a neutral site if available.
District 2 softball is in a similar situation. Wilkes University has been a long-time site for the district championships and was joined by the University of Scranton in 2018. A handful of high schools have also hosted games in recent years.
District 2 softball chairman Pat Patte said he’s been in communication with Wilkes and Scranton, but there is no firm decision on the availability of those sites. Like baseball, softball could end up having championship games at the site of the higher seed or at neutral sites.
Boys volleyball appears to be heading in the same direction as girls volleyball in the fall, with all district matches at the site of the higher seed.
Boys tennis will hold Class 2A singles and team district competitions at Kirby Park. The Class 3A districts will be at North Pocono.
Boys and girls lacrosse are involved in subregional tournaments and a meeting will be conducted in the near future to set the postseason.
