Colts rally to defeat Panther Vy.

Baseball season has been hijacked this spring.

Mother Nature, global warming, or the Eagles winning the Super Bowl? Take your pick of the culprit.

As the snows swirled around the Marian High School baseball field Monday and the temperature nose dived to 34 degrees on the final pitch, it was hard to fathom that six-and-half innings would get played.

But Marian was certainly glad it did.

The Colts defeated rival Panther Valley, 8-3, in an early-season Schuylkill League Division 3 baseball showdown.

“We’re young and we’re growing,” said Marian coach Tony Radocha. “I’m pleased with today’s win. We’ll take them any way we can get them.”

Marian (2-1, 2-0) got out to a 1-0 lead in the home first thanks to an Aaron Mason single and an Alex Kubishin double. It made it 2-0 in the third after a clutch two-out single from Ryan Cappel that drove home Kubishin.

But the Colts’ bats then went as cold as the wind chill factor in Hometown as Panther Valley rallied to grab the lead.

The Panthers (2-2, 0-2) scored three runs in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a one-out error, before three straight hits fueled their hopes. Jake Taras beat out a grounder for an infield hit and Mark Kokinda followed with a single to drive in two runners. Ronnie Distler then looped a Texas Leaguer over the first baseman’s reach sending in the go-ahead run.

“Yeah, we were okay at that point,” suggested Panther Valley coach Rich Evanko as his team took the lead into the fifth.

“In a game like this, you would sell your soul for a run, and I was about to sell my soul,” joked Radocha.

It turned out, he didn’t have to.

The Colts produced the tying run in the fifth, before taking advantage of numerous Panther mistakes to score five runs in the sixth.

Marian forged the victory with only two hits – Max Nolter and Dante Agosti each with RBI singles. There were two pitching changes by Panther Valley, an error, two wild pitches and a passed ball, which all aided the winning formula.

“We didn’t do a very good job,” said Evanko, talking about the mental and physical mistakes the Panthers made, adding “a veteran team can’t do those things and expect to win.”

WEB GEMS… The cold weather didn’t take away some strong defensive plays. One in particular was made by PV left fielder Brad Buzzard, who snatched a sure extra-base hit away from Adam Keslicka.

HITS TOUGH … There were a total of 10 hits combined, seven from Marian. Kubishin had two of those, including the only extra-base hit of the game. Matt Doherty, Nolter, Agosti, Cappel and Mason each had singles. PV’s three singles came from the 7, 8 and 9-hole hitters — Taras, Kokinda and Distler.

STRONG START ... Cappel looked good on the mound for Marian, holding the Panthers hitless in five of the six innings he worked.

FEELIN’ THE PAIN ... Home plate umpire Joe Gerchak took a ball off the top of his right hand on the next to the last pitch of the game. Gerchak’s hand was obviously swollen following the game.

Panther Vy. 000 300 0 - 3 3 2

Marian 101 015 x - 8 7 1

Goida, Hafer (6), Buzzard (6) and Taras. Cappel, Kubishin (7) and Nolter. W-Cappel L-Hafer.