The Schuylkill League golf schedule gets under way Thursday with a full round of matches, weather and course conditions permitting, of course.

On the slate for Thursday: Panther Valley at Lourdes, North Schuylkill at Tamaqua, Blue Mountain at Pottsville, Pine Grove at Minersville, Mahanoy Area at Schuylkill Haven and Nativity at Weatherly.

Another full league round is scheduled for Friday, again weather and course conditions permitting: Tamaqua at Panther Valley, Pottsville at Lourdes, North Schuylkill at Blue Mountain, Schuylkill Haven at Pine Grove, Minersville at Nativity and Weatherly at Marian.

This season, the Schuylkill League will consist of six teams in Division I and seven squads in Division II:

** Division I — Blue Mountain, Lourdes, North Schuylkill, Panther Valley, Pottsville, Tamaqua

** Division II — Mahanoy Area, Marian, Minersville, Nativity, Pine Grove, Schuylkill Haven, Weatherly

Schuylkill Haven is the defending league champion and is expected to be among the league’s top squads with the return of 2024 Schuylkill County Junior Golf champion Talan Spittler and sophomore Alan Evans, among others.

Golf is one of those sports that seems to be over right after it starts. The regular season lasts just more than one month, with the final round of league matches slated for Sept. 12. The Schuylkill League Golf Championships are set for Monday, Sept. 16, beginning at 10 a.m. at Schuylkill Country Club.

Good luck to our area golfers.

Blankenhorn getting his shot

Pottsville grad Travis Blankenhorn has gone 3-for-19 (.158) so far this season with the Washington Nationals after being called up from Triple-A Rochester on July 30.

Blankenhorn put together a great season at Rochester, slashing .246/.328/.518 with an .846 OPS, slugging 24 homers and driving in 69 runs in 401 plate appearances. He got the call to the majors July 30 after Washington traded outfielders Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker before the MLB trading deadline.

With the Nationals, the lefty-hitting Blankenhorn has settled into the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter with right-handed Harold Ramirez, starting six straight games. Blankenhorn had a two-run double on his 28th birthday Saturday in a win over Milwaukee, went 2-for-4 in Monday’s loss at San Francisco and had two RBIs in Tuesday’s 11-5 win over the Giants.

Blankenhorn most likely will not start in the Nationals’ games Wednesday and Thursday, as the Giants are scheduled to pitch left-handers Blake Snell and Kyle Harrison.

Blankenhorn’s time with the Nationals also might be short-lived, as veteran first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo began a rehab assignment Tuesday with Rochester. Gallo is set to play Wednesday and Thursday with Rochester, but it is unknown if he joins the Nationals when they return home to host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.

With rookie James Wood, Jacob Young and Alex Call solidified in the Washington outfield and Juan Yepez hitting well at first base, the lefty-hitting Gallo could unseat Blankenhorn upon his return, or Washington could opt to send down one of its several middle infielders (all of whom hit right-handed) currently on the MLB roster.

Let’s hope Washington keeps Blankenhorn’s left-handed bat in the lineup for quite some time.

Minors update

Looking at the area’s other professional baseball players, Marian’s Joe Nahas is 4-1 with a 4.50 ERA for the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A affiliate Tennessee Smokies.

Nahas, a 24-year-old right-handed reliever, opened the season at High-A South Bend, recording two saves and striking out 11 batters in 11.1 innings before being promoted to Double-A Tennessee on May 4. He’s pitched 38 innings with the Smokies, recording 50 strikeouts and walking just 12 in 17 appearances.

Nahas got the victory in Tennessee’s win over Chattanooga on Tuesday, giving up two runs in two innings of work.

Schuylkill Haven’s Brandon Schaeffer (Seattle Mariners) and North Schuylkill’s Reggie Crawford (San Francisco Giants) are both currently on the injured list.

Schaeffer has missed most of the season after a stellar 2023 with the High-A Everett AquaSox and is on the 60-day IL.

Crawford has been on the IL since June 13 with what is being termed “general arm fatigue.” The first-round pick started at Double-A Richmond, going 1-1 in seven games (1 start), striking out 19 and walking five in 9.2 innings. He was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on May 14 and appeared in seven games (all in relief) for the River Cats, fanning 11 and walking seven in 8.2 innings, allowing just three hits and recording a 1.04 ERA.

Saint Clair to hold stadium rededication

The Saint Clair Area School District will hold a Rededication of Veterans Memorial Stadium at halftime of Nativity’s season opener Aug. 23 against Holy Redeemer.

The Green Wave are returning to Saint Clair to play their home games this season after playing last year at North Schuylkill. Saint Clair has made some major renovations to Veterans Memorial Stadium over the past year, including installing new locker rooms and paving the track. T102SportsNow.com will take a look at Saint Clair’s stadium upgrades in a future story.

Saint Clair will also honor the school’s 1970 PIAA state champion boys’ basketball team during the Aug. 23 ceremony. The Saints were supposed to be honored during the 50th anniversary of their victory in 2020, but that ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19.

In 1970, Bill Wolff’s squad completed a magical playoff run with a 76-55 victory over District 6 champion Laurel Valley in the PIAA Class C state championship game in front of 9,356 people at the Harrisburg Farm Show. Senior 6-foot-5 center Pete Delenick had 26 points and 11 rebounds, senior guard Tom McGee tallied 20 points and 10 assists and junior forward Dave Bender collected 15 points and 16 rebounds as the Saints used a stifling second-quarter press to take control.

Matt Buletza and Mike Bulino rounded out the Saints’ starting five that season, while freshman Dave Delenick, who went on to score 2,018 career points, was Saint Clair’s sixth man. Saint Clair closed its high school in 1989, with its students in grades 9-12 attending Pottsville Area High School since. The district still operates an elementary/middle school for students in grades K-8.

I wrote a great, in-depth piece on that 1970 squad for The Republican Herald in 2020. You can read it here: https://accessnepa.com/boysbasketball/basketball-saint-clair-players-fondly-remember-state-championship.

Odds and ends

The Colonial League football coaches will hold their first preseason media day Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at The Phoenix in Nazareth.

** Official preseason practice for girls’ tennis, cross country, girls’ volleyball and boys’ and girls’ soccer begins Monday, Aug. 12. Regular-season contests for all of those sports get under way Friday, Aug. 23.