Marian and Palmerton captured District 11 championships in 2016, and both teams most replace a number of key contributors if they hope to repeat this season.

Here are some things to look for from each area team when the season begins:JIM THORPELOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK ... Thorpe struggled a year ago, going 7-13 overall and 4-8 in Schuylkill League Division I play. But the picture for 2017 baseball season is a whole lot brighter. Why? Only two starters departed in Jordan McElmoyle and James O'Toole.HOT STUFF IN THE STOVE ... The magic number is eight for coach Derick Reis. That is the total number of players with a varsity letter earned. Those players include Jake Burkhart (Sr., Utility), Max Pompa (Sr., 2B/SS), David Marino (Sr., OF), Derek Joyce (Sr., 3B), Aaron Joyce (Sr., C), Nick Porembo (Sr., 1B/P), Matt Day (Sr., P), Tyler Baird (Sr., P), Christian Fayocavitz (Sr., P/INF), Justin Marykwas (Jr., P/OF).DEPTH HELPERS ... Reis can plug in some depth with three underclassmen all capable of helping. They include Chris Valdez (Jr., OF), Justin Mahmde (Jr., P) and versatile Nick Rosahac (OF).REACHING HIGH ... Reis feels that his nine could be a very good club because of a large group of seniors, many of whom have played since they were freshmen. "They're an experienced group that has played in numerous (close) games over their careers and experienced some success last season, including two big wins over Blue Mountain and a win over Pottsville," said Reis. "But we are a team that lacked consistency. This year, we're looking to build off of those big wins and play with more consistency from game to game; if we're able to play with more consistency on a game-to-game basis, the coaching staff believes we have the talent and experience to be a playoff team."LEHIGHTONINDIANS IMPRESSED … Lehighton came on strong late in the season even though it had a losing record (5-7) in the Schuylkill Baseball League big school division. The Indians turned it up a notch late in the season and made an impact in the District 11 Class 3A playoffs, reaching the finals. They defeated Northwestern and Southern Lehigh, before bowing out in the title game to Palmerton, 12-11, which ironically was the team's overall record.STRONG RETURNERS … The Indians have a slew of returning starters for coach Brain Polaha, and that could be a big ticket to open the season. There's Cody Scherer (Jr., Utility, .342, 11 RBIs), Collin Haupt (Sr., 3B, .329, 15 RBIs), Donovan Buchinsky (Sr., SS, .278, 21 RBIs), Damian Mele (Sr., RHP, 3-1), Chris Whiteman (So., RHP, 3-1), Sean Heery (Jr., RHP), Gabe Wagner (Sr., C), Zach Crum (So., OF).SEARCHING FOR PLAYING TIME ... Polaha has four potential newcomers in Logan Pagotto (So., INF), Avery Deem (Jr., LHP), Michael Bozilesky (So., 1B), and Justin Ahner (Jr., OF).HIGH EXPECTATIONS ... Polaha sees the glass almost full and is hoping his team will feed off last season's late run. "After sneaking into districts and making a strong run, I expect that we can keep that momentum going through this year," said Polaha. "Although we lost some key players, we have enough returning players that gained valuable varsity experience from last year's run. Although the Schuylkill League is always competitive, I am hoping that we can possibly qualify for the league playoffs, and also qualify for district playoffs once again. Our team strength looks to be our pitching depth, and if the offense shows progress this year, I think we will have a good shot to reach the postseason."MARIANRIDING THE WAVE … Marian had a remarkable spring last season. The Colts bucked the odds and won the Schuylkill League championship coming out of the small school Division II. Marian would go on to finish 20-5, capped off with a District 11 Class 1A championship.WHO'S YOUR DADDY … Marian has lost a lot from a season ago. In fact, 11 players departed, including Joe Nahas, K.J. Snerr, Josh Inama (transfer to Tamaqua), Mason Evitts, Dante Salerno, Rob Hinkle, Aaron DeAngelo, Nick Kubishin, Ryan Malarkey, Teague Schmidt, Tyler Wackley.HELP ON THE WAY … Help could be on the way. Danny Keer brings his hefty offensive numbers to the plate (.488, 42 hits, 28 runs, 44 RBIs, 4 homers). He also had some mound time with a 2-1 record and 3.07 ERA. Also returning are Jarod Paisley (P) and Anthony Collevechio.WATCH LIST … The newcomers to the diamond are Adam Salazar, Mike Latoff, Mike Neary, Max Nolter, Ryan Cappell, Quest Wilson, Gabe Bauer, Brandon Cann, Billy Derr, Matt Doherty, and Alex Kusbishin.THE COACH SAID IT … "Last year was an unbelievable ride, one that we will never forget," said head coach Tony Radocha. " We have some big spots to fill, and the kids have been up to the challenge. We had strong attendance in the offseason, and everyone is working on getting better every day. I truly enjoy watching this team grow. While we are young, the goals remain the same."NORTHERN LEHIGHBACK 2 BASICS … Northern Lehigh will aim to improve on its 5-15 overall record last season. "We are emphasizing fundamentals with a hope to improve runs against. Our goal is to try to go out, work hard, and try to win every ballgame," said Northern Lehigh head coach Greg King. "Qualifying for the district tournament is always one of our goals."CHANGES … With some senior firepower gone, the Bulldogs will have to chip in collectively on the mound. King said most of the innings will go to Luke Eitner (So.), Gio Colon (Jr.), and Anthony Evangelist (Sr.). Colon is a newcomer this season. "Because of the new PIAA pitch count, we will have to rely on just about everyone to be able to pitch," said the Bulldogs coach.OFF THE LEASH … The Dawgs saw six players graduate last year - Austin Lanscak, Chad Cederberg, Evan Meixsell, Zachary Rex, Ashton Bevans, and Carlos FigueroaBACK FOR MORE … Nolehi will return six players with varsity experience. Luke Eitner (So), Jake Kistler (Sr), Mike Berger (Sr), Ryan Hoffer (Sr), Austin Hemingway (Sr), and Anthony Evangelist (Sr) will each play a role on the team this season.REINFORCEMENTS … Zach Long (Jr.), Brandon Hess (So.), and Aaron Rudolph (So.) will also join the program looking to make an impact.NORTHWESTERNNEW SHERIFF IN TOWN ... Bob Fatzinger will take over the head coaching position of the Tigers this year. He spent the last handful of seasons as an assistant coach with the program.MANY DIFFERENT TALENTS ... Fatzinger did a total makeover of the coaching staff. Dan Waelchi left Parkland after over 20 seasons with the program and will serve as an assistant coach with the Tigers. His son, Chad, will be a strength and conditioning coach. Joe Cantelmo, who pitched at Mansfield, is on board. Josh Perich, who formerly played for Northwestern and was drafted by the New York Mets, brings his minor league resume to the staff as a pitching coach.COMING BACK ... Five seniors who are looking to make significant impacts are Niko Fager, Isaac Fatzinger, Tyler Schreiner, Zach Stanley, and Dakota Laudenslager. Schreiner will be playing baseball with Lehigh University next season. "We have a pretty good nucleus with them coming back," said Fatzinger. "We're pretty experienced this year. We definitely want to contend to go after a league title. After that, it becomes another season."KEEP AN EYE ON ... Look for a host of younger Tigers to make some noise; Jake Haas, Trevor Schreiner, Mason Vogwell, Andrew White, and Tyler Wiik. "The middle (infield) is going to be big," said the Northwestern coach. "You want to be strong up the middle. We lost a lot when we lost Brady (Mengel) and Jake (Augustus). If we can make the routine plays, I think we will be all right. I don't need anyone to be superstars, but we have to make the routine plays, which could be a question mark."NO TIME TO WASTE ... Fatzinger will lead a Tigers program that has had a ton of recent success. Northwestern was 16-6 overall last year, making the Colonial League playoffs and earning a District 11 appearance. "We have a nice pitching staff, a good combination of lefties and righties. We will probably carry six pitchers. We'll have to manage it, but it's nice to have the amount of pitching that we have."PALMERTONWHAT A YEAR ... Palmerton won its first District 11 3A title in program history as the seventh seed against Lehighton last year. The Bombers were 15-11, and made a run into the state playoffs, winning a first round game against Palmyra, before falling in the state quarterfinals.CRUCIAL GRADUATES ... The Bombers have graduated a ton of key contributors from last season. Toby Sander and Zach Svetik are gone. The duo efficiently ate up a lot of innings on the mound for the team. Zach Buck led the team in RBIs, and Kole Rodrigues and Jon Schwartz were both significantly involved with the Bombers success.COMING BACK ... Garrett Perschy, Jared Mooney, and Ian Silfies are the trio of returning senior starters. Perschy, Silfies, and Brody Boehler will head the starting rotation. Last season, Perschy hit .306 and sported a 2.51 ERA. "With the new pitching rule this year, we are really trying to get a lot of kids ready so they can step up when needed," said head coach Mike Svetik. "We have a young team, but we have a lot of talented kids that are working hard and are eager to prove themselves."MAJOR KEY ... Svetik said his team needs to start the season on the right foot. "We are a very good defensive team, with some solid offensive players. Since we are a young team with limited varsity time, I am hoping that we can avoid a slow start and play the way I know they are capable of."PANTHER VALLEYFIVE ON THE TABLE … Panther Valley is coming off one of its best seasons in a number of years. The Panthers rolled out a solid 11-9 record, and finished 9-4 in Schuylkill League Division II. In addition, they reached the District 11 Class 2A playoffs before faltering to Schuylkill Haven.BACK IN THE PACK … Five starters return for coach Rich Evanko's club, including a trio of pitchers. The horse of the staff will likely be veteran Tony Micholik, now a senior who had a 1-3 record last season but sported a 1.25 ERA. He also batted .341 and can play either the outfield or the infield. Junior Tristian Blasko, a multi-sport athlete, batted .259 and will get his share of pitching time. Mason Goida started behind the plate as a freshman last season, and was more than just adequate. Goida had a solid .306 batting average, and can also pitch. Juniors Jon Hafer and Ronnie Distler will now get starting nods; Hafer had a 2-3 record and batted .268, while Distler will patrol the outfield as a full-time starter.GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN … Four pitchers departed from the program via graduation - Darren Goida, Ryan Taras, Sam Stanko and Anthony Vavra. Also gone is designated hitter Mike Hutt.ON THE RISE ... Potential returners that didn't start and newcomers in the Black and Gold include Wyatt Zimmerman (So.), Aaron Miller (So.), Zak Kindt (Jr.), Derek Beckham (So.) Brad Buzzard (So.) and Mark Kokinda (So.).PUTTING THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE TOGETHER ... Evanko has called it a rebuilding year, with the loss of seven players, six of which were starters who ate up a lot of mound innings. "We are a young team and only have one senior. Pitching will be our biggest factor. But with that being said, the goal still remains the same as last year of getting to the playoffs ... I am going to be looking to Anthony Micholik to be our leader on and off the field this year. We have a nice group of young guys who are working hard and creating competition for spots in the lineup."PLEASANT VALLEYWHO'S IN CHARGE? ... Former JV coach Jeff Lazowski will take over head varsity duties this year.WHO'S WITH HIM? ... Lazowski will bring on an entirely new coaching staff. T.J. Murphy has some former coaching experience and will be joined by Dan Beck, who used to coach PV softball. Jeremy Gigliotti will take over as the JV assistant, and Scott Castone will be the head JV coach. "These guys are full of baseball knowledge," said Lazowski. "We're really excited and looking forward to the season."ALL THE EXPERIENCE ... Kieran Kearns (P/IF), Brent Beck (OF), Brett Hardy (P/IF), Dakota George (IF), Connor Pandolfo, and Nathan Coursey represent a bulk of the 10 seniors who will lead the veteran charge this season. Matt Pierce and Brendan Kearns headline two of the former key graduated players. "That experience is a big thing and we're really going to depend on it," said Lazowski, whose Bears were 9-12 last year. "Each and every week, and each and every game they're going to be battling for spots. That competition within the team is really going to promote the competition against the other teams. We're a pretty good cohesive unit. A lot of these guys have been playing for a long time and we're ready to put it together."THE VISION ... Pleasant Valley earned a 6-2 record last year against its local rivals in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Mountain Division. The Bears will look to ride some of that success. "Each and every day we are going to try and get better, not only as players, but as individuals," the PV coach said. "We want to be playing for something down the line in May. But, we need to be competitive and take care of things each and every inning. It's a great thing already having a rapport with some of these guys, and I think we all want the same goal for one another, which is to be successful."TAMAQUAPICKING UP THE PIECES … A season ago, Tamaqua rolled out a 17-6 record, and finished 9-3 in Schuylkill League Division I behind North Schuylkill. The question marks looming for the Raiders include if they can equal that mark or better it.FILLING IN THE PIECES … Coach Jeff Reading always finds a way to mend the mitts when the strings are missing. There are only four starters back from last season's team. Junior Casey Rother could be a Division I prospect behind the plate. Thad Zuber gives the Raiders a terrific second baseman and solid pitcher. And senior Dylon Barron is back to roam the outfield.WHO CAN STEP IN … Reading is looking long and hard at a bevy of players to get some at-bats and play the field. One player that isn't out for keeps is veteran third baseman Eddie Titus. He tore an ACL in the basketball season, so that adds another void to the lineup. One player that will help is Josh Inama, who transferred from neighboring Marian. Inama played a lot for the defending league champions a season ago, and he also can pitch.WHAT'S THE PUZZLE … For starters, Tamaqua always finds a way to surface, and Reading will take a hard look up and down his roster. Three freshmen that could very well make an impact include the athletic Brayden Knobaluch (P/OF/C), Mike Minchoff (P/1B/OF) and Nate Boyle (SS/P). Two more underclassmen in the running for time are Brady Moyer (P/3B/SS) and Mike Bonetsky (P/OF/INF). Also in the picture are seniors Jake Banditelli (INF) and Dylan Woods (OF), along with junior Issiah Kupchinsky (P/1B/3B).IN THE COACHES EYES … Reading said his team has its work cut out to get on the plus side of the ledger. "We're young, and we're inexperienced," said Reading. "A lot depends on how our kids mature. If they get the hang of it quickly, we'll be OK. Pitching means everything, and we could be pretty competitive if our pitching can keep us in games ... We have to leave things play out and see where the chips fall."WEATHERLYPICKING UP THE PIECES … Weatherly stumbled out of the gate in 2016, and never could recover for coach Mike Baran's nine as they showed a respectable 6-14 record with some late season wins. But can the Wreckers get things above water in 2017? That question will get answered by May.YOUTH ABOUNDS … There's a mix of underclassmen in four grades this season. Weatherly will rely on a pair of senior veterans in Lou Mastroddi (3B) and Chris MacNeal (1B) at the corners. The latest pitching rule will hamper small teams such as the Wreckers, since arms are scarce according to Baran. There are two returning starters, led by junior Gary Buck and sophomore Jeremy Moser. Also on the hill will be Al Kalininksi and Fernando Polanco.COACH LOOKS FOR POSITIVE SIGNS ... Baran said his team will have to play solid defense to stay in most games in the Schuylkill League small school division. "Building a strong defense with versatile players is our main concern right now," said Baran. "We are looking at freshman Mason Gerhart, who should give us flexibility in the infield, outfield and on the mound. If we cut down mental mistakes, and play strong defense I feel we can make the (district) playoffs."