Blue skies. Pleasant temperatures. Warm breezes. Oh, what a day for baseball.
Wait a minute. Where are the umpires?
“It was a scheduling matter these past few days. It’s been a challenge,” first-year Valley coach Jaron Minford said Thursday.
The Vikings, following a nearly half-hour delay when the umpiring crew showed up at the wrong field, completed a suspended game by scoring seven runs in their only at-bat of the day and thumped No. 5 Knoch, 11-0, in five innings before the mercy rule took effect.
Nikolas Heakins doubled and drove in three runs, and Dante Taliani hit a pair of doubles and scored twice backing the combined three-hitter of Dominick Dunkle and Brady Moore for Valley (10-2, 5-1 Section 3-4A).
The Vikings won for the seventh consecutive time and moved within a game of first-place Indiana, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the WPIAL and PIAA by Trib HSSN.
Stormy conditions Tuesday at No Offseason Sports’ Russellton complex halted the game after 31⁄2 innings with Valley ahead 4-0.
The completion first had been planned for Thursday at Valley’s field.
Then, for a brief time, the teams considered playing the conclusion Wednesday but ultimately settled on Thursday as the day.
“We had our minds set we were going to play today,” Minford said. “Just the challenge of it, having to practice in between and then having to come back and get back up for a section game, it could be challenging. But they were ready to go.”
It took four days for the Section 3-4A rivals to complete their two-game series, but Minford’s Vikings will take the outcome — a two-game sweep of Knoch (9-4, 4-2).
“They’ve been working their butts off since the winter,” said Minford, a Clairton product who played at Division III Washington & Jefferson. “This team has kind of really bonded. We had some rough spots at the beginning of the year when we weren’t hitting the ball. Now we’re going on all phases — hitting, pitching, fielding — and when you throw strikes and hit the ball, good things happen.
“They’re playing very well right now.”
Minford took over at Valley following the departure of former coach Jim Basilone, who in 2018 led the Vikings to a share of the WPIAL Class 3A championship and their first playoff victory since 1970, a span of 48 seasons.
Basilone, who was 74-70 in eight season at Valley, also led the Vikings to an outright WPIAL championship in 2024.
“When the job became available, I was fortunate enough to get it,” said Minford, a longtime teacher at Valley with no previous coaching experience in the WPIAL.
“I’m having a great time doing it. You see smiles on these kids’ faces. They’re playing well together, and that’s baseball. When you’re having fun playing baseball, it’s great. It’s a great game.”
Knoch, meanwhile, could relate to its latest experience, a tedious ride over country roads and a short time on the field before returning home. The Knights followed that same script just last season.
“It’s hard for the kids to play one inning and get back on the bus,” Knoch coach John Negley said. “Hey, we did it last year at Derry. We got rained out, turned around and drove home, then drove back and finished that game in 35 minutes.
“But we were on the other end of it. We came home a winner.”
For Minford’s Vikings, the ordeal was worth it.
Even if the umpires arrived late to Valley after trekking to the No Offseason Sports site because of a mix-up in plans.
“We tried our hardest to get that game played Tuesday,” Minford said. “We tried to wait as long as we could after the rain hit, but when we got back on the field, the umpires saw lightning in the distance and they called it. As we were going home, the sun was shining. It bummed out the kids a little bit because they wanted to finish the game.”
When it finally resumed, Valley erupted for seven runs in the fourth to pull away. The Vikings, who open a two-game series Monday at Highlands, outscored Knoch, 17-1, during their two-game series that began with Valley’s 6-1 victory this Monday at Knoch.
“No ands, ifs or buts. They beat us good twice,” Negley said. “We’ve kind of fallen out of balance here. We’ve got to right the ship.”
The Knights will attempt to regroup for the start of a two-game series with top-ranked Indiana on Monday at White Township Complex.