Ahhh. Beautiful baseball weather has finally arrived.

Trees and bushes are blooming. Birds are singing and the sun isshining.

Baseball coaches are applauding the loudest, thanking God andpraising Mother Nature. January and February provided horribleweather for the diamond sport. Practices were muddy, cold,rain-soaked disasters. Game conditions weren’t much better and somewere worse.

The misting fog which saturated last Tuesday night’sBrookhaven-Lawrence County game at Monticello might stand as arecord for soggy and foggy conditions. “Outfielders had to wait forthe ball to hit the ground before they could see it,” recalled onespectator.

It was awful.

Brookhaven rebounded from that disappointing, 1-run decision tobeat Lawrence County twice Friday night on Moyer Field. Conditions,by Mississippi standards, were actually spring-like.

The BHS Panthers. coached by Randy Spring, area young team with just a handful of seniors on the squad. They arechasing powerhouse Terry and title contender McComb in the Division6-4A race.

The sun smiled on last weekend’s Lincoln County Tournament atEnterprise. Large crowds turned out to watch Enterprise, BogueChitto, West Lincoln and Loyd Star showcase their teams. Loyd Staredged West Lincoln in the finals.

The Hornets, coached by Sidney Wheatley, areprime contenders for the Division 6-2A crown this season. Theyalready have big division victories over Wesson, McLaurin and St.Andrew’s.

West Lincoln, coached by Andrew Redd, shouldcompete for the Division 7-1A title. The major hurdle in NatchezCathedral.

Wesson, under the direction of Philip Knight,is a senior-laden team with lofty ambitions. They lost aheart-breaker to Loyd Star last Friday night but have rebounded toplay well in the Capital City Classic, beating several Class 4A and5A schools.

Brookhaven Academy coach Ron Rushing has hisCougars off to a strong start. They are among the favorites in theDistrict 4-AA chase.

More sunshine greeted baseball fans in this Spring Break Week.The McComb Tournament was bathed in sunshine.

At Co-Lin, players from Kishwaukee Community College of Malta,Ill., were welcomed by warm sunshine for the start of their annualMagnolia State tour. Naturally, several of the visitors wound upwith red necks after two days of afternoon baseball.

Co-Lin, coached by veteran Keith Case, hasovercome some difficult moments early in the season. The youngWolves are adjusting to the tougher caliber of competition in thejunior college ranks.

The Wolves will continue to entertain invaders from the coldNorth country today and next week. Spoon River (Ill.) plays adoubleheader today on Sullivan Field, starting at 4 p.m. On Friday,Co-Lin meets Spoon River in an 11 a.m., 9-inning game.

Next week, Onondaga of Syracuse, N.Y., pays a visit on Monday,starting at 4 p.m. Onondaga has a large, indoor practice facilityso the lads have been busy taking BP and working infield drills.Those folks are a long way from home but they’ll enjoy the southernhospitality. Most of them will receive their first encounter withgrits.

Bogue Chitto native Cornelia Gayden was honoredat last week’s SEC Women’s Tournament in North Little Rock, Ark.Gayden, a 4-year starter for LSU from 1992-95, was a 3-time All-SECselection for the Lady Tigers. She was a second team All-Americanselection in 1995.

Gayden was inducted into the Southeastern Conference’s Greatsduring the tournament.

As a senior, Gayden averaged 25.8 points and 8.4 rebounds agame. In four years at LSU, she averaged 22.3 points and 8.1rebounds.

Gayden is the only LSU player to record a triple-double, doingit twice. She had 43 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against TCUon Jan. 2, 1995 and she followed that with 32 points, 15 reboundsand 10 steals against Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 7, 1995.

She still holds the NCAA record for 3-point goals in a game with12 against Jackson State on Feb. 9, 1995. Gayden scored aschool-record 49 points which still stands today.

In her high school career, Gayden shot the lights out in BogueChitto’s gym, directing the Lady ‘Cats to three straight statetournament championships from 1990-92. She once scored 50 points ina game against Brookhaven in the BHS gym. She played several yearsin the European League and also had brief stints with the OrlandoMiracle and Indiana.

Gayden currently works for the McComb School District in theAdolescent Offenders Program. She is in graduate school andpursuing certification to teach physical education and health.

Her younger sister, Candice, is a freshman atMcComb and runs track for the ninth grade team.

CORRECTION: In last Thursday’s MPSA All-Star Basketball Gamepreview story, we made the observation that the Brookhaven Academyboys had just won their first State Tournament championship in 22years. Oops!

The Cougars captured state tournament titles in 1988 and 1989.They won the Overall title in ’89 as guard ChrisThurman scored 54 points, leading BA to a triple-overtimevictory over Madison-Ridgeland Academy. Thanks to MattDonald for bringing this fact to our attention.