Nope, this isn’t the Twilight Zone.

For the first time in a long time, the Co-Lin Lady Wolves areout of the state/regional softball playoffs. Better luck nextyear.

If you are keeping statistics, Coach Allen Kent’s Lady Wolves(24-18, 12-12) finished fifth in the South Division race. Who knowswhat would have happened if Co-Lin made the playoffs. A team needsto be lucky and good to win a tournament.

For the record, Co-Lin split with the state champion EastCentral Lady Warriors on March 2, the first South Division seriesof the season. On April 2, East Central won 3-0 and 3-2, atWesson.

Two of Co-Lin’s players, pitcher Bethany Pinkston and firstbaseman Haley Sones, have signed senior college scholarships withDelta State and BYU-Hawaii

East Central’s Lady Warriors won their first-ever MACJC StateTournament championship last weekend by defeating Gulf Coast 7-6 in10 innings. The Lady Warriors needed three extra innings under theinternational tie-breaker rule to accomplish that feat and presentECCC coach Scott Hill with a special, 42nd birthday present.

His team won it the hard way, too. Pearl River forced an8-inning game in the semifinals before the Warriors prevailed.

Hill especially noted the performance of his bionic-armedsophomore pitcher Taylor Bailey who was on the mound for all 18innings Friday. Bailey also hurled seven scoreless innings andallowed one hit in a 4-0 shutout over Northwest in first-roundtournament action last Thursday. Bailey is a product of Bowie HighSchool in Austin, Texas.

“Taylor was simply outstanding in all three games,” Hill said.”She is such a remarkable athlete…and very competitive, just likeher teammates. Her arm may be sore for a while but I know she willbe ready to go for the Region 23 Tournament this week.”

The Lady Warriors are set to defend their Region 23 Tournamenttitle at the three-day event, which begins today at Traceway Parkin Clinton. Last year they finished fourth in the NJCAA NationalTournament in Normal, Ill.

Meanwhile, the Co-Lin baseball team fell just short of makingthe state playoffs and posted a 20-25 overall mark, including an8-16 South Division record. To put it mildly, the South Division isa war zone, similar to SEC football.

Coach Keith Case’s Wolfpack would have fared remarkably well inthe North Division this season but their residence is in the Southwhere surviving aint easy.

ECCC’s baseball squad jumped out to an early 8-0 lead over PearlRiver Community College and cruised 10-2 in a seven-inning contestheld Tuesday in Poplarville to decide the MACJC South Division’sNo. 3 and No. 4 seedings for this week’s state playoff series.

East Central got all the runs it needed against the Wildcats(29-19, 13-11) in a four-run first inning

The third-place Diamond Warriors (27-18, 13-11) will battleNorth No. 2 Northwest Mississippi at 3 p.m. Friday to begin thebest-of-three series scheduled on the Senatobia campus. Game two isset for noon Saturday and a third game, if necessary, willfollow.

No. 4 Pearl River travels Friday to North No. 1 seed HolmesCommunity College in Goodman for its best-of-three series.

The winning squads in each first-round playoff series advance tothe MACJC State Baseball Tournament, scheduled May 12-14, andhosted by the highest seed remaining from the South Division.

Other teams participating from the South include No. 1 seedJones County and No. 2 Gulf Coast and North teams Itawamba (NorthNo. 3) and East Mississippi (North No. 4). Jones and Gulf Coastwill be playing on their respective home turfs. That’s supposed tobe a big advantage.

Co-Lin’s recruiting woes in baseball are evident. Three of thetop six prospects have been wooed away by more generous scholarshippackages and the lure of better, long-range results.

For example, pitcher/outfielder Scottie Peavey of Brookhaven isheaded for Northwest Florida State Community College. ShortstopGabe Wilson of Brookhaven and pitcher Scott Votaw of LawrenceCounty have signed with Meridian Community College. Third basemanJ.D. Britt of Brookhaven and outfielder Dylan Lea of LawrenceCounty are going to Co-Lin.

Another prospect, outfielder E.J. Henderson of BHS, has decidedto play football and baseball at Alabama State University.

On the bright side, Loyd Star pitchers Korey Allen and TylerCase have signed their future with the Wolfpack, along with Wessonhurler Matt Smith.

Overall, the baseball talent level is down in the Co-Lindistrict when it comes to probable recruits. Natchez and AdamsCounty in general have fallen on hard times. Baseball programs atJefferson County and Crystal Springs are more suitable for a JayLeno monologue.

Hopefully, things will get better. Unfortunately, sports fansare impatient.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com