Rain is a wonderful occurrence in nature. It can give life to dying crops, it can allow people to go singing in the rain, but it can also cause many problems for sports editors.

This most recent batch of rain the state of Alabama had to suffer through was especially demoralizing to sports fans looking for a bunch of prep baseball and softball coverage.

Starting last Friday and continuing through Tuesday the weather affected what was in this paper and many other community newspapers.

This most recent rain spout cost this area 15 games in either baseball or softball. That is a lot of rescheduling and cramming the schedules that coaches have had to do. And not to mention it threw The Messenger sports section into a frenzy.

I love the rain, but it sure does put me in a bad mood when I am trying to put a section together. But no worries because the rain is past us at least for a little bit and the games have been rescheduled.

It is just one of those things you have to deal with as a player, fan or sports reporter when it comes around to baseball and softball season.

You never have to worry about the weather for basketball season unless it is hurricane type weather and during football season you may have to get your camera a little wet, but the games still go on.

It is only during the spring season that a game can get rained out. But there is one team in the area that really does not have to worry about rain. That team is the Troy Trojans baseball squad.

With a field that drains water at a rate of 11 inches an hour, the Trojans can play on their field as long as the rain ceases within about 30 minutes of the first pitch. And rain delays at Troy are much shorter than most other places.

As long as the grounds crew gets the mound, which is the only actual dirt on the field, covered the field will be ready to go about 20 minutes after the rain slows down or stops.

It must be nice to have that kind of security blanket for weather.

The rest of the baseball and softball playing world has to suffer through long rain delays and muddy playing conditions when play resumes after those long delays.

But I know as a former player it was always great fun to get back out there and try and compete against what Mother Nature had thrown your way.

Matt Nascone is the sports editor for The Messenger. He can be reached at 670-6315 or online at matt.nascone@troymessenger.com.