The rain, rain that just wouldn’t go away forced Warren Central and Vicksburg to play another day.

The Vikings and Gators were scheduled to play the first of two crucial division games this week tonight, but the weekend’s torrential rains have pushed it back to Thursday at 6 p.m. at Warren Central.

The second game is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Bazinsky Field. If Thursday’s game needs to be postponed again, it will be played at WC on Saturday.

&#8220You can’t fight Mother Nature,” Warren Central coach Randy Broome said. &#8220As wet as it is, by playing on Thursday it gives it a chance to dry out the field and for us to get something on it.”

Instead of making final preparations and plotting strategy, the Vikings and Gators each spent time cooling their heels in their respective fieldhouses on Monday.

The Vicksburg players lifted weights, while Warren Central’s players hit in the team’s indoor batting cage.

Waiting two extra days to play a game that they have been anticipating for a month wasn’t easy.

&#8220Everybody’s kind of disappointed that the game is canceled. We’ve been anticipating this since we saw the schedule,” WC pitcher Nick Carson said. &#8220We’ll probably be a little more excited, but we’ve got to contain it and play ball.”

The extra two days of rest shouldn’t affect either team’s pitching staff, although both are short on arms.

WC (10-4, 4-0 Division 3-5A) has relied on two pitchers, Carson and Eric Douglas, for the bulk of its games. Josh Gordon and Jeff Ward also have pitched in key situations, usually out of the bullpen. They have combined for four wins despite pitching only 23 2/3 innings combined.

Vicksburg had a deeper rotation at the start of the season, but two pitchers have gone down with injuries.

Stefan Gibbs may miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, while left-hander Avery Mathes was hit with a line drive in practice and has been hobbled.

Stanton Price (3-2, 1.42 ERA) and his older brother Steven (3-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the ball for VHS, while Douglas (2-2, 1.93 ERA) and Carson (2-0, 1.33 ERA) will take the mound for the Vikings.

&#8220The extra day may benefit us because Stanton threw Thursday. But he’s going to be fine, regardless,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said. &#8220They were prepared to play today, and we were prepared to play.”

Warren Central and Vicksburg weren’t the only teams that had to juggle their schedule because of the rain.

Porters Chapel moved its game against Oak Forest, originally scheduled to be played tonight in Vicksburg, to the school in Amite, La. It will still be played tonight.

St. Aloysius was scheduled to host West Lincoln at 7 tonight, but that game has been postponed as well. The Flashes will instead play West Lincoln on Thursday night at 7 at Bazinsky Field.