PEARL — For one night, the rainout was more fun than baseball.

The thunder rolled in like a second-line snare in Jackson Square in New Orleans. The lightning spread electrical veins of static electricity through the sky and the rain started as a trickle and increased to a gully-washer.

That was the scene at Trustmark Park on a Tuesday evening with Southern Miss and Ole Miss waiting in the on-deck circle to play a baseball game. Both teams hovered in the dugouts, waiting for a baseball game that will have to wait until May 1.

The two teams were forced to wait out the rain delay and occupied their time in a unique fashion. Who says the idle mind is the devil’s workshop?

Ole Miss kicked off a night of frivolity with a nicely executed bit of Rebel bowling. Several Ole Miss players lined up, forming a lane. More formed pins at the end. Outfielder Senquez Golson was the ball and the pins were sent tumbling to the cheers of the few brave souls who endured the soggy weather.

Southern Miss countered with a roller coaster ride of a skit, as players sat in foul territory, one behind the other. One of the players acted as if he were making sure they were belted in and directed them in an synchronized facsimile of a rollercoaster ride.

The best might’ve been a golf skit, appropriate for Masters week. Some of the Golden Eagles formed the green with a sitting circle and one held up a towel as a flag. Using fungo bats and balls, other players drove the ball from the outfield, scoring a bogey on what looked like a par-4.

There was some jousting by Ole Miss and some mixed martial arts octagon action by Southern Miss, which also brought out a hilarious tarp swimming skit complete with lifeguards swimming to the rescue.

David Hasselhoff, eat your heart out.

But the best was saved for last.

The two teams lined up behind home plate and executed a bizarre dance competition. Call it you’ve been served, Trustmark Park style. The steps were rougher than the Continental Divide, but the entertainment value was immense. Watching baseball players clumsily gyrate might’ve been better than watching the game itself.

Dancing on the Diamond? Works for me.

By the time the game was called just after 8 p.m., the fans at least had something to talk about as the rain continued to fall into the night.

The antics prove one thing: after all, it’s just a game, an escape from a reality.

We get caught up often in the seriousness of sports that we fail to see that is a game. Nothing more.

Tuesday was a nice demonstration of this.