In late March and early April the world awakes from its winter slumber and comes alive as spring dawns.

Warren Central’s baseball team is no exception.

For the third year in a row the Vikings have ridden a hot streak to the MHSAA Region 2-6A championship. They beat Ridgeland 8-3 last Friday for their first region title threepeat since a run of five in a row from 1998-2002.

Almost as remarkable as that feat is the pattern they’ve set in doing it. Over the past three seasons Warren Central has a 14-20 record before spring break and 34-14 after.

“It’s taking that time and not hitting the panic button. Our kids have done a good job of that the last two years, not looking up at our record and going, ‘Holy crap,’” Warren Central coach Randy Broome said. “They’re buying into the process, understand what’s going on, and preparing themselves for battles day in and day, and more importantly getting ready for district and playoff games.”

Warren Central (14-9, 6-0 Region 2-6A) was only 3-7 after losing to Biloxi in the first game of the Battle at the Beach event on the Coast on March 13. It beat Mobile Christian and Pascagoula the next day to start a run of 11 wins in 12 games capped by last week’s two-game sweep of Ridgeland.

Broome said that while he obviously wants to win every game, the early-season struggles are partially by design. The Vikings faced a challenging non-region schedule in February and early March that included several strong Alabama teams and a few Mississippi powers.

At the same time, he was steadily tinkering with lineups and pitchers, waiting for a couple of injured players to return, and giving young players the seasoning they needed to contribute when it really mattered. There are a half-dozen sophomores and juniors who are first-time varsity starters.

It all meant the 3-7 record was nothing to be overly concerned about, Broome said.

“This year we started some sophomores. We knew coming into the year we were probably going to take some lumps. When you play the schedule we do, it’s getting you ready for these district games which in turn gets you ready for the playoffs,” Broome said. “It’s also finding out who can and who can’t against good talent. Yeah I want to win them all, but winning them all early is not really the concern. It’s trying to get looks at some guys and figure out who works in a position.”

Warren Central will have a little bit of time to celebrate its region championship. It beat St. Andrew’s 6-2 on Monday, and has a two-game region series with Vicksburg on Tuesday and Friday as it prepares for the first round of the Class 6A playoffs that begin April 25.

One thing Broome wants to see in these tune-up games is a little more killer instinct. The Vikings have trailed or been tied through three innings in four of their six region games.

Ridgeland led 2-1 and 2-0 through three innings in last week’s games before Warren Central surged ahead to win them by identical 8-3 scores.

WC scored five times in the fourth inning to take the lead for good in last Friday’s clincher. Hayes Loper and Lester Martin capped the rally with back-to-back RBI singles. Other runs scored on a steal of home, an error, and an RBI groundout by Ryan Steed.

“Ridgeland showed they were going to fight you. They’re a scrappy bunch and have a couple of ballplayers. I felt like (Friday) we walked out there going, ‘All right, we’re champs.’ That gets you beat. And next you know we’re down 2-0 and haven’t had a hit yet,” Broome said. “Moving forward, this time of year, you have to show up ready to play. It just is what it is. We can’t take that step backward.”