Scouting around ... While rains were washing out the scheduled, and the rescheduled, start to the Class 6A baseball state tournament, thoughts turned to underground baseball.

If they can play baseball in domes, how about caverns?

The thought was triggered by a story out of Joplin.

The Joplin Globe reported on the giddy success of the Cave of Dreams Baseball Center, a 15-acre underground practice facility that’s dry and 65 degrees year ’round.

“It’s basically booked seven days a week,” one of the organizers of the center told the newspaper.

College teams and high school teams train in the cave, which also is used for clinics and individual coaching instruction.

The underground area had been used by paintballers, until a Joplin man decided it would better serve baseball players.

The center includes two long batting tunnels with pitching machines, a soft-toss cage, two clay pitcher’s mounds and two portable mounds, and open areas for practicing other skills. ...

Three area golfers competed individually in this week’s high school state championships.

In Class 3A, Sequoyah’s A.J. Rhine was at Cimarron Trails in Perkins. He carded 87-79-86 — 252 against par 72.

The 3A medalist was Kyle Lewis of Bethel, who shot 73-71-77 — 221 and won by six shots.

The Class 4A guys were playing at Trosper Park in Oklahoma City. That’s where Jeremy Phillipo of Inola and Brett Swindell of Oologah were competing.

Phillipo went 71-80-75 — 226 against Trosper’s par 70. Swindell put up 79-72-80 — 231. Daniel Smith of Oklahoma City McGuinness won the title by two shots with 67-73-72 — 212. ...

Football. Money. They go together, oh, so well. Like peanut butter and jelly.