As any baseball coach will tell you, &uot;You’ll never get a hit, if you don’t swing the bat.&uot; The lesson can be applied to lots of things, but we were reminded of it this week when some disappointing news came to Concordia Parish.

After weeks of anticipation, Vidalia learned that Service Zone opted not to bring a customer service center to the area.

It may appear as though they are walking away from the plate empty-handed, but they are not.

Concordia officials are using this as a learning experience and a stepping stone to move forward and continue to woo Service Zone – and similar computer call center companies – into the area.

We applaud parish leaders for joining forces and going after the industry. That’s the kind of combined effort that will eventually land &uot;the big one&uot; – or lots of little new economic development opportunities for the area.

Despite the news that Service Zone won’t be coming to Concordia this year, economic leaders aren’t giving up yet.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland is working to convince lawmakers to come up with $3 million to build a call facility for Service Zone – or another similar company. The hope is to help lure them into relocating to Louisiana.

And as Copeland works that end of things, Ways and Means Chairman Bryant Hammett, D-Ferriday, is keeping a watchful eye on a capital outlay bill that would include $7.5 million for such facilities throughout the state.

Service Zone has already said it will &uot;look very strong&uot; in Concordia’s direction next year. And we bet with a little more hard work and discipline at the plate, Concordia will soon hit an economic home run.