Local baseball team sends message about COVID-19, desire to return to game

Published 8:18 pm Thursday, April 16, 2020

VIDALIA — Baseball fields throughout the Miss-Lou sit abandoned, as the youth baseball season has been put on in an indefinite timeout due to the new coronavirus. Members of one Louisiana youth baseball team, however, found an alternate way to share their love of baseball.

Instead of gathering on the baseball diamond, the team members came together on social media to form a collage of pictures of the team members.

Each of the 17 players on the Miss-Lou Mayhem 8-and-under baseball team held up a white card with drawings and a word on each card.

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The message was simple, “For the love baseball, please stay home. We’re ready to play some ball. #flattenthecurve #COVID19 #MissLouMayhem”

The idea for the collage came from Nicole Kossum, a parent of one of the Miss-Lou Mayhem’s team members.

“I saw the idea on Facebook seeing healthcare professionals participate and wanted the baseball team in on the collage,” Kossum said. “I thought it would be something fun for the kids to do and also perhaps help send the message that it’s important for everyone to do their part right now and practice social distancing.”

Seth Thompson is head coach of the Miss-Lou Mayhem 8-and-under travel baseball team and his son also plays on the Miss-Lou Mayhem.

Thompson said he was happy to see the team members participate in the collage.

“You always try to find some kind of something to help spread a positive message and what better way of kids showing their love of the game?” Thompson said. “It’s one of those things that they have a deep passion for — baseball, and it’s awesome to see the kids share a similar passion at their age.”

Cass Butler, another coach for the Miss-Lou Mayhem, has a son the Miss-Lou Mayhem as well.

“It makes me happy that my son is making these lifelong memories,” Butler said. “Nothing is promised for tomorrow so these memories will last forever for him.”