Rain sends teams indoors before Oxford regional

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
June 4, 2004
OXFORD Nearly 2,500 miles away from their Seattle campus, Tim Lincecum and the Washington Huskies felt right at home on Thursday.
Thick, gray clouds let loose a downpour upon Oxford/University Stadium during the Huskies' afternoon practice session, ushering the Northwesterners indoors and leaving Swayze Field to soak up the torrent for 15 minutes before Ole Miss staffers unrolled the field tarp.
The Rebels took practice in the morning and avoided the rain. Tulane avoided the deluge by opting for indoor batting practice, and Western Kentucky worked out under a drizzle that ended halfway through the 90-minute session.
The freshman phenom's scheduled start for second-seeded Washington's game against Tulane, the opening matchup of the NCAA regional, gives Ole Miss an advantage of its own. With Lincecum (10-2, 3.49 ERA) facing the third-seeded Green Wave at 3 p.m., the struggling Rebels avoid the two-time Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year.
In today's other game, top seed Ole Miss faces fourth-seeded Western Kentucky. Stephen Head, the Southeastern Conference Co-Player of the Year, is scheduled for his first start since May 1.
Head (6-2, 3.08 ERA) suffered a minor shoulder injury while warming up on May 8. The ailment, which Head described as a tweaked muscle, did not prevent him from playing first base and designated hitter, but he has pitched only 3.1 innings since. Head picked up a save at Florida on May 14 and blew a four-run lead with two outs in the ninth in a loss to South Carolina in the SEC tournament.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said Thursday that Head has completely recovered.
Mark Holliman (9-2, 2.64 ERA) will start the second game of the double-elimination regional for Ole Miss (39-19), which hopes to end its four-game losing streak today at 7 p.m. against the Hilltoppers (34-26). Western Kentucky won the Sun Belt Conference tournament last week and has won 10 of its last 11.
And while the Hilltoppers enter the regional hottest among the four-team field, the Rebels are counting on home-field advantage to help them break their slide.
The Hilltoppers will counter Head by starting junior southpaw Grady Hinchman (6-5, 3.28 ERA), who is 4-1 in his last five decisions and was named Most Outstanding Player in the SBC tournament.