Rain follows Black Bears Lightning, thunderstorm force ballpark evacuation

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The rain that has plagued the University of Maine baseball team during the previous two weeks has somehow found the Black Bears here.

UMaine’s NCAA Tournament game against host North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium was pushed back Friday evening after a significant thunderstorm moved through the area.

Friday’s first game between No. 2 seed Winthrop and third-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington, which was nearing completion, was suspended at approximately 4:45 p.m. when lightning and the impending storm forced officials to evacuate the facility for safety reasons.

Coach Steve Trimper’s Bears, who had begun to take batting practice just prior to the weather delay, retreated indoors during the storm.

Less than an hour after halting the first game, with the rain having subsided for the most part, the UNC grounds crew emerged and removed the tarp that had been covering the infield. Workers had to deal with some significant puddles in shallow center field and right-center, using squeegees to spread out the water.

UMaine has been dancing around the raindrops, so to speak, in recent weeks. The Bears’ final regular-season series at Burlington, Vt., was affected by rain, including losing an entire day of play.

When the Bears returned to Burlington for the America East Championship, rain again forced changes in game start times and proved a general nuisance.

UMaine and North Carolina started their game Friday at about 7:50, nearly two hours late.

Winkin back in charge

Husson College baseball coach John Winkin will spend the next 10 days or so in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the site of one of 16 four-team NCAA regionals.

Winkin will reprise his role as a tournament director, a position he has held down for many years since his days as the head coach at UMaine.

“I don’t think I’ve missed a year since I came to Maine,” said the 87-year-old Winkin. “I’ve either been in it [as a coach] or I’ve been a tournament director.”

Winkin’s job is to serve as the top NCAA administrator at Tuscaloosa. He oversees the running of the event, taking care of the many situations that might arise involving TV coverage while handling disputes between the coaches and umpires or event staff.

He enjoys being back in the same setting he enjoyed while making 11 Regional appearances and six trips to the College World Series from 1975-93.

“I just love being in the atmosphere,” Winkin said. “It’s fun and everything’s exciting. The treat me like a king. It’s kind of like living in the past.”

Winkin will remain in Alabama for next week’s Super Regional. He claims to set high standards when it comes to handling his tournament director duties.

“What I tell the coaches is, don’t try anything, I’ve tried,” he said of his experience coaching the Bears in NCAA Tournament play.

Made in Manhattan

Aside from having his UMaine team in the NCAA Tournament, Trimper had another reason to smile Friday.

Trimper’s former team, Manhattan College, posted a huge upset when it knocked off host team and No. 6 national seed Nebraska 4-1 in the NCAA Lincoln, Neb., Regional.

The Jaspers (33-21) were the champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference while the Cornhuskers (42-16) were the runners-up in the Big 12 tournament. Manhattan is making the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance under former Trimper assistant coach Kevin Leighton.