1981 Maine Black Bears baseball team

1981 Maine Black Bears baseball
1981 Maine Black Bears baseball
ECAC New England baseball tournament champion; NCAA Northeast Regional champion
College World Series, 0–2
Conference	Independent
Record	32–14
Head coach	John Winkin (7th season);

The 1981 Maine Black Bears baseball team represented the University of Maine in the 1981 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Black Bears were led by John Winkin in his 7th year as head coach, and played as an Independent. The Black Bears competed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Tournament, which had an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Maine posted a 32–14 record and won the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Tournament to claim the automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. They swept the Northeast Regional to advance to the 1981 College World Series, their third appearance in Omaha.^[1]^[2] The Black Bears were eliminated after losses to Miami (FL) and South Carolina.^[3]

Personnel

1981 Maine Black Bears baseball roster^[4]

1981 Maine Black Bears baseball coaching staff^[4]
5 - John Winkin - Head coach - 7th season 16 - Doug Carville - Assistant coach - 2nd season 31 - Brian Cox - Assistant coach - 2nd season

1981 Maine Black Bears baseball game log^[5]^[4]

Regular season

March
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record
	vs West Chester		L 4–12	0–1
	vs Southern Illinois		L 4–7	0–2
	vs FIU		L 0–15	0–3
Mar 17^[6]	at Miami (FL)	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	L 4–11	0–4
	vs Miami (OH)		W 15–11	1–4
	vs Southern Illinois		L 5–7	1–5
Mar 20^[6]	at Miami (FL)	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	L 10–15	1–6
Mar 21^[7]	vs Michigan	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	L 6–15	1–7
	vs Miami (OH)		W 7–5	2–7
Mar 22^[6]	at Miami (FL)	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	L 9–15	2–8
Mar 23^[7]	vs Michigan	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	W 15–10	3–8
	vs Bowling Green		W 11–2	4–8
Mar 25^[6]	at Miami (FL)	Mark Light Field • Coral Gables, FL	L 2–3	4–9
	vs Glassboro State		W 1–0	5–9
	vs Bowling Green		W 5–4	6–9
	at Fairfield	Alumni Baseball Diamond • Fairfield, CT	W 12–6	7–9
	at Fairfield	Alumni Baseball Diamond • Fairfield, CT	W 16–5	8–9

April/May
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record
Apr 4^[8]	at UMass	Earl Lorden Field • Amherst, MA	L 8–9	8–10
Apr 4^[8]	at UMass	Earl Lorden Field • Amherst, MA	W 11–4	9–10
	at Northeastern	Parsons Field • Brookline, MA	W 10–2	10–10
	at Providence	Hendricken Field • Providence, RI	W 2–1	11–10
	at Providence	Hendricken Field • Providence, RI	L 4–10	11–11
	at Vermont	Centennial Field • Burlington, VT	W 5–2	12–11
	at Vermont	Centennial Field • Burlington, VT	W 9–1	13–11
	Holy Cross	Orono, ME	W 11–3	14–11
Apr 22^[9]	Southern Maine	Orono, ME	W 18–1	15–11
Apr 22^[9]	Southern Maine	Orono, ME	W 5–2	16–11
	Boston College	Orono, ME	W 15–4	17–11
	Husson	Orono, ME	W 11–0	18–11
	Husson	Orono, ME	W 12–4	19–11
	at New Hampshire	Durham, NH	W 6–2	20–11
	at New Hampshire	Durham, NH	W 2–1	21–11
	St. Joseph's (ME)	Orono, ME	W 18–2	22–11
May 2^[10]	Connecticut	Orono, ME	W 5–4	23–11
May 2^[10]	Connecticut	Orono, ME	W 13–7	24–11
	at Colby	Coombs Field • Waterville, ME	W 6–1	25–11
	at Colby	Coombs Field • Waterville, ME	W 10–6	26–11

Postseason

ECAC New England baseball tournament
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	ECACT record
	Providence	Fitton Field • Worcester, MA	W 10–2	27–11	1–0
	Vermont	Fitton Field • Worcester, MA	W 7–2	28–11	2–0
	Vermont	Fitton Field • Worcester, MA	W 12–8	29–11	3–0

College World Series
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	CWS record
June 11	Miami (FL)	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	L 1–6	32–13	0–1
June 12	South Carolina	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, NE	L 7–12	32–14	0–2

↑ William N. Wallace (May 25, 1981). "ST. JOHN'S BOWS, 15-0, AS MAINE ADVANCES". New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
↑ "The University of Maine has advanced to the College". UPI. May 25, 1981. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
↑ 2021 Baseball Online Media Guide (PDF). Maine Black Bears. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
1 2 3 "1981 05 30-06 08 DI Men's Baseball College World Series Program". NCAA. p. 21. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
↑ 2017 Baseball Record Book (PDF). University of Maine Alumni. p. 34. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
1 2 3 4 Miami Hurricanes Baseball Media Guide (PDF). Miami Hurricanes. pp. 55–56. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
1 2 Michigan Baseball Record Book (PDF). p. 59. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
1 2 Baseball Record Book 2025 (PDF). UMass Minutemen. p. 20. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
1 2 Baseball Records (PDF). Southern Maine Huskies. p. 32. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
1 2 2026 Baseball Media Guide (PDF). UConn Huskies. p. 47. Retrieved May 11, 2026.

Maine Black Bears baseball
Venues	Alumni Field (1910s-1920s) Mahaney Diamond (1980s–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
College World Series appearances in italics