ORONO, Maine -- Brian Seguin was like most young baseball players growing up in Maine during the 1980s. He dreamed of playing for coach John Winkin at the University of Maine.
The Lewiston native had watched area standouts like Mike Coutts, Bill Reynolds and Rick Lashua excel in Orono. Yet little could Seguin have imagined the impact he would have at UMaine.
The dependable 5-foot-7 shortstop was a four-year starter from 1989-92. He established four UMaine records, all of which still stand, and was a key member of the vaunted 1991 ballclub that won a record 48 games.
Seguin's prolific hitting and a surehanded fielding on some of the Black Bears' most talented teams have earned him a spot in the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame.
"It's crazy. I was a little blown away by that," Seguin said of his selection.
Seguin owns the UMaine record with a 27-game hitting streak and holds single-season marks for games played (66), hits (91) and singles (74). The two-time, all-conference choice also earned Cape Cod Baseball League all-star honors.
"He's as good a shortstop as they've had at Maine," former Black Bear and longtime UMaine assistant coach Mike Coutts said, comparing Seguin to former Black Bear stars Russ Quetti, Mike Bordick and Pete Adams.
"He was just a consistent guy," Coutts said. "You knew what you were going to get every single day."
Seguin cracked the lineup as a freshman. He didn't hit well, but was an All-ECAC pick at shortstop with a .933 fielding percentage to help UMaine win the ECAC New England title.
The offensive struggles were unexpected and troubling, but his experience the next summer playing in the Twilight League, facing the likes of UMaine teammates Mike D'Andrea and Jim Dillon, helped Seguin rediscover his stroke.
"Those were some of the league's best pitchers and I did decent against them, so I had a confidence in the batter's box that I didn't have the year before," Seguin said.
He put together a memorable sophomore season. Batting second in the order, Seguin posted a sparkling .368 average. He racked up a school-record 91 hits and 74 singles while putting together his amazing hit streak.
He admits that the Black Bears' star-studded lineup, which included sluggers Andy Hartung and future major leaguer Mark Sweeney, put him in an excellent position to succeed.
"I had a speedster in front of me [Shanan Knox] that got on base and I saw a lot of fastballs because they didn't want to put me on base, because they'd have Sweeney or Hartung there. I definitely benefitted from that."
Seguin, half of a polished double-play combination with second baseman Tim Scott for a second straight season, was on base constantly.
His hitting streak began during UMaine's four-game sweep at Hawaii-Pacific and Seguin admitted it was difficult not to think about it sometimes.
The streak, which created a buzz but sometimes was a distraction, finally was halted in a game against Division III Husson University of Bangor.
"You've got to have a great team and great opportunities and you've got to get lucky," Seguin said. "And you've got to have a good scorekeeper, too."
UMaine reached the NCAA Northeast Regional and logged a 42-20 record.
That summer, Seguin was an all-star playing in the Cape League for Cotuit, where his career took an unfortunate turn. During a pregame session of "500," Seguin fell awkwardly in a collision with teammates. He felt a tingling sensation in his shoulder and arm and the issues persisted.
Determined not to let his team down and miss any time during the 1991 campaign, he did rehab work with athletic trainer Wes Jordan and took lots of ibuprofen.
"He's just a great person," Coutts said. "He was funny, a hard worker. He did all the things that you expect people that were really good would do."
Seguin persevered and batted .319 with 84 hits, including five home runs and a career-best 46 RBIs. He set a UMaine standard by playing 66 games.
He also logged a .950 fielding percentage and garnered All-North Atlantic Conference and All-New England accolades. UMaine established a program record with 48 victories, but bowed out at the NCAA Regional in Orono.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, Seguin amassed 175 hits.
Seguin earned a chance in June 1991 to try out for Team USA in preparation for the 1992 Olympics. Unfortunately, he was forced to withdraw because of his nagging shoulder injury.
Seguin had surgery to repair the torn cartilage and returned for his senior season. He led Black Bear regulars with a .319 batting average and again played outstanding defense, but his dreams of playing professionally were over because of the shoulder.
Seguin, who also will be inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in October, is a vice president of sales for New York Life. He and his wife Becky live in Scarborough. Their twins, Ben and Halle, are college seniors.
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The University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting five individuals, as well as teams from three sports, at its annual banquet on Sept. 26 at Jeff's Catering in Brewer.
