Maine was never that good of a team or program. Back in the late 1970's through the mid 1980's the NCAA required that Regionals be played in all sections of the country. Maine was the best of the teams in the Northeast Region and hosted for several years. The NCAA also required that teams from the region be in the Regionals. So, for these years Maine would win this Regional and go to Omaha. They would usually go 0-2 and be eliminated. They were coached by a crusty old guy named John Winkin. He was a gruff guy that was an old school baseball coach. He was friends with Coach Gus and Maine would come to Austin to play the Horns fairly often and usually get beat badly in those games.
The one-year Maine did well in Omaha was in 1982 behind the arm of future MLB pitcher Billy Swift. He was a nice guy and us Texas fans always got along well with the Maine players and fans; they just usually weren't there very long. This year they made the final four teams before their nemesis Miami, eliminated them, after Maine had beaten them earlier.
Then in the late 1980's the NCAA allowed other schools to go to other Regionals, as the top seed there. The first year this happened of all teams Miami went to the Maine Regional and easily won it. Then the NCAA dropped the rule that there had to be Regionals in all regions of the country and that was the end of Maine as sort of a baseball power. They haven't been back to Omaha or even been that good since the days of when they would host and be the #1 seed of those Maine Regionals.
I still got some things those Maine players and fans gave me back then. Those were great years watching Texas Baseball, other teams also at Disch-Falk and then in Omaha, or as we called the Horns, the University of Texas at Omaha. I knew Abe back then too. We used to stop in Oklahoma City on the way to Omaha for the CWS and talk to him, when he was coaching there.