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ORONO — The University of Maine baseball season ended Wednesday with a video review of a play at first base. After Quinn Murphy was confirmed out on a bang-bang play, Albany had a 6-4 victory and celebrated as it advanced to the double-elimination portion of the America East tournament at Mahaney Diamond.

So now Maine has to play good host without playing any more games.

“Today’s loss is probably a microcosm of our season. Tight ballgame, we tried to get a little bit more out of (pitcher) Caleb (Leys). We had some opportunities to score some more runs. We had some opportunities to make some plays, and we just didn’t do it,” Maine coach Nick Derba said. “The fact of the matter is, we snuck into this tournament even with the (No. 4 seed). We really didn’t play well all year long. That game we played, we played that game a lot.”

The Black Bears completed the season with a 20-31 record. Not great, but an improvement from the previous season (12-37). In 2023, Maine went 32-21, won the America East title and reached the NCAA tournament.

At a school like Maine, a small Division I program operating on an island a couple hundred miles from its nearest rival, conference titles should be the goal. There are two teams at Maine that can realistically vie for national crowns every year, the men’s and women’s hockey programs. Can a team go on a run, like Maine football did in 2018 when it reached the FCS semifinals? Sure.

Other than men’s hockey, which has two national championships, no University of Maine team has enjoyed as much success on the national stage as the baseball program. The Black Bears have participated in the College World Series seven times, most recently in 1986. In 1982, the Black Bears took a third-place finish in Omaha, Nebraska.

That was two generations ago. College baseball has changed, and with it, the Black Bears’ definition of success.

The last time the Black Bears advanced to the College World Series in 1986, the path to Omaha was an open door. Maine had to win a four-team Northeast tournament that also included St. John’s, Rider and Rutgers. None of the southern or western teams that rarely learn the pleasures of infield practice inside a field house were there.

The Black Bears came close to returning to Omaha in 1991. Maine hosted the Northeast Regional, but by then the NCAA had wised up. Clemson and Mississippi State, two schools not in the Northeast by any definition, were sent to Orono to compete with the Black Bears. While Maine did beat Mississippi State to reach the championship game, it couldn’t beat Clemson. The Tigers went to Omaha, and Maine called it a season.

When Maine made the NCAA tournament two years ago, it had to go to Coral Gables, Florida, to face Miami in a regional. Like the basketball tournament, the NCAA pits mid-major teams against the titans. Unlike the basketball tournament, where anyone can catch lightning and be the better team that one day, the baseball tournament is a double-elimination affair. For Maine, the disparity in depth is exposed.

Those Black Bear teams that went to the College World Series five times in the 1980s didn’t just benefit from being a good team in a weak region. They could play ball, and they won games with lineups full of Maine natives. So did baseball players from Maine slowly get worse over the last few decades?

On the contrary. They’re better than ever, and that’s the problem. Good players from Maine draw recruiting attention from schools around the country now. Look at rosters in the powerhouse baseball conferences and you’ll see plenty of Mainers. Orono isn’t the only option for these guys, and hasn’t been for a long time. You wonder, if baseball recruiting was as competitive in the 80s as it is now, would players like Bill Swift and Mike Bordick have been Black Bears? Or would they have gone south, where practices are held outdoors year round.

This program still produces pro talent. Jeremy Pena is the shortstop for the Houston Astros. Black Bear pitchers like Matt Pushard and Cody Laweryson — both Maine natives — and Nick Sinacola are throwing at different levels of the minor leagues. Marshwood High grad Quinn McDaniel is an infielder with the Eugene Emeralds, San Francisco’s High-A affiliate. There are other players kicking around the minor leagues, and Derba pointed out that some, maybe Wednesday’s starting pitcher, Leys, will get a life-changing call when Major League Baseball holds its draft in July.

The Black Bears are just a few players away from contending for the America East title, Derba asserted after Wednesday’s loss.

“I don’t feel like we’re very far off. We’re two pieces. We’re losing some arms to the draft and graduation. For us, we came from a really bad year last. We doubled our win total this season and got into the situation where we might be able to push through. We’re two, three pieces away from being back in the top slot and being a legitimate contender to win this thing.”

The goal in front of them is clear. Now they have to chase it.