Major League Baseball went hunting for Black Bears during its annual amateur draft Monday, and the pros bagged at least two, and possibly as many as four, University of Maine players.

Junior pitchers Larry Thomas and Ben Burlingame, senior center fielder Mark Sweeney, and incoming freshman recruit Mark O’Brien out of Deering High in Portland were all selected in the first 14 rounds of the draft.

Thomas, Maine’s standout junior lefthanded pitcher, was selected in the second round as the 69th pick overall by the Chicago White Sox, virtually guaranteeing he will forego his senior season in Orono for an estimated six-figure signing bonus.

“Going in the second round, I don’t think I will be back (at Maine),” said Thomas, from his home in Winthrop, Mass., Monday evening. Thomas compiled a 9-4 record and 2.54 earned run average as a starter to help lead the Bears to the NCAA Northeast Regional this past season.

Not only did the pros bag Maine’s pitching ace of the present, they may also have captured the Bears’ ace of the future in the lefthanded O’Brien, who was picked in the fifth round by the Texas Rangers.

O’Brien, who recently signed an NCAA letter of intent to attend Maine next year, said he now has a lot of thinking to do before choosing between college and what should be a sizable bonus offer with the pros.

“I do have a lot to consider,” said O’Brien, who boasts a 10-0 record this season for Deering and has struck out 161 hitters in 74 innings.

Sweeney, Maine’s recently graduated All-American center fielder, will embark on his pro career with the California Angels after being picked “between the 8th and 10th rounds, I’m not sure,” he said.

Junior righthanded pitcher Ben Burlingame rounded out the UM draftees after being selected in the 14th round by the Chicago Cubs.

“It’s exciting,” said Sweeney, who hit .384 with a school-record 23 homers and 80 RBIs this past season, after being picked in the 39th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a junior. “It’s long overdue. I was telling one reporter, I’m starting to get excited about the long bus trips.”

Burlingame was undecided about returning to Maine for his senior season in the wake of what he termed his disappointing spot in the draft.

“I’m a little disappointed. I thought I’d go higher than that,” said Burlingame, who racked up a 10-3 record and 3.40 ERA for Maine this season. “I’m going to wait and see. I haven’t talked to their scout around here at all. When I talk with them, I’ll see what they think of me.”

Maine coach John Winkin summed up the effect of the draft on his program in one word.

“Devastating,” said Winkin. “I don’t think it will be much less than devastating before it’s all done. It’s hard.”

Winkin said he was particularly upset by O’Brien’s being drafted so high.

“That’s a perfect example. You get hit out of junior year, you get hit on the incoming year, and you’re squeezed both ways,” said the UM coach. “I don’t know what you do. You’re happy for the kids but you’re the guy that’s devastated. It can be very damaging to our chances.”

Winkin said he was glad Sweeney would get his opportunity and hoped Burlingame would choose to return to Maine rather than sign for a relatively small amount of money.

“That would be a very positive development, if we do get him back. That would be the saving grace,” Winkin said.

The draft continues Tuesday and Wednesday, with other University of Maine players awaiting a possible phone call.