Hall of Fame baseball player stays connected to Seattle U

Little Leaguers often dream of making it to the big game—Major League Baseball. With a lifetime batting average of .349, Brian Patton's dreams might not have been so far fetched. Though he never made it to the MLB, Patton, three-time all-conference honoree, was inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame last month.

The 1979 graduate was recruited to play third base at Seattle U by former head coach Frank Papasedero when Patton played on one of Papasedero's summer league teams.

Papasedero coached summer league baseball for 35 years and spent six years as Seattle U's head baseball coach. He died of a heart attack in 2005.

"[Papasedero] liked what he saw and recruited me from there," Patton says.

The baseball team was competing at the Division I level before being dropped in 1980. During his tenure on the team, Patton says the baseball program was strong, entering each season with the hopes of taking first place overall but falling out toward the end of the season.

"We were competitive. We had a lot of good players and good pitchers," Patton says. "We were in every game, sometimes just came out on the short end of the stick."

The team would occasionally travel to Eastern Washington for double headers with Gonzaga University, with the Bulldogs coming to Seattle U turf the next weekend.

According to Patton, the teams were evenly matched, normally splitting double headers.

"In those days, Gonzaga was the team to beat," Patton says.

Patton says balancing school and athletics is still one of the most difficult things he has ever done. As a civil engineering major, Patton dealt with a rigorous course schedule while also traveling for games.

In his junior year, Patton had a batting average of .396. His success continued in his final year at Seattle U when the baseball team was invited to compete in the National Intercollegiate Tournament. Patton was named to the all-tournament team, a group of the nine best players in the tournament.

He went on to receive a master's degree in civil engineering from the University of Washington. Patton now serves as director of engineering for Seattle Public Utilities.

Patton continues to be involved with his alma mater; he currently sits on the board of advisers for the civil and environmental engineering departments. He spends weekends coaching both of his daughters in fast pitch softball. His eldest daughter hopes to play softball for Seattle U after graduating high school.

Frances may be reached at fdinger@su-spectator.com