Mustangs End Fall Season with Fort Kent Sweep

Fort Kent, ME – CMCC Baseball brought their fall season to a close with an impressive three-game sweep on the road of UMaine-Fort Kent. The Mustangs travelled north for the first-ever home games hosted by the Bengals new baseball program, defeating them 15-11 on Friday before sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday, 14-12 and 18-8. 

Game One: 15-11 W

Friday's nine-inning opener was an offensive slugfest with at least one run scored in every full inning. Camden Miller got the start on the mound and pitched six innings with five strikeouts before being relieved by Mathew Charrette, who got the win, and T.J. Kramarz, who got the save.

Kramarz was the star of game one for Central Maine, finishing with six RBIs after smashing a grand slam home run in the top of the fourth inning to make it 7-5. Catcher Zac Gorman came through with two RBIs on a pair of sacrifice flies in the fourth and seventh innings. Bailey Parcel laced a double and left fielder Caleb Oickle went 2-for-5 at the plate.

The game-sealing moment belonged to designated hitter Brendan Mahaney. The sophomore from Old Town, ME came to the plate in the top of the ninth with the Mustangs clinging to a 12-11 lead. He belted a three-run home run over the center field fence to score Kramarz and Oickle, providing the final margin of victory.

Game Two: 14-12 W

Saturday opened with a pair of seven-inning contests in the season-ending doubleheader. CMCC looked like they had not gotten a good night's rest, allowing five runs in each of the first two innings to fall behind 10-1.

However, the team slowly worked its way back into the game. Joshua Plummer drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the fourth to score one run, and Oickle plated Luc Oishi and Ty Bernier with a two-RBI single through the left side to make it 10-4.

UMFK scored another run in the bottom of the sixth leaving the Mustangs staring at seven run deficit and down to their last three outs. Head coach Ryan Palmer's team went to work though with their biggest comeback effort of the season.

Garren Post set the tone with a lead-off solo home run to center to spark some momentum in the team. Catcher Matthew MacLeod doubled, and his courtesy runner Miller scored on a Brady Vincent single into right. Oishi and Bernier both reached to load the bases, and Central Maine got some help from the UMaine-Fort Kent pitching staff.

Dawson Babineau walked to score a run, Kramarz was hit by a pitch, and Oickle drew another walk to cut the lead to 11-9. Babineau stole home to make it a one-run contest while MacLeod, in his second trip to the plate of the inning, cleared the bases with a grand slam to suddenly put CMCC up 14-11.

Kramarz once again came on to close things out, allowing one run but striking out three batters to secure one of the team's most dramatic victories of the fall.

Game Three: 18-8 

The Mustangs finished off the weekend sweep with another victory in game three, this time with the most runs scored of the series. Home runs were once again the key to success with Oickle, Mahaney, Post, and Oishi all going yard. Meanwhile Kramarz, Gorman, and Vincent each added an extra base hit of their own. Oickle led the way with four RBIs, Mahaney posted three on his homer, and Post, Vincent, and Oishi each had a pair.

CMCC still fell behind in the game, trailing 4-2 at the end of three innings, but came to life in the top of the fourth to score nine runs. Oickle's three-run shot was the centerpiece of the inning with Gorman driving in a run and Vincent plating two with a single up the middle.

Another crooked number meant the game ended an inning short of the scheduled distance. In the top of the sixth, Ben Foster marked his debut series with the team by driving in Miller with a single between second and short. Oishi followed that with a two-run homer and Kramarz added another run with his hard-hit ground ball through the left side. Mahaney then put the exclamation on the fall with his three-run blast to make it 18-4.

The Bengals did rally to score four runs in the bottom half of the inning off pitcher Spencer Chartier, but when Amadeo Lamenza popped out to Gorman in foul territory to end the inning, the hosts were still down by ten runs, ending the game.

Central Maine now sets its sights on the start of the spring season in March, eyeing another run to the USCAA Small College World Series. The Mustangs, playing YSCC games in the fall this year, have an impressive 9-1 record in conference play. They return to the field on March 15^th with a six-game road trip to Pennsylvania, taking on national powerhouses Penn State-DuBois, Mont Alto, and Schuylkill.