Mustangs Knock Off Lynx 7-0 in YSCC Tournament Opener

Auburn, ME – CMCC Baseball opened its YSCC Tournament title defense with a 7-0 victory over #4 seed NHTI on Tuesday night. The #1 Mustangs were led by starting pitcher Dawson Babineau with a complete-game shutout and some timely baserunning to put extra runs on the board. They head into Friday's winner's semifinal of the double elimination tournament against #2 seed York County.

"Pitching and defense won us a game again," said Ryan Palmer, who was named YSCC Coach of the Year before the game. "Our bats weren't as good as they have been this season, but Dawson Babineau was tough as nails on the mound to battle through the whole game, and our defense was lights out behind him."

The Mustangs took the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Babineau began the game with a one-two-three top half. T.J. Kramarz was hit by a pitch with one out followed by a base hit by Jake Calver. The pair of YSCC All-Conference selections, announced earlier in the day, advanced to third and second on a double steal. That set the table for cleanup hitter Brendan Mahaney. The Old Town, ME native delivered an RBI sacrifice-fly to right field that sent Kramarz sprinting for home and sliding in around the attempted tag by catcher Darien Mercedes.

The Lynx threatened to do some damage in the top of the third inning. Zachary St. Onge, in the bottom of the lineup, led off with a base hit. Brayden Squires followed with a line drive into right field and Maddux Mackenzie drew a walk. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the defense stepped up to help get Babineau out of the jam.

Ty Bernier snagged a lined shot right at him at second base. Mercedes then hit a dribbler down the third-base line that forced a tough play. Camden Miller charged and threw to the plate, but the ball was high. Catcher and captain Zac Gorman snagged it and desperately swiped his tag down along the back of the sliding St. Onge. The NHTI left fielder appeared to get a hand to the plate first, but the umpire called him out, preventing the tying run. Josh MacDonald flew out to left to end the inning.

Central Maine doubled its lead in the bottom half of the third. Calver showed patience to draw a one-out walk. Mahaney got caught swinging at a curve ball in the turf but was able to sprint to first base in time when the throw down the line took Charles Hibbert off the bag. That proved to be important. With two outs, Mahaney left first and forced a rundown in the basepaths. He was able to avoid the tag long enough for Calver to cross home plate for a 2-0 lead.

There was some more controversy in the bottom of the fifth when the Mustangs added two more runs. Mahaney was walked with two outs and Garren Post was hit by a pitch. Mathew Charrette came on to pinch run and both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Caleb Oickle hit a grounder to shortstop Brenden Ringman that could have ended the inning. The throw across to first was little wide, forcing Hibbert into a full stretch to reach it while trying valiantly to keep his toe on the bag. The first-base umpire checked with his crew chief who ruled him off the bag. Charette scored easily to make it 3-0, but Post was sprinting the whole way and crossed home plate for a 4-0 lead while the Lynx appealed the call to no avail.

Travis Graf relieved NHTI starter T.J. Charbono in the bottom of the sixth but struggled with control. Bernier was hit by a pitch and Kramarz singled to put two on with one out. Calver hit a towering pop-up that drifted into shallow right field, negating an infield-fly ruling. It dropped fair to load the bases.

Mahaney hit a short chopper towards first that Graf charged down. However, the pitcher mishandled the exchange, dropping the ball for an error that plated Bernier. Graf then walked Post and Gorman to score two more with a strikeout of Oickle in between, making it 7-0.

Babineau finished things off in the top of the seventh for the first complete game of his young career. The freshman from Moncton, NB, who is the only Mustang to appear in all 32 games so far this season, struck out Hibbert and St. Onge as part of a one-two-three inning to earn his second win of the campaign.

With rain expected frequently throughout the week, the rest of the YSCC Tournament has been moved to Central Maine's turf complex, which should fend off the water better and allow for later games with stadium lights around the field.

CMCC now prepares to take on #2 seed York County in the second game of the day on Friday, May 1^st. The winner of that contest will advance directly to Saturday's championship. NHTI now takes on #3 Southern Maine in the elimination game on Friday, getting the action started at 1:00 pm ET. Fans who cannot attend the game in person can watch the pay-per-view broadcasts on the YSCC Sports Network.