Mustangs Outlast Hawks, Advance to Championship Game

Auburn, ME – CMCC Baseball battled past #2 seeded York County Community College, 5-4 on Friday night to secure their place in Saturday's Yankee Small College Conference tournament championship game. The Hawks took a 3-0 lead before Central Maine rallied back. Caleb Oickle delivered a two-RBI hit in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie. Camden Miller picked up the win on the mound with Augustino Bonadie closing things out. The #1 seeded Mustangs will face YCCC again at 1:00 pm on Saturday looking to win back-to-back conference titles.

"We had a slow start, but this team is very resilient," said head coach Ryan Palmer. "There's no quit in these guys. Cam didn't have his best stuff, but he gutted through five innings and Tino closed the door. I was happy to see Caleb come up big when it counted. He has worked his tail off to get out of this slump."

York County started the game brighter, scoring one run in each of the first three innings. Cameron Sengenberger delivered an RBI single in the top of the first to score Noah Bryan. Oickle was able to keep it to just one run with a frozen rope from left field to Zac Gorman, allowing the catcher to tag out YSCC Player of the Year Jack Sullivan.

Gabe Leitch reached first base with two outs in the top of the second. The All-Conference Honorable Mention third baseman stole second and came around to score on a line drive by Bryan into right. With runners on second and third, Parnham made it 3-0 in the third with an RBI groundout, bringing home Caden Fontaine.

Central Maine got its comeback brewing in the bottom half of the inning. Dawson Babineau led off by getting plunked by Bryan, the York County starter. The freshman from Moncton, NB stole second to put himself in scoring position with two outs. All-Conference honoree Jake Calver brought him across the plate by launching a fly ball to center field. The Queensland, Australia native hustled into third with an RBI triple. His fellow YSCC award winner, Brendan Mahaney, drove him in with a line drive into right, trimming the deficit to 3-2.

Gorman recorded another out at the plate in the top of the fourth to keep the Hawks from extending their lead. Miller attempted to pick off Sullivan at first base, and when Leitch broke for home from third, Garren Post alertly made the quick fire through up the line for the third out.

The bottom of the fifth saw the Mustangs take the lead for the first time. The YSCC's second-leading vote getter, T.J. Kramarz, lined a single to left. The first-year, hometown product then stole second and third to put the tying run 90 feet away. Mahaney drew a walk, and a wild pitch sent Kramarz sprinting for home while a pinch-running Bailey Parcel reached third. Post was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Oickle's heroics. The Liverpool, NS native whacked a single to right that plated both Parcel and Post for a 5-3 lead.

That spelled the end of Bryan's day on the mound. Ryan Langworthy came on in relief. He was able to strike out Ty Bernier with the bases loaded to prevent any more damage.

Bonadie checked into the game for the final two innings to pick up the save for CMCC. The freshman right hander gave up one run in the top of the sixth. Sullivan lined a single to right, scoring Brody Emery, and cutting the lead to a single run.

However, there would be no last-inning comeback. After hitting the first batter, Bonadie got Parnham and Avery Conant to fly out. He then picked up the save by striking out Chris Morton on three pitches to end the game. Miller received what is remarkably only his second win of the season in his fourth decision. The Nine Mile Rivers, NS product has thrown nearly twice as many innings compared to any of the 15 other pitchers who have taken the mound for the Mustangs this year.

Earlier in the day, #4 seed NHTI upset #3 seed SMCC, 9-7 in the first elimination game. York County was able to book its second appearance in program history in the YSCC Tournament title game by defeating NHTI in the final game of the night. A wild back-and-forth elimination game ended with the Hawks knocking off the Lynx 14-12 to set up a rematch with the Mustangs.

The double elimination format of the bracket means York would have to defeat CMCC twice on Saturday. If the Hawks win the first game, a second deciding contest would follow at 4:00 pm to determine the conference champion. The winner receives the YSCC's automatic bid to the USCAA Small College World Series in DuBois, PA later this month.