CMCC Dominates Central Penn to Open World Series

DuBois, PA – CMCC Baseball made a statement with its 11-3 victory over Central Penn to open the 2026 USCAA Small College World Series. The #7 seeded Mustangs jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held the #10 seeded Knights in check, as the program won its opening game of the national tournament for the first time. Leadoff hitter Cody Cleaveland had a great day at the plate going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and runs scored while Augustino Bonadie pitched a complete-game victory for the second outing in a row.

"It was nice to get a win where we kept the pedal to the floor," said head coach Ryan Palmer. "We have been notorious for scoring a bunch of runs early on, then settling back. Today, we scored in every inning except one. It was a huge team effort. We got timely hitting and Tino was great on the mound once again."

Central Maine wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Cleaveland walked and reached second on a T.J. Kramarz single. Jake Calver was able to beat out a potential double play grounder. Two pitches later, Calver took off for second on a double steal attempt with Cleaveland breaking for home on the throw. Central Penn attempted to cut off the throw to potentially get the out at the plate, but the ball bounced through to the bag leaving both runners safe.

Brendan Mahaney walked to bring up Caleb Oickle. The freshman from Liverpool, NS drove in both with a lined shot down the left field line that got past David Thomas for a double. That made it 3-0 Mustangs after one.

In the bottom of the second, CMCC loaded the bases with a Ty Bernier single, Cleaveland single, and Kramarz being hit by a pitch. The Knights limited the damage with only one out. Calver grounded out to short but brought home Bernier to make it 4-0. Jamarcus Wilson made a nice play at third to snag a grounder from Mahaney to end the inning.

The fourth inning is where the Mustangs broke the game open. Dawson Babineau started a streak of five consecutive batters reaching base safely, which ended the day for starting pitcher Anthony Garcia. Babineau floated a ball opposite field to left for a double. Cleaveland dropped a single into shallow center field to score him. Kramarz, the USCAA 2^nd-Team All-American beat out a potential double play with his speed to first, and Cleaveland was ruled safe at second with the throw taking Terrell Smith-Cole off the bag.

Calver was next up and kept his solid day going. The sophomore from Australia hit a chopper over the third baseman's head that plated Cleaveland for a 6-0 lead. Mahaney grounded a ball through the left side that sent Kramarz racing around to score. Calver then alertly took home after Garcia bobbled and kicked away the throw back to him at the mound, making it 8-0.

Meanwhile, Bonadie was almost untouchable on the mound, pitching a gem of a game through the first four innings. The Moncton, NB native, fresh off his victory in the YSCC championship game that earned him Tournament MVP honors, allowed just one hit from the first 12 batters faced, and had not faced more than three in an inning thanks to a double play in the third.

Central Penn finally got some momentum in the top of the fifth. Nic Joseph beat out a ground ball to third with Kramarz's throw skipping short in the turf. Gabe Kaufman made that pay off by launching a home run over to right-center over the tall fence at Stern Field. That cut the lead down to 8-2.

The Mustangs had allowed a similar situation to derail their game against the Knights in last year's World Series opener, on the same field. In 2025, a 5-2 lead in the fifth evaporated after Central Penn scored nine runs, including a grand slam by Kaufman. This time around, Central Maine would not make the same mistake.

Bonadie fought back to get out of the inning with runners on first and third. Then CMCC pushed another run across the plate in the bottom half of the fifth. With two outs and runners on second and third, Cleaveland lined a single into left to score Babineau.

The Knights stranded three runners in the top of the sixth on a groundout. The Mustangs threatened to end the game early in their last ups. Mahaney walked and a pinch-running Bailey Parcel moved to third on a Zac Gorman double, with Camden Miller coming on to run for the catcher. Bernier singled to right to score both of them for an 11-2 lead and moved into scoring position on the throw home. Sam Royer was able to strike out Babineau to keep the game going.

The first two batters were retired quickly in the top of the seventh. A walk and hit by pitch put two on with two out. Central Penn executed a double steal of their own to score Darwin Cruz, but a groundout to third wrapped up the Mustangs' second-ever win at the USCAA Small College World Series.

Central Maine collected 13 hits, three of which went for extra bases, to secure the victory. Cleaveland and Bonadie paced the team with three hits each, and Cleaveland, Calver, Oickle and Bernier each collected two RBIs. Bonadie improved to 4-2 on the year in his sixth start, now with a 3.15 ERA in 40 innings of work.

Next up for the Mustangs, an afternoon game against #2 seeded The Apprentice School. The Builders look to be a strong and well-rested test for CMCC to play in their second contest of the day. First pitch is slated for 4:00 pm. The double elimination tournament will continue for both teams with an evening game on Tuesday regardless of the result.