Auburn, ME – CMCC Baseball battled through a wet afternoon and a lengthy rain delay, earning a split of their doubleheader with rival SMCC on Tuesday night. The Mustangs had a walk-off win to take game one 2-1 before the Seawolves responded with a combined no-hitter to take game two 6-1.
Game One, 2-1 W
The first game of the doubleheader turned out to be a pitcher's duel between Central Maine starter Kyle Delano and SMCC's Leudys Castillo. Both starters went the distance with Delano allowing seven hits while striking out five and Castillo giving up five hits and fanning six.
Both teams had uneventful at-bats for the first two innings, but SMCC took the lead in the top of the third. Dante Tocci worked a walk, and Quinn Dillon moved him over to second with a lined shot into center field. With two outs on the board, Adam Rowland came through with a ground ball through the left side for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs got runners into scoring position in both the fourth and fifth but couldn't get anything across the plate. It all came down to the seventh. Delano retired the side in order to set his team up with one final chance, as the rain started to pick up.
Head coach Ryan Palmer rolled the dice with players off the bench, getting a pinch-hit leadoff double from Brady Vincent. Steven White came on to pinch run and advanced to third on a wild pitch, while Lee Robertson walked and stole second. Brandon Gour also took ball four, loading the bases with just one out.
Another pitch bounded past Alex Bean behind the plate sending White sprinting home with the tying run. With the pressure mounting, the Seawolves made the decision to intentionally walk the red-hot hitting Cody Cleaveland to put the force at every base. That brought up Garren Post with a chance to be the hero, but the junior from Westbrook, ME did not even have to use his bat to score the winning run. A pitch inside hit Post squarely on the leg, allowing Robertson to trot home for the walk-off win.
Game Two, 6-1 L
Both teams agreed to wait out the rain before starting game two, leading to a 90-minute weather delay. That did not put a damper on the Seawolves desire for revenge though. SMCC came roaring out of the gate, going right at starting pitcher Robinson, and putting their first five batters on base safely. Bean and Tyler Herkalo each had RBI singles and Jayson Collado scored on a sacrifice fly by Zach Oliver for a 3-0 lead. Connor Boulette mowed down the side in the bottom of the first in a sign of things to come.
Robertson settled in on the mound allowing just one runner over the next two innings, but the Seawolves loaded the bases again in the fourth. Aaron Whitman hit a shallow pop fly to center that bounced off the heel of Jake Calver's glove allowing Alex Bartlett to score. Robertson would end the scoring threat by picking him off first base.
Boulette carried his no-hitter into the seventh and got two more runs in the top half of the inning for a 6-0 lead, but Central Maine would threaten to put together another late comeback. Vincent again led off the inning, this time reaching on a throwing error by Bartlett at third base. Hayden Durrell was hit by a pitch before Calver created the first out, grounding into a fielder's choice. Catcher Cameron Dostie walked to load the bases with a tiring Boulette desperate to get the last two outs to seal the victory. However, another walk, this time to Shane Jewett, would bring Durrell into score and spell the end of the pitcher's night with a 6-1 lead.
Adam Rowland came on in relief, and after warming up, needed just one pitch to end the game. Ryan Stone sent a line drive straight back at Rowland, which the pitcher snagged before throwing to first for the double play. The 6-1 win went down as a combined no-hitter for Boulette and Rowland and earned Southern Maine a split of the doubleheader. More worryingly for CMCC, the Mustangs did not score any runs during the game by putting the ball in play. The last time they did so was 22 innings ago on Cleaveland's first-inning home run against UMaine-Augusta.
The Mustangs and Seawolves face each other one more time in the regular season; a nine-inning battle on Thursday, April 24th in South Portland.
