Auburn, ME – CMCC Baseball opened the home portion of its spring season by eking out a sweep of YSCC rival York County Community College with a pair of one-run wins, 4-3 and 5-4. Lee Robertson delivered the game-winning two-RBI single in game one, while Brendan Mahaney walked it off in game two with a double in the bottom of the ninth.

"It's a good day anytime you can take two wins against a quality opponent," said head coach Ryan Palmer. "I was very pleased with our pitching. Whenever you can go through a doubleheader and only use three arms, that's a good day. Excited for Lee and Brendan who came through with game-winning hits. We had a lot of quality at bats today."

Game One, 4-3 W

Both teams got runs on the board early to start game one. The Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Jack Sullivan beat out a ground ball deep to short, allowing Cameron Early to score. The Mustangs responded with Brandon Gour and Jake Calver both getting on base. Brady Vincent grounded out with one away, but Gour got himself home to make it 1-1 after one.

Starting pitcher Kyle Delano had a clean second inning for Central Maine, but York County got back in front in the top of the third. Caden Petit singled and scored on a ground out by Caden Fontaine. Sullivan then picked up his second RBI of the game with a double into left field for a 3-1 lead.

CMCC pulled one back in the bottom half of the inning. Garren Post smacked a double into right field and came around to score when Vincent's fly ball to left was dropped by Alexis Castillo. Delano did his part on the mound, allowing just two base runners over the next three innings to keep the game close.

The offense came through for him in the bottom of the sixth. Catcher Zac Gorman doubled with a lined shot into right field. Cody Cleaveland hit a single down the left side and Ryan Stone walked to load the bases. Robertson then delivered with a hard ground ball through the right side that plated both Cleaveland and a pinch-running Steven White. Early, pitching in relief, limited the damage by striking out the next two batters.

Delano sealed the come-from-behind win by inducing three straight ground outs to collect a complete-game victory on the mound. The sophomore from Sabattus, ME improved to 4-3 on the year.

Game Two, 5-4 W

Shortstop Robertson moved over to the mound for game two to make his first start of the 2024-25 season as a pitcher for CMCC. The right-hander from Nova Scotia got caught by surprise in the top of the first, as Early stole home from third to make it 1-0 York County. Central Maine quickly evened things up in the bottom half of the inning though. Just like in game one, Gour led off and came around to score, this time thanks to Mahaney single up the middle.

The Mustangs took the lead in the bottom of the second off a wild pitch from Andrew Gray, Cleaveland sprinting home to make it 2-1. The Hawks tied the score a half inning later off an error by Cleaveland, when the freshman from Richmond, ME skipped his throw from short wide of the first base bag.

Again, CMCC responded. Post worked a lead-off four-pitch walk in the bottom of the third, Hayden Durrell moved him over to third base with a lined shot past the diving first baseman, and Cleaveland drove him in with a hard-hit sacrifice fly into deep center. Post kept the one-run-per-inning trend going in the fourth. The junior from Westbrook, ME had the bases loaded, and bounced a ground out to second base that plated Shane Jewett for a 4-2 lead.

York County tied things up once more, this time in the fifth inning. Petit singled and came around to score when Fontaine grounded into a fielder's choice. Sullivan then evened it at 4-4 with a seeing-eye grounder into left that snuck just past the diving attempts of both Durrell and Cleaveland. The throw from Jewett over to second base bounced all the way across the diamond to the fence, allowing the runner to come home.

Teddy McFarland came on in relief for Robertson in the top of the sixth. The sophomore from Hudson, MA got his first action in front of the home fans since the fall of his freshman year. The Hawks got a runner to third looking for the go-ahead run, but a full-count strikeout of Chris Morton ended the threat.

Stone drew a walk to reach in the bottom half, before a single into left field from Gour put runners on first and second. With two outs, a double steal got both of them into scoring position for Post, but pitcher James Erickson fielded a short grounder back to him to keep the game tied.

A one-two-three inning from McFarland set the stage for a chance at some late heroics. Mahaney got to first on a throwing error by third baseman Alexis Castillo. Durrell then laid a bunt down the third base line for an infield single, advancing White into scoring position as a pinch runner. Cleaveland was able to beat out a potential double play to leave runners on the corners with only one out. However, a mistake by catcher Cameron Dostie, pulling back a bunt on a high pitch with the runner going, erased White from the base paths. That meant Dostie's fly ball out to right field on the next pitch ended the inning.

Durrell made a fantastic diving stop at third and Post scooped the long throw over to first to keep York scoreless in the top of the eighth. But the Hawks responded with a great double play on a snagged line drive before a quick throw to first, sending the game to the ninth.

More great defense from Central Maine kept York at bay. Cleaveland made back-to-back diving plays at short, including getting the third out on a close throw to first. A heated exchange during the changeover saw head coach Zach Robinson ejected from the game by the home plate umpire, causing tempers to boil over.

The Mustangs finally won it in the bottom of the ninth of what was supposed to be a seven-inning game. Post hit a one-out single into right field and coach Ryan Palmer made the decision to bring on Delano as a pinch runner. The move paid immediate dividends when Mahaney lined a shot down the left field line that rolled to the fence for a double. Delano was on his horse at the crack of the bat and dove headfirst across home plate as the throw sailed high, ending the game in dramatic fashion.

Watch the walk-off winner here: youtube.com/watch?v=zlNDtsznVCM

The Mustangs picked up their second and third wins of the spring and improved to 15-8 overall and 2-0 in conference play.