Auburn, ME – CMCC Softball honored its six graduating players on Thursday, then celebrated with a sweep of NHTI to wrap up their regular season schedule, winning the games by scores of 9-1 and 13-1, both in five innings. The Mustangs head into the YSCC Tournament as the #2 seed with an overall record of 11-15 and a 7-5 mark in conference play.
"Those were great team wins for us to pick up before the tournament," said head coach Megan Larochelle. "We played some overall solid softball and minimized errors, which we need to continue doing heading into next Sunday's tournament."
Game One, 9-1 W
The Mustangs held a senior ceremony for their six graduating players before first pitch of game one. Olivia Gallan, Keira Greene, Lauryn Wood, Sam Withee, Emily Libby, and Makenzie Anderson were all presented with a framed portrait before posing for photos with the coaching staff and family. All six also contributed to the big win to lead off the doubleheader.
Gallan and Greene both walked in the bottom of the first and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Miah Gallan then plated her older sister with an infield single, while Greene scored on an RBI groundout by Withee to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
NHTI got on the board themselves in the top of the second. Sydney MacLean hit a double off of starter Lauryn Wood and moved over to third base after a groundout by Khloe Mackenzie. Madison Darling drove her in with a ground ball to second before a pop out by Isabella Ferrazanni ended the inning.
It stayed 2-1 until the bottom of the third. Summer LaFlamme got the first two outs of the innings by inducing ground balls to second from Miah and Withee. Madison Anderson started the two-out rally with a single on a hard-hit ball to deep short and advanced herself over to third. Older sister Makenzie sent her sprinting home with an infield single on a shot to third. Libby then brought the senior from Lewiston, ME around to score with a ground ball up the middle into centerfield to extend the lead to 4-1.
Wood got herself out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth, and the Central Maine bats really came to life in the bottom half of the inning. Miah Gallan once more drove in her older sister with a base hit into right field. The sophomore from South Paris, ME sits third in the YSCC in hits and batting average this season. Withee, who is third in the league in RBIs, added another to her total with a lined shot into center that went for a double. Finally, Alivia Field added two more runs in the inning, coming to the plate with the bases loaded and delivering a two-RBI line drive to right field for an 8-1 lead.
The Lynx could not get one across the plate in the top of the fifth, meaning the Mustangs needed just one to walk off with a game one win courtesy of the eight-run rule. The top of the order took care of that shortly. Olivia Gallan doubled to left and Greene lined an extra-base hit through the gap between second and short to end the game.
Wood finished with four hits and one run allowed with one strikeout in five innings in the circle, moving her to a 3-3 record this spring in six starts.
Game Two, 13-1 W
NHTI responded by jumping out to an almost immediate lead in game two. Alivia Morris worked a walk from starter Autumn Peterson, stole second, and advanced to third on LaFlamme's groundout. MacLean then came through with a two-out RBI double up the middle to go up 1-0.
The lead did not last long, however. Olivia added a third double for the day to her tally, and another stolen base to immediately put the tying run on third. She slid in safely, beating the throw from centerfield after Greene lined out. Miah and Withee followed suit with doubles of their own to take the lead, and Field one-upped them with a two-RBI triple off starter Darling. When Libby drove her in with a line drive single up the middle, the Mustangs were up 5-1.
They did not let up either. In the second, Withee and Peterson hit back-to-back RBI singles through the gap and Makenzie made it 8-1 with a hard-hit lined shot to center that only scored one with runners on second and third. Four more runs were added in the third inning with Miah picking up two RBIs and Withee and Peterson adding one more each. That brought LaFlamme back to the circle in relief to finish out the game for NHTI.
CMCC also made a pitching change with Olivia Gallan replacing Peterson for the final two innings. The senior captain out of the Oxford Hills Vikings program had added emergency pitching duties to her repertoire this spring, helping out the injury plagued Mustangs' staff. She was very effective, allowing just two baserunners and no hits with a strikeout to boot.
McKenna Ridlon put the icing on the cake in the bottom of the fourth. The junior from Hartford, ME hit an inside-the-park home run with a lined shot to right field that skipped and rolled to the fence. It was Ridlon's second career home run in her third season with the Mustangs.
It capped off a fantastic day for Central Maine. The Gallan sisters were particularly effective with Olivia going 5-for-6 with six runs scored and Miah finishing 4-for-6 with four RBIs. Withee led everyone with five runs batted in and the team as a whole had ten extra-base hits.
CMCC will host the YSCC Tournament championship at its turf facility on campus. The semifinals and championship game will all be contested on Sunday, May 4th with first pitch times scheduled for 1 pm, 3 pm, and 5 pm. #1 SMCC will take on #4 NHTI in the first game of the day while the #2 Mustangs will face #3 UMaine-Augusta in their semifinal contest.
