AUBURN – It’s an opportunity that can’t be passed by, so the Central Maine Community College baseball team will travel for its initial trip to Florida to compete in a national tournament.

The United States Collegiate Athletic Association will hold the tournament from May 2-6 at Al Lang Stadium, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ spring training facility.

This will be the first time ever CMCC has participated in the tournament.

A new ruling has allowed CMCC to qualify because of last fall’s 25-9 record. CMCC competes in the Northern New England Small College Conference and the New England Baseball Association. The remaining seven teams will each be seeded based on their spring schedules.

“It’s a great opportunity,” CMCC player Ryan Palmer said. “The ruling came through that considered our fall schedule This will give us a chance to put our program on the map. We’re hoping to get the number one seed.”

The team is comprised of several players from the region, including Palmer and fellow Mountain Valley graduate Kevin Bean. Auburn players are Greg Hird, Justin Carver, Mike Sproul, Lance Poland, Tommy Mason and Nate Olson. Dustin Longchamps and Josh Bourave are from Lewiston.

The USCAA is a national organization, consisting of both two- and four-year schools. There are approximately 54 institutions in the nation. The majority of the schools are four-year degree majors, with dual affiliations with the NCAA or NAIA.

Among the teams participating will be defending champion LaGrange of Ohio and Keystone in Pa.

Palmer, currently in his third year at CMCC, has enjoyed a stellar career and has drawn the respect and admiration from the athletic department.

“Ryan is a great kid who loves baseball,”CMCC athletic director Dave Gonyea said. “He played for us last year and was one of our top pitchers. Coach Dan Coleman plans to count on Ryan in his pitching staff in Florida.”

Palmer has a 17-3 career pitching record and holds the school record with a 0.92 earned run average in 2000. Palmer has a .406 career batting average and is equally effective in the field. He had 63 assists at second base, without making any errors.

“Ryan has made the proper adjustments to become one of the best all-around baseball players to ever put on a CMCC uniform,”Coleman said.

“He had to make some minor changes with his pitching. He only had three pitches and needed a fourth to be effective. He added a side arm fast ball to go with his over hand fast ball, curve ball and side arm curve ball. It has really made him a better pitcher.”