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AUGUSTA — A threat of violence forced evacuations at two Augusta athletic fields Friday afternoon and the abrupt halt of the Cony-Winslow baseball and softball games.

At about 2:30 p.m., as the baseball and softball teams were warming up at their respective fields prior to their 3 p.m. contests, Cony Athletic Director T.J. Maines said he was told by School Resource Officer Nick Sterling of a “credible threat to cause harm” at the games. Players, coaches and fans were immediately evacuated from the Cony High softball field and Morton Field at the Piggery Road baseball complex in Augusta.

The Augusta Police Department posted on its Facebook page, “Currently, APD received an online threat involving the Piggery Road and Cony ball fields. All games have been canceled for the evening. Detectives are investigating the credibility of this threat and will update when we have further information.”

In an email, Augusta police Chief Kevin Lully said the police department had not confirmed the specifics of the threat. Lully added that details were limited as the investigation is still in its early stages but that he hoped to have an update Friday evening.

Maines, who said no one was harmed and that no one saw anything suspicious at the games, said the contests will be rescheduled. No other activities were scheduled at Cony High on Friday. The school is on break this week.

Cony baseball coach Don Plourde said that when he was informed of the situation by assistant coach Earl Kingsbury, he immediately pulled his players off the field, after which the team left the complex.

“When it comes to player safety, we don’t mess around,” Plourde said. “We’ve been together for five weeks, and we were ready to play our first game, but at the same time, we have to do what’s in the best interest of the kids and safety.”

Cony baseball player Parker Morin said the Rams were disappointed to have their season-opener postponed just 30 minutes before first pitch. But, the senior said, the team also understood the severity of the situation. 

“It was surreal; everyone was kind of in shock,” Morin said. “We’ve been itching to get outside — it’s been kind of a rough start to the year with the weather — so it is kind of a letdown, but after coach told us the situation, we knew that it wasn’t safe to be there at the time.”

The University of Maine at Augusta baseball team was also at the Piggery Road complex for a 3 p.m. game against Great Bay Community College. Those teams were ushered out of the adjacent field and will instead play at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Lewiston High School.