Canes Shut Out in Preliminary Round

AGAWAM (5/30/08) - The Hurricanes traveled to Agawam for a #8 v. #9 preliminary tournament game against the Brownies on Friday afternoon.  After having beat Agawam in their last contest, Amherst couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities and lost 3-0 to end the 2008 season.  Jasper Adams pitched a complete game 5-hitter, but Agawam only needed their first run which came on a leadoff walk (Adams's only walk), a stolen base and a base hit in the first inning.  The Hurricanes stranded four runners in scoring position with no outs as they struck out 10 times and only mustered three hits against Agawam's ace, Tyler Toyfair.  Leading the offense for the Canes were Jeremy Gerber (0-2, 2BB, SB), Matt Bohl (1-3, SB), Mike Cunningham (0-0, 3BB), Evan Hazelett (1-3) and Mike Kelly (1-2, BB).  Complete Box Score   See more on Mass Live  See Photos on Mass Live

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Amherst	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2
Agawam	2	0	0	0	1	0	x	3	5	0

 

 

Game 20: Home v. Cathedral 5/23/08  Amherst 4, Holyoke 3  (10-10, 4-6)

Hurricanes Triumph With Backs Against the Wall.  What could have been the last game of the season for the Hurricanes turned into a playoff invite on Friday night in Amherst.  Amherst scored first when Jasper Adams walked with two outs, advanced to second on a ball in the dirt, to third on a single by Mike Cunningham, and scored on a single by Evan Hazelett.  Adams was on the hill, working on 3 days rest, trying to hold the one run lead.  Throwing an electric fastball, he held the Panthers scoreless until the fourth when two singles and an error tied the game at one.  But the Canes answered back in the fourth when Mike Kelly reached on an error with one out.  Stephen Looze followed with a single to left, and both runners advanced on a ball in the dirt.  Then Kamran Skelton-Edwards knocked them both in on another single to left, putting the Canes up 3-1.  Cathedral matched the two runs, though, in the top of the fifth after back to back walks with no outs, a double to left, and a sac fly to right.  Tied at 3, the Canes got on base in the sixth with no outs when Hazelett walked.  He was caught trying to swipe second, but the next batter, Kelly, drove a single up the middle.  Looze was hit by pitch, and then both runners advanced on a delay steal.  The catcher tried to catch Kelly at third, but threw it away, giving the Canes the lead.  With fire in his eyes, Jasper Adams held the Panthers scoreless the rest of the way, dominating the seventh inning and giving the Hurricanes their fourth consecutive playoff entry.   Box Score 

 

Game 19: Home v. Holyoke 5/22/08  Amherst 2, Holyoke 4  (9-10, 3-6)

Knights Avenge Canes, Force Must Win Final Game.  AMHERST, MA, May 22, 2008- Senior right-hander Mike Kelly allowed only two earned runs over five solid innings of work for Amherst, but the Hurricanes (9-10, 3-6) could not muster up enough offensive firepower to clinch a playoff berth, as the Holyoke Purple Knights (7-12) upended the Canes 4-2 yesterday at Ziomek Field.

 

In addition to Kelly’s strong performance, junior lefthander Fred Shepard pitched well in relief, allowing one-earned run in the final two innings, while striking out two. 

 

Offensively the Canes were led by senior shortstop Jeremy Gerber, who was 2-4 with a run scored, including his team leading seventh triple (fourth leadoff triple) of the season.  Sophomore third basemen Dean Bonneau and junior leftfielder David Marx also chipped in back to back singles in the second inning, but the Canes were unable to come up with a clutch hit, as Gerber lined out to short to end the rally.  Junior second basemen Evan Hazelett also contributed, walking twice, getting hit by pitch and stealing two bases.

 

The Canes have one final shot to clinch a playoff berth Friday night at Ziomek Field, when they take on Valley League rival Cathedral at 7:00 PM.   Box Score 

 

 

Game 18: Home v. Longmeadow 5/20/08  Amherst 6, Longmeadow 1  (9-9, 3-5)

Ziomek Fans 16, Beats Longmeadow. AMHERST, MA, May 20, 2008- Sophomore lefthander Kevin Ziomek struck out a career-high 16 batters on his way to a complete game two-hitter, as Amherst (9-9, 3-5) upended Longmeadow(14-4), 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Ziomek Field.

 

Ziomek was dominating from the very start. Showing an array of pitches to dazzle the Lancer hitters, Ziomek utilized the strikeout to register eight of the first nine outs, while mowing down the side in the first, second, and seventh innings.

 

On the offensive side of the ball, the Canes jumped out early with three big runs in the first inning. Centerfielder Matt Bohl (3-3, 2 RBI, 3 SB) ripped a single and stole second before scoring on a clutch two-RBI single by catcher Mike Cunningham. Second basemen Evan Hazelett (BB) scored the third run of the inning on a ringing single up the middle by Ziomek.

 

The Canes struck again in the bottom of the second inning for two more runs. After a beautiful attempt at a sacrifice bunt by leftfielder David Marx was misplayed, up stepped leadoff hitter, shortstop, Jeremy Gerber. The senior tri-captain took it upon himself to advance third basemen Dean Bonneau (leadoff BB) to third, and Marx to second with a sacrifice bunt of his own, setting the stage for the red hot Bohl. Bohl didn’t waste anytime as he blasted a fastball up the middle for two RBI’s and a five run Amherst lead.

 

The Canes added an insurance run in the fourth inning when Bonneau crushed a 2-0 fastball to right center for a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marx, and scored from second after reading a ball in the dirt, that drew an errant throw to third.

 

That was all Ziomek would need, baffling frustrated Lancer hitters, continuously sending them back to the dugout wondering what had happened to them up at the plate.

 

The Canes will try to clinch a playoff berth Wednesday night, when attempt to sweep the Holyoke Purple Knights at 6:30 PM under the lights at Ziomek field.

 

 

Game 17: at Westfield 5/19/08  Amherst 8, Westfield 11  (8-9, 2-5)

Canes Lose a Wild One at Westfield.  WESTFIELD, MA, May 19, 2008- Jasper Adams went 4 2/3 innings for Amherst (8-9), (2-5), but could not cool off the hot bats of Westfield (14-3) as the Bombers defeated the Hurricanes 11-8 in an offensive battle Monday night at Bullens field. Trailing 3-2, the Canes squandered chances to score in the fourth and fifth innings, before Westfield opened the floodgates in the bottom of the fifth, scoring eight times on a combination of solid hits, misplayed balls, and infield singles. Despite the large deficit, the Canes did not lose their poise, confidence, and motivation to win. Despite not having his best stuff on the mound, surrendering career highs in earned runs and hits, Adams contributed on offense, driving in three runs, including a big two-RBI single in a five-run sixth inning rally. Centerfielder Matt Bohl smashed the ball in each of his five at-bats going 3-5 including a double and three RBI’s. Shortstop Jeremy Gerber had another solid day at the plate going 2-4, including a savvy bunt single in a seventh inning rally, an RBI, two stolen bases, and three runs scored to bring his team leading total to 20. Junior lefthander Fred Shepard pitched well in relief of Adams, allowing only one hit while striking out two in 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. The Canes will be in action again Tuesday afternoon at home in a Valley League match-up with Longmeadow (14-3).   Box Score 

 

Game 16: at Cathedral 5/15/08  Amherst 3, Cathedral 4  (8-8, 2-4)

Canes Fall in 7th to Cathedral.  In the last two years Amherst has bested Cathedral 6 times, but the Panthers were determined to end that streak on Thursday.  The Canes took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh after Mike Kelly (6.1 IP, 2K, 6BB, 5H, 4ER) had given up only two hits and one run and the defense had been perfect.  The 7th hitter, Mathieson, led off with a bloop double to right but was hit by a ground ball to make it one out with a runner on 1st.  Then a walk put the tying run on first.  In a weird string of coaching events, Kelly was forced to pitch to the next batter even though Evans, the coach, had relieved him with newcomer Fred Shepard (0+ IP, 2H, BB).  That resulted in a base hit to load the bases.  Then Shepard faced the next batter, forcing a ground ball up the middle that was just out of the reach of the second baseman, Evan Hazelett--one run scored.  The next batter walked in the tying run, and then a base hit resulted in a walk-off win for the hungry Panthers.  The Canes' offense put pressure on Cathedral throughout the game, including a 3rd consecutive leadoff run by Jeremy Gerber (1-4, R, SB) who reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch.  Additionally, Amherst spread out 7 hits and earned the remaining two runs in the fourth on a double by Mike Cunningham (1-3, 2B, R), a single by Hazelett (1-3, R), an RBI groundout by Kelly (0-3, RBI), and an RBI single by Kevin Ziomek (1-3, RBI).  Box Score   Read more on Mass Live

 

Game 15: at Agawam 5/12/08  Amherst 5, Agawam 3 (8-7, 2-3)

Long Awaited Win at Windy Agawam.  The wind was howling, and Jasper Adams (CG, 10K, BB, 4H, 0ER) took the hill to try to stop the Brownies from beating the Hurricanes for the fourth straight time.  Adams dominated the game, striking out 10 in his second straight complete game win.  Agawam scored twice in the third inning after an error and a popup that got into the wind and fell.  Another error led to a Brownie run in the fourth, but Amherst bats made up for the 3 unearned runs.  Jeremy Gerber (1-3, 2R, 3B, BB) led off the game with his 2nd straight leadoff triple and scored on a base hit by Evan Hazelett (2-4, 2RBI).  Jasper Adams (1-3, R, RBI, BB) also scored on that hit after walking.  The Canes scored again in the 4th after 3 straight walks and a clutch two-strike hit down the right field line by Kevin Ziomek (1-3, 2RBI).  Amherst got their insurance run in the seventh when Gerber walked, advanced on a sac bunt by Matt Bohl (0-3), and scored on a ground rule double by Adams.  Box Score

 

Game 14: at Holyoke 5/7/08  Amherst 14, Westfield 1 (7-7, 1-3)

Canes Resurrect with Big Win at Holyoke.  With the end of the season creeping closer, the Hurricanes needed to get their bats going after only three hits in the previous two games.  That they did.  In the top of the first the first five batters for Amherst scored, led off by a triple to right field by Jeremy Gerber (3-5, 2 2B, 3B).  Matt Bohl (3-4, 3R, 2B, 3B, RBI, HBP) followed with a double, Jasper Adams (3-4, 3RBI) and Mike Cunningham (2-3, HBP) with singles, Evan Hazelett (2-4, 2R, BB) a walk, and Mike Kelly (2-4, 2B, 3RBI) a two run double.  Stephen Looze (1-3, RBI) drove in the 5th run with a sac fly to center.  In the second, Bohl had a triple and Adams drove him in with his second single to go ahead 6-0.  Meanwhile, Adams (5IP, 5K, 2BB, 3H) was working on his first pitching start of the year, holding a shutout through 5 innings.  He was relieved by Chris Gere (2IP, 2K, BB, 3H, ER), who pitched a scoreless sixth but gave up the shutout in the seventh on a double and a single.  Back on the offensive side, the Canes dominated the 6th inning by scoring 7 runs on 5 hits, including a double by Gerber and a 2 RBI single by Dean Bonneau (1-4, 2RBI).  Adding one more in the seventh on singles by Gere (1-1, R), Kelly and Looze, the Canes finished the day with a long overdue 18 hits.    Box Score   Read More at Mass Live 

 

 

Game 13: Home v. Westfield 5/5/08  Amherst 0, Westfield 5 (6-7, 0-3)

No Hits for Canes Against Westfield's Lorenz.  The Hurricane bats were silent on Monday night at Ziomek field.  They struck out 14 times against Westfield hurler Jim Lorenz, and only two balls were hit out of the infield all night.  Pitcher Kevin Ziomek (6IP, 4K, 4BB, 5H, 3ER) worked 6 strong innings, striking out 4, and senior Chris Gere (IP, H, ER, K, 0BB) pitched a 1 hit 7th.  But the Canes couldn't top the Bombers as they were no hit for the first time on record.  Of Note: Evan Hazelett's 9 game hitting streak came to an end Monday night.    Box Score  Read More at Mass Live 

 

Game 12: Home v. Northampton 5/3/08  Amherst 3, Noho 1 (6-6, 0-2)

Pop Can't Stop Kelly and the Canes.  On a misty Saturday night in Amherst the Hurricanes looked to avenge a loss earlier this year to the Blue Devils of Northampton.  In a pitcher's duel with only 9 total hits, the only raking that happened was when both teams worked to get the field ready for the battle of the bridge under the lights.  Facing Northampton senior Joe Popielarczyk, Amherst struggled to put balls in play all night, striking out 12 times and only getting 3 hits.  But that would be enough because senior ace Mike Kelly (CG, 7K, BB, 6H) kept Hamp to only 1 run, striking out 7 and stranding 7 as he kept them from putting any rallies together.  Amherst scored their first run on a 1st inning leadoff walk by Jeremy Gerber (1-3, R, 2SB), who stole 2nd and 3rd and scored on a pass ball.  Then they scored two more in the 5th when Dean Bonneau (0-1, R, BB) led off with walk, Kevin Ziomek (0-1, SAC) sac bunted him to second, and then center-fielder Matt Bohl (1-3, R, SB) hit a line drive that caused the first-baseman to dive toward the line.  It looked like the ball was caught, but the umpire said it fell out of his glove and runners were on 1st and 3rd for Jasper Adams (0-3, SB).  With two strikes, Adams hit a ground ball to short in what looked like a routine play, but the first baseman dropped the ball again, leading both Bonneau and Bohl to score.  The score was set at 3-1, and the Canes are back to .500 as they re-enter league play on Monday hosting Westfield.  Box Score  

 

Game 11: at Longmeadow 5/2/08 Amherst 2, Longmeadow 7 (5-6, 0-2)

Gloomy Day in Longmeadow for Hurricanes.  Box Score

 

Game 10: Home v. Agawam 4/30/08  Amherst 0, Agawam 2 (5-5, 0-1)

Canes Out-hit in Pitchers Duel.  The Hurricanes can't find a way to beat Agawam.  In their last three match-ups, the Brownies have had Amherst's number by two runs every time.  The Canes got great pitching with a 2-hit gem by sophomore lefty Kevin Ziomek, (CG, 6K, 3BB, 2H, 1ER) but the Amherst lineup only got three hits of their own off the Agawam lefty, Jeremy Brown.  Evan Hazelett (2-3, SB) led the way with two singles, and Mike Cunningham (1-3) had a 6th inning base hit.  With only 5 base-runners in the entire game, Amherst looks to restart their offense against Longmeadow on Friday, who was previously the last team to shut out Amherst on May 2, 2006.   Box Score  Read more on Mass Live

 

Game 9: Home v. Central 4/25/08  Amherst 6, Central 5 (5-4)

Adams' Blast Turns Canes Season Around.   The returnees from last year's Amherst team were looking for revenge against Central, who was one of only two teams that beat them in the 2007 regular season.  The Hurricanes jumped to an early lead when Jeremy Gerber (3-4, 4R, 3B) reached base on an error by the 2nd baseman.  He then scored on a hard single to left by Mike Cunningham (2-2, 2RBI, IBB).  Then Gerber led off the third inning with a single and then scored on another Cunningham single to put the Canes in the lead 2-1.  The Canes piled on a couple more in the fifth when Gerber and Matt Bohl (1-3, R, SB) had a pair of back to back singles, followed by Evan Hazelett's (1-3, 2B, 2RBI) deep ground rule double to left to go ahead 4-1.  The Eagles took the lead in the sixth, though, when the starter, Mike Kelly (5+ IP, 2K, 3BB, 3ER) got into some trouble.  He loaded the bases, and Chris Gere came in to relieve Kelly, only to see four runs score on a combination of walks, singles and errors.  Derek Osborne finished the sixth by forcing a popup to the catcher.  That's when Jasper Adams (1IP, 2K) took over the game.  Down by 1 run, Adams pitched a perfect seventh with Gerber to lead off in the bottom half.  Once again Gerber reached base--this time on a triple to right field.  With the tying run on 3rd and one out, Adams blasted a line drive over the center fielder's head that rolled to the scoreboard in deep right-center.  Adams easily scored the winning run on his second home run of the season.  Of Note: Gerber has scored in the first inning in five of the nine games so far.  Box Score  See Photos on Mass Live

 

Game 8: at Minnechaug 4/23/08  Amherst 7, Minnechaug 4 (4-4)

Canes Win Third Straight at Minnechaug.  In a back and forth contest, Amherst finished victorious behind timely rallies and strong pitching from Dean Bonneau (W, 5 IP, BB, 3 ER) and Jasper Adams (S, 2 IP, 2K).  In his first appearance this season the reigning WMass pitcher of the year came in with a two run lead in the 6th and struck out 2, giving up no hits and 1 walk for the two inning save.  Four players had multiple hit games, including Mike Cunningham (2-4, RBI), Jasper Adams (2-4, 2RBI), Jeremy Gerber (2-3, 3R, 2B, 3B, BB), and Mike Kelly (2-2, R, 2B, SB, HBP), who scored the go ahead run in the sixth after getting hit, stealing on a ball in the dirt, and scoring on an errant throw by the short stop after an infield hit by Evan Hazelett (1-2, R).  Box Score

 

Game 7: Home v. West Springfield 4/21/08 Amherst 6, Westside 0 (3-4)

Ziomek Shuts Out Westside For Second Straight Win.  The Hurricanes won their second in a row and 3rd of the last 4 games behind a strong performance by sophomore Kevin Ziomek (CG, SO, 9K, 3H, 3BB).  The lefty gave up two hits in the first, one in the second and held Westside hitless for the rest of the game.  Amherst put together timely hits, putting up 3 runs in the second inning including a single by Chris Gere (1-2, 2R, RBI) and a 2 RBI double by Matt Bohl (1-2, 2B, 2RBI).  Dean Bonneau also had another multi-hit game, going 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI.  Box Score

 

Game 6: at Pittsfield 4/19/08 Amherst 16, Chicopee 6 (2-4)

Hurricanes Pour It On the Generals.  At Pittsfield Saturday the Amherst bats finally came alive in a 16-6 romp over the Berkshire team.  Senior captain Jeremy Gerber (2-3, 3R, 2B, 3B, 3BB, SB) led off the 1st with a triple and scored on an infield hit by Matt Bohl (1-3, 2R, SB, RBI).  Stephen Looze (1-3, 2B, 2RBI), the DH, added 2 more runs on a double to right field, and then Evan Hazelett (2-4, 2R, HR, SB, 2RBI) stole home to put the lead at 4-0.  The Generals earned one run off of the starter Mike Kelly (4 IP, 2K, 3BB, 4H, ER) in the first, but the Hurricanes answered back with eight runs in the 2nd, including singles by Jasper Adams (2-5, 3R, 3RBI) and Chris Gere (1-3, R, 2BB, RBI), doubles by Gerber and Mike Cunningham (2-2, 2R, 2 2B, SB, 2RBI), and a home run by Hazelett.  The star of the inning though was Alex Hebb (2-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI), who knocked a single and a 2 RBI double in the same inning.  Pittsfield answered with a meager 3 runs in the bottom half of the 2nd, all unearned, but the Canes came back in the 6th with two runs on bases loaded walks and two in the 7th from a single by Adams.  Derek Osborne (2 IP, 2H, 0 ER) pitched the 5th and 6th innings, giving up one unearned run, and senior Chris Gere (IP, K) pitched a perfect 7th.  Box Score

 

Game 5: at Chicopee 4/17/08 Amherst 2, Chicopee 5 (1-4)

Canes Fall in Late Innings.  After a strong start by Amherst, Chicopee took control of the 5th and 6th innings to beat Amherst 5 to 2.  Jeremy Gerber (0-3, R, BB) led off the game with a walk and scored on a single to right-center by Jasper Adams (1-2, BB, RBI).  Then Stephen Looze (1-2, R, BB) walked to lead off the second inning and scored after a sac bunt by Mike Kelly (0-2) and a sac fly by Chris Gere (0-2, RBI).  But that was the last of the Hurricanes' runs.  Sophomore Dean Bonneau (5.2 IP, 2K, 2BB, 4ER) held Chicopee hitless into the 5th, but got into trouble after a botched play at first, a bloop single, and a balk.  Chicopee left-fielder Dan Asselin hit a game-tying triple and then scored the go ahead run on a squeeze play.  They added two more in the 6th, and sophomore Derek Osborne relieved Bonneau to record the final out, a strikeout.  Box Score

 

Game 4: Home v. Chicopee Comp. 4/15/08 Amherst 2, Comp 1 (1-3)

Canes Earn First Win of Season.  Amherst eked out their first win behind the sophomore pitching combination Kevin Ziomek (W, 6IP, 5K, 4BB, ER) and Dean Bonneau (SV, IP, K, BB, HP).  In a low scoring duel, the Canes played perfect defense against 6 errors by the opposition.  Jeremy Gerber (1-4, R) led off the 1st by reaching on an error by the shortstop, advancing all the way to 3rd on a sac bunt by Matt Bohl (0-2, SAC, BB, SB), and scoring on a hard ground ball by Jasper Adams (0-4, RBI).  Bohl scored the other run after walking in the 3rd, stealing second and scoring on an infield hit by Evan Hazelett (1-2, RBI).  The Hurricanes showed more aggressive swings against Comp, only striking out once and peppering the defense throughout the game.  Of Note: Dean Bonneau (2-3) was the only player on either team with multiple hits.  Box Score

 

Game 3: at Northampton 4/14/08 Amherst 3, Noho 5 (0-3)

The Hits Don't Come For the Canes.  Senior Mike Kelly (CG, 4K, 3BB, 8H, ER) pitched a complete game allowing only 1 earned run, but the Hurricanes offense could not put enough of a rally together to win the river rivalry with Northampton.  Northampton took the early lead in the 2nd inning on a solo home run by the first baseman, Kellogg, but Amherst answered back in the top of the 3rd to take their first lead of the season.  Jeremy Gerber (0-2, 2BB, SB) and Jasper Adams (0-2, 2BB) got aboard on balls, and the junior Evan Hazelett (2-3, 2 2B, 2 RBI) knocked them in on a double to left.  The lead didn't hold, though, as the Blue Devils tied with a pair of hits and a steal home in the bottom of the 3rd.  Kelly held the tie until the 7th when Noho went ahead by 3.  Amherst rallied back, though, with a leadoff single by Mike Cunningham (1-2, BB).   Hazelett drilled his second double down the 3rd base line, putting Cunningham's pinch runner, Kamran Skelton-Edwards on 3rd.  He scored on a pass ball, but Hazelett was stranded when the Canes had the next three batters called out on strikes.  See Box Score / Read more at Mass Live

 

Game 2: at East Longmeadow 4/8/08 Amherst 3, E.L. 4 (0-2)

Another Close One Against the Spartans.  In a rematch of last year's semi-final game, East Longmeadow jumped to an early 3 run lead off of pitcher Kevin Ziomek (4 IP, 5K, 3BB, 3 ER).  But in the fourth, the Canes' bats came alive with a leadoff single and a stolen base by Jeremy Gerber (2-4, 3B, SB).  Jasper Adams (2-3, 2B, HR, 3RBI) then drove in Gerber on a double to left-center.  In the sixth, the Canes came alive again with a leadoff walk by senior Matt Bohl (0-2, 2 BB).  Adams followed with a 2-run blast over the fence in left-center to tie the game at 3. With sophomore Dean Bonneau (3 IP, K, H, 0 ER) in to hold the Spartans down, Amherst looked to take the lead in the top of the 7th when junior David Marx (1-2, HP) beat out an infield hit to the six-hole.  With the red hot Gerber up to bat, Marx was gunned down at second on a stolen base attempt.  Hope still alive, Gerber drove the left-center gap for a two out triple but was stranded and the game was still tied.  In the bottom of the 7th and 1 out, Bonneau gave up his first hit, a double to right-center.  Then a ground ball between the second baseman's legs allowed the final run to score, and the Canes lost their second straight.  See Box Score / Read more at Mass Live

 

Game 1: Home v. Ludlow 4/3/08 Amherst 1, Ludlow 5 (0-1)

Rough start for Amherst.  Amherst loses opening day to Ludlow after committing 3 errors and producing only 3 hits.  Senior Mike Kelly and sophomore lefty Kevin Ziomek teamed up to face the Lions offense allowing only two earned runs and striking out 8.  Unfortunately errors and 14 runners LOB kept the Hurricanes from coming out victorious.  The Hurricanes look to get on track at Tuesday's rematch of last year's semi-final game at E. Longmeadow.  See Box Score