6/15 v. Algonquin - Amherst 2, Algonquin 5

       The Canes' historic season finally came to an end at Szot Park against the Central Mass champion Algonquin High School of Northboro.  The Tomahawks put the pressure on Amherst early, forcing 6 errors in as many innings.  Even so, Spencer Shumway (6.2 IP, 6K, 3 BB, 7 H, 0 ER), the starter for Amherst, managed to keep Algonquin to only 4 runs through 6 2/3 innings of work.  Sean O'Brien finished the game for the Hurricanes and gave up only 1 run on no walks and 2 K's in 2 1/3 innings of work.

        Offensively, Amherst scored both their runs in the bottom of the 4th.  That inning was started by a double to left by Brian Hayes (2-5, R).  Nate Roberts (2-5, R) moved him to third on a single by the first baseman, and Spencer Shumway (1-2, BB, RBI)knocked Hayes in with a liner to center field.  Stephen Fega brought home Roberts on a hard grounder past the shortstop, and that's all the Canes could get.   Amherst left 13 runners on base over the course of 9 innings, 7 of whom were in scoring position.  The big hits just weren't there like they had been in previous games, as Algonquin's pitchers combined for 11 K's.  Algonquin will play St. Johns Prep for the state championship on Saturday in Lowell.

 

6/13 v. Chicopee Comp - Amherst 9, Comp 7

       Ben Petrides took the mound against BJ Robinson of #2 seeded Chicopee Comp for the Western Mass championship game.  Petrides (6+ IP, 7 R, 10 H, 4 BB, 5 K) struggled to get outs more than usual, but he managed to keep the batters from putting together any big innings.  The Canes' offense made up for it with a big 6 run 3rd inning that chased Robinson out of the game.  The hits kept coming for Amherst, led by Sam Orvis (2-4), Ben Petrides (2-4, 2 RBI), Stephen Fega (2-3), Brian Hayes (1-2, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Jeremy Gerber (1-4, 3B, 3 RBI). 

      Spencer Shumway relieved Petrides in the  7th with no outs to face the tying run.  He allowed one baserunner on a HBP but earned the save as Amherst celebrated their victory.  The Hurricanes play Thursday night in the state semi-finals against Algonquin High.

 

6/12 v. Westfield - Amherst 1, Westfield 0

       After a week of bad weather, the Hurricanes were back at it at Szot Park in Chicopee for the Western Mass Semifinals against Kyle Paton and the Bombers of Westfield.  Paton held Amherst to only 4 hits and 1 run on 10 K's, but Canes' pitcher Brian Hayes (0 R, 5K, 3 BB)out-pitched his counterpart.  Hayes gave up only 3 hits after carrying a no hitter into the 5th inning.  He threw a complete game shutout and scored Amherst's only run off of a Nate Roberts (2-3, RBI) single in the 4th.  The Western Mass championship game will be against Chicopee Comp on 6/13 at 7pm at Szot Park. 

 

6/5 @ Minnechaug - Amherst 13, Chaug 5

       With the momentum of a freight train, Amherst upset the #1 seed in Western Mass with 12 singles and another strong game by ace Ben Petrides.  Petrides (7 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 5 H) earned his 5th win of the season and put Amherst one game away from the Western Mass championship game.  He also drove in 2 and scored two with 4 hits of his own.  Brian Hayes (3-5, R, 3 RBI) and Nate Roberts (3-5, 2 R, RBI) also led the Canes' offense with 3 hits apiece. 

       The Canes had the Falcons down 12-0 until a brief offensive spurt in the 6th gave Minnechaug 5 runs.  Amherst answered with one more in the seventh and closed the door by retiring the final 3 outs in a row.  Amherst will face the winner of Westfield v. Ludlow on Wednesday in the Semifinals held at Szot Park in Chicopee (time TBA).

 

6/1 v. Cathedral - Amherst 6, Cathedral 5

       Amherst won the preliminary tournament game dramatically with a walk-off single by sophomore Jeremy Gerber.  It all started in the 7th when Stephen Fega (2-3, 2B, R)led off with a double over the left fielder.  James Allison (2-4, RBI) promptly knocked him in with a single to left.  He was thrown out trying to steal second, but Sam Orvis(1-3, 2R) got on next with a single to right.  Then Evan Guimond (2-3, RBI), the senior captain, blasted a double over the defense and made it to 3rd base on a dropped cutoff throw by the shortstop.  Cathedral decided to intentionally walk Brian Hayes and Ben Petrides (1-3, 2B, R) to load the bases for Gerber.  With one out and a 2-1 count, Gerber lined one over the first baseman and the Hurricanes celebrated the win. 

        Brian Hayes (5H, 4R, 3K, 3BB) was the starting pitcher and went 5 innings.  Ben Petrides (H, R, K), pitched the final two innings and earned the win.

 

5/27 v. Longmeadow - Amherst 3, Meadow 8

       With a chance to secure a share in the Valley League title, Amherst held strong for 5 innings, leading 2-0 behind another dominating performance by pitcher Ben Petrides.  Weary from a week of 5 games, the Canes just couldn't hold the lead.  Longmeadow took advantage of Petrides in the 6th by tying the game on an error, a walk and two singles, so Spencer Shumway took the mound to try to stop the Lancers.  Having pitched a complete game just 3 days prior, Shumway faced two sac bunters and then gave up a single that drove in 2 more runs.  He finished the inning by picking off the pinch runner at first base and recorded the first two outs in the 7th, but the defense couldn't stop another 4 run inning for Longmeadow.  Sam Orvis relieved Shumway in the 7th to record the final out for the Hurricanes.   

     The Hurricanes finish the regular season with an 11-9 record, 6-4 in the league.  Their pitching was strong in the second half, and a team batting average above .300 gives Amherst confidence going into the post-season. 

 

5/26 v. Cathedral - Amherst 8, Cathedral 5

       Playing their fourth of 5 games this week, Amherst had to rely on their bullpen, unused for two weeks, to continue their winning streak.  Senior righty Sean O'Brien got the start and took care of business, going 5 innings, giving up only 1 run on 2 hits.  Jasper Adams pitched the final two innings to hold on to the Canes' lead. 

       The bats were back for the Hurricanes as five players had multi-hit days.  Sam Orvis led the charge with 3 hits.  Evan Guimond, Ben Petrides, Mike Cunningham, and Stephen Fega each had a pair of hits.  Fega broke out of a slump in a big way with 3 RBI while Jasper Adams had the big hit of the day, a triple to right-center that scored 2. 

 

5/24 v. Holyoke - Amherst 4, Holyoke 1

      Only 3 hits is all it took for the Hurricanes to beat the Purple Knights and earn their second straight playoff berth.  All four runs for Amherst came in the second inning, when Ben Petrides led off with a single to left field, followed by a walk to Jasper Adams and an RBI double by Spencer Shumway.  The inning went downhill for Holyoke with an error by the shortstop from Mike Cunningham's ground ball, a walk by Stephen Fega, a walk by Sam Orvis, and a pass ball to score Shumway.  Evan Guimond drove in Mike Cunningham on a sac fly to score the fourth run.

     Adding another complete game for the Hurricanes pitching staff was pitcher Spencer Shumway, who had the team's most pitcher-dominating performance to date with 10 strikeouts.   He gave up only 5 hits and 3 walks to earn his 3rd win of the season and the team's 10th.

 

5/23 @ Pittsfield - Amherst 3, Pittsfield 1

      Another strong performance by southpaw Brian Hayes led the Canes to their 5th victory in the last 6 games, bringing them within one win of the postseason.  Hayes struck out 7 in 7 innings, walked none and gave up only 4 hits, three of which came in the first inning. 

      Offensively, Ben Petrides got the ball rolling (over the outfielders' heads) with a triple in the second inning, followed by an RBI single from Sophomore Jasper Adams.  In the sixth, the Canes scored two by way of an Evan Guimond single and a Brian Hayes triple, followed by an RBI single by Petrides.

      With the bullpen rested for the next three games, Amherst looks to continue the hot streak against Holyoke today.

 

5/22 @ Westfield - Amherst 6, Westfield 4 (9 innings)

      Hurricanes ace Ben Petrides went the distance as Amherst finally got the win in an extra inning game.  Petrides held the Bombers to 3 runs over 7, but the Canes could only match that until Evan Guimond walked with 2 outs in the 8th.  Three pass balls later, Amherst was on top and Petrides went out to finish what he started.  However, the Westfield center fielder, Kyle Paton led off the bottom of the 8th with a single and an SB, scoring on an RBI single by Hewing, the right fielder.

     The Hurricanes, having deja-vu from the 2005 match up decided to give Petrides a little more support in the 9th.  Spencer Shumway led off with a pinch hit single and was replaced by the starting second-baseman, Javed Basu-Kesselman.  Basu-Kesselman advanced on a sac bunt by Stephen Fega, and Sam Orvis stung a line drive base hit to left.  Orvis' hit was too hard to give Javed a chance to score, so Guimond hit a bloop single that put the Canes on top again and moved Orvis to 3rd.  A pass ball scored him, and the Canes went into the bottom of the inning with a 2 run lead. 

     Another lead off single by Westfield gave the Canes a scare, but a ground ball to Basu-Kesselman set up a rally-ending double play, and Petrides struck out the final batter to enjoy his 3rd win and 4th straight complete game.  Amherst has won 4 of their last 5 and need 2 wins to prolong the season.

 

 

5/18 @ Cathedral - Amherst 10, Cathedral 2

     Lefty starter Brian Hayes gave the Hurricanes just what they needed going into the final stretch of the season.  He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk in the first inning, and then kept Cathedral to one hit the rest of the way as he pitched the Canes' third straight complete game.  He also accumulated 3 hits in 5 tries and is now 8 for his last 11.  James Allison also came alive with 4 hits and a walk, scoring his 17th, 18th, and 19th runs of the season.  Evan Guimond and Mike Cunningham each had a pair of hits, while Jasper Adams and Ben Petrides each drove in a pair of runs.   The Canes need 3 more wins to make the playoffs.

 

5/17 @ Agawam - Amherst 5, Agawam 8

      After a week of rainouts, Amherst had a slow start against the Brownies, giving up 7 runs in the first 3 innings of play.  The rest of the game looked better for the Canes, surrendering only 1 run and scoring 4 of their own behind strong pitching and hitting from starter Ben Petrides.  Petrides had a single, double and a triple, while on the hill he struck out 6 in another complete game.  More offense came from cleanup hitter Brian Hayes, who had four singles in as many at bats and corner bagger Sam Orvis (2 for 3 with 2 RBI's). 

 

5/9 @ Holyoke - Amherst 10, Holyoke 0

     Another superb pitching performance by Ben Petrides led Amherst to its second straight win.  Petrides pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only 2 hits and walking just one.  Behind him was an errorless defense and a greedy offense.  Amherst's 10 hits were spread out between 9 Hurricanes, including a 2 run double by Evan Guimond.  James Allison scored 3 times, stole a base and had an RBI walk.

 

5/7 v. South Hadley - Amherst 4, S. Hadley 3

     Spencer Shumway went the distance as the breaks finally came Amherst's way in another nail biter at Ziomek field.   After giving up 3 runs in the first 2 innings,  Shumway and the Canes defense shut out the opposition the rest of the way. 

      James Allison led Amherst with 2 hits, including a big single in the 7th.  Evan Guimond had a big double in the 3rd inning, and Jasper Adams was 1 for 2 with the leadoff walk that ended up being the winning run (pinch runner was Tom Drake).  The final run came by way of a scorching ground ball to the replacement shortstop, Pelkey (also the starting pitcher), who couldn't handle it, and Drake was waved home from second base to meet his teammates for the celebration.

 

5/5 v. Westfield - Amherst 5, Westfield 9 (9 innings)

     Amherst, behind pitcher Brian Hayes, gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and two errors in the first, but Hayes shut out the Bombers for the next 5 innings.  The Canes answered with 3 runs in the first and 2 in the fifth, led by corner-man Sam Orvis who hit singles in each of his first three AB's. 

    The Canes couldn't hold their 1 run lead in the seventh, though, as closer Jasper Adams walked in the Bombers' tying run.  He pitched a scoreless 8th, but the Bombers were the next to score as the ninth inning proved to be the deciding factor.  Westfield scored 4 after Adams walked 3 and gave up singles to Delbuno and winning pitcher Kyle Paton.  Sean O'Brien recorded the last out for Amherst after giving up an RBI single.

    After back-to-back extra-inning defeats, the Hurricanes look to keep their heads above water as they host South Hadley Monday night. 

 

5/2 @ Longmeadow  - Amherst 0, Meadow 1 (8 innings)

   Ben Petrides pitched the complete game heartbreaker that moved the Hurricanes to 4-6 and 1-1 in league play.  Only three hits for each team were spread out over the course of the extra inning, two-day battle.  Stevie Fega had the only extra base hit for the Canes, while Jack Abbot had the 8th inning triple for the Lancers that led to their only run. 

 

4/29 v. Northampton - Amherst 6, NoHo 11

 

4/27 v. Agawam - Amherst 5, Agawam 3

 

4/25 v. Central - Amherst 4, Central 3

(AMHERST, MA) - Senior Brian Hayes ripped a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Amherst a thrilling 4-3 victory last night over Central.

The dramatic bottom of the seventh was started by sophomore catcher Mike Cunningham who drove the first pitch he saw into the right-centerfield gap for a clean single. James Allison then followed with a picture perfect bunt single. Following a strategically placed groundout by Steve Fega, which moved both runners up a base, and a tough luck strikeout by Evan Guimond, Hayes stepped to the plate setting the stage for the dramatic finish.

Sean O'Brien threw a gutsy, scoreless top of the seventh to earn the win, in relief of starter Ben Petrides.  Petrides was outstanding in his six innings of work, keeping the Central hitters off balance all night long with a mean curveball. 

Amherst will open league play Thursday night at 6:00 PM, hosting Agawam.

 

4/19 @ Minnechaug - Amherst 4, Chaug 12

(WILBRAHAM, MA) - Amherst lost its third straight in an afternoon slugfest with Minnechaug High School on Wednesday.  In a game where every batter reached base for both teams, timely hits prevailed, and Peter Fatse and Zach Carhart led Chaug with three doubles and a triple between them.  Brian Hayes and Stevie Fega had five of the Canes' 11 hits, and both players reached base every time they came to the plate.  Spencer Shumway earned his first loss of the season, giving up six earned runs in 3 plus innings of work. 

 

4/17 v. West Springfield - Amherst 2, Westside 7

(AMHERST, MA)- Seven strikeouts in five innings by starting pitcher Brian Hayes wasn't enough to stop the Westside offense from giving Amherst its second straight loss.   Captain Evan Guimond had two hits and an RBI for the Hurricanes.  The reigning state champions earned their first win of the season behind a complete game by Matt Bernier and a 3 hit day by the left fielder, Parillo. 

 

4/14 @ Chicopee - Amherst 0, Chicopee 10

(CHICOPEE, MA)- Brian Hayes led the Amherst offense with 3 of the team's seven hits.  Unable to score, however, the Canes fell to a solid Chicopee lineup, led by catcher Jason LeClerc and pitcher Toby Rutkowski.   Ben Petrides pitched five innings for Amherst, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, earning his first loss of the season.

 

4/12 v. Chicopee Comp - Amherst 6, Comp 2

APRIL 12, 2006- R  H  E

Chicopee Comp 2  6   0

Amherst            6  12  1

 

(AMHERST, MA)- In the home opener for the Canes, junior pitcher Spencer Shumway dominated a serviceable Chicopee Comp lineup from the very start. Using a stellar fastball accompanied by an array of offspeed pitches, Shumway kept the Comp hitters off balance all day, going the distance allowing just one earned run and scattering five hits for his first varsity victory.

 

Offensively the Canes had the bats going early, doing all of their scoring in the first four innings. James Allison had a phenomenal day at the plate going 3-4, including a triple in each of the first two innings, a double, three runs scored and an RBI. Brian Hayes went 2-3 with a triple and run scored. Sam Orvis went 2-3 with two big RBI's. And Mike Cunningham, who did a brilliant job catching Shumway, also went 2-3 including a ringing run-scoring single that nearly beheaded the pitcher.

 

4/10 @ Belchertown - Amherst fell behind early to an Orioles six run first inning, led by Bryan Eldridge's home run off a Brian Hayes fastball. Hayes took the loss for the 'Canes, giving up 8 runs in 1 1/3 innings, only 3 of which were earned. Sean O'Brien relieved Hayes in the 2nd, going 4 1/3 surrendering only one earned run. Spencer Shumway pitched the final out, finally closing the book on a horrendous defensive day (8 errors) for the Hurricanes. Shining offensively for Amherst were James Allison (2-4, 4 SB, 4 R) and Jasper Adams (3-3, RBI).  Final score: Amherst 4, B-Town 12.

 

4/6 @ Northampton - Ben Petrides pitched 5 complete innings, surrendering only 4 hits and striking out 6 while earning Amherst's first win of the season. Evan Guimond's two run home run into a goal in the neighboring lacrosse field marked the first hit of the season for the hurricanes. Amherst batted around in the 5th inning with a five run, two-out rally led by a double from Jasper Adams, who pitched the final two innings for Amherst. The Hurricanes played errorless baseball, and finishing the day with multiple hits were Guimond, Sam Orvis, and leadoff hitter James Allison. Final score: Amherst 9, Noho 2.