Ziomek pitches perfect game for Amherst
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AMHERST - Kevin Ziomek knew he had something going during the pregame warm-ups Friday night.
Catcher Steffen Herter's glove was popping.
"His glove doesn't pop and I always complain about it," the Amherst Regional junior lefty said. "Today it was popping and I knew something was up. I was feeling good and kept it going the whole game."
Make that feeling perfect.
Ziomek struck out 18 and threw a perfect game as the Hurricanes defeated rival Northampton 3-0 in the first round of the Western Massachusetts Division 1 Tournament at Community Field.
With his teammates standing in front of the bench, fans standing along the sidelines and a line of "K" signs attached to a fence, Ziomek struck out Max Talbot to end the game. Ziomek immediately was swarmed on the infield following his first career postseason start.
"It's pretty good," Ziomek said. "There's nothing better. It feels great. It was all thanks to the guys who got me the runs and gave me the confidence to get the outs."
Fourth-seeded Amherst (14-7) will host No. 5 Chicopee (14-7) at 4 p.m. Monday in the quarterfinal round. Ziomek no-hit Chicopee earlier this season but will not pitch against the Pacers this time.
Good thing because the No. 13 Blue Devils (9-12) were as overwhelmed as Chicopee was.
"He didn't throw many balls at all but the thing that killed us is he threw a lot of letter-high fastballs and we helped him out," Northampton senior Jimmy Laizer said. "Other than that he still (gassed) fastballs and his curveball makes it so much harder."
Ziomek threw 92 pitches, with 68 - or a staggering 74 percent - for strikes.
"It's insane," Herter said. "It was like he had a good inning, he had another good inning, then he kept on coming back and doing it every time. It was amazing to be behind the plate for it."
Ziomek stuck with a fastball, slider, curve combination and was hitting his spots. He struck out 17 of the first 18 batters he faced, including five looking.
Jeff Powers was the only batter Ziomek did not strike out the first time through the order. Powers led off the third and popped out to third base.
"My fastball was my key pitch," Ziomek said. "I was able to get inside on hitters. I knew they would hit the off-speed pitches so I stuck with the fastball best I could. I mixed in sliders and curveballs and it was very effective.
"We knew they we aggressive hitters," Ziomek added. "I challenged them early and they helped me out a little bit."
Amherst gave Ziomek support with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Laizer wasn't as dominant as Ziomek but the senior gutted his way through the Amherst lineup. The senior struck out four, walked one and allowed seven hits.
"There wasn't much more we could do," Laizer said. "I can't compare myself to him so I just had to play my game and put the ball in play."
After leaving the bases loaded in the second, Amherst took advantage of Northampton's lone error to score its first run.
With two outs and Dean Bonneau (2-for-3) at third, Fred Shepard squirted a ball to shortstop. Sam Goodwin-Boyd fielded it but his throw to first pulled Casey Savino off the bag in a close play.
Chuck Hebb then added an RBI single in the fourth to plate Derek Osborne with the second run. Shepard drove in Bonneau with a groundout in the fifth.
In Ziomek's last start, Amherst scored just one run and saw Cathedral come from behind to win 2-1.
"That was a wake-up call," Bonneau said of the loss. "That one run wasn't going to be enough. We came out right from the beginning and tried to get as many as possible."
Ziomek entered the seventh to face the top of Northampton's lineup. Luke LaPlante battled to a full count but eventually popped out to first base.
"When they started scoring runs like that it gets in your head," LaPlante said. "You go up there, try to do your best, try to screw up his rhythm, but it's hard with a guy like him."
Laizer then smacked a first-pitch fastball to the gap in right but Hebb made the running catch.
"Jimmy and Luke are too of the toughest kids I've ever coached," Blue Devils coach Mark Baldwin said. "They never give away an at bat, or a pitch. They get pissed when things don't go well."
Talbot also battled to a full count but eventually struck out swinging.
"We took some good swings on his fastball but he changes speeds," Baldwin said. "He never threw two in a row in the same spot. Never threw two in a row down the middle. He always changed it up. He's the real deal."
Ziomek reached a full count only twice before to the seventh but then faced two with the perfect game on the line in the seventh.
"It was a little tense," Amherst coach Greg Vouros said. "He had a couple three-ball counts but that shows his mental toughness.
"Unbelievable performance."
Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com.
