DEERFIELD — The Frontier Sandy Koufax baseball team scored three runs in the sixth to break a tie and beat Amherst, 6-3, in the Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League playoffs, Tuesday at Headmaster Field.

Amherst trailed 3-1, but rallied to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Frontier answered to win its opener in the double elimination tournament.

Amherst will visit Northampton at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Amherst needs to win to avoid elimination. Frontier visit Granby at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Tied 3-3, Kyle Barnes led off the sixth with a single for Frontier. Two batters later, with Barnes on third and Kevin Baumann at the plate, Frontier successfully ran a squeeze play that allowed Barnes to score as the pitch was being thrown.

“We had been waiting to call the suicide squeeze all year,” Frontier coach Bryan Barnes said. “I knew Kevin Baumann was going to get the bunt down and I knew Kyle Barnes was going to run as fast as he could and it worked perfectly. I knew they were going to score it.”

Tynan Creagh (2-for-3) and Alec Kirkendall added runs in the sixth as Frontier took a 6-3 lead.

“I was just trying to do my part, get on base, hopefully add a spark to give the rest of the team and hope that they’d come through, which they did,” Creagh said.

Creagh came in as a pitcher in the sixth and allowed two runs on one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.

Trailing 3-1, Braedon Tudryn (1-for-2) and Andrew Ciaglo both walked for Amherst in the sixth. Nate Mills singled in Tudryn to cut the deficit in half. With Ciaglo on third, Creagh balked as Amherst tied the game.

Gehrig Brynda started for Frontier and pitched into the sixth. He allowed one run on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts. At the plate, Brynda was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Ben Zaranek was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Kyle Barnes was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Amherst had nine players and was missing starting catcher J.B. Mills and shortstop Thea Hanscom.

“They played great, they really did. It was one of those deals where we were missing a couple of guys,” Amherst coach E.J. Mills said.

J.B. Mills and Hanscom both played for Amherst’s Mickey Mantle team in its 5-4 PVYBL playoff win over Mohawk on Tuesday.

Creagh closed the door on Amherst with two strikeouts in the seventh.

“They brought in Creagh and he throws hard, like if you watch the league, he’s a closer,” Mills said.

Ciaglo started for Amherst and gave up three runs on three hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Gladu pitched two innings with one strikeout. Liam Coughlin closed out the game, allowing three runs on three hits.

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