Luke Leonard’s early home run boosts Amherst past Frontier in Mickey Mantle baseball playoffs

By ELLIOT WELD

For the Gazette

Published: 07-18-2017 10:31 PM

AMHERST — Five runs in the first inning, including a three-run home run from Luke Leonard, helped Amherst beat Frontier 9-1 in the first game of the double-elimination Mickey Mantle baseball playoffs Tuesday.

With the score 2-0 after Amherst had hit three consecutive doubles, Leonard (1-for-2, two runs scored) drilled the ball over the head of right-fielder Nick Marcinowski and rounded the bases for his first home run of the season.

“I’ve been in a bit of a slump, but I was hitting some bombs in the cage, so I went up there just telling myself to relax,” Leonard said. “He threw a fastball and it was just a little bit too high, and I hit it and just started wheeling it. I thought it was just going to be a double, but when I got to second the (right-fielder) had still not picked up the ball, so I just kept going.”

Frontier pitcher Xavier Santiago was pulled after the first inning, giving up five runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout. Santiago had not played baseball since last fall after suffering a partial UCL tear. Santiago was cleared to play on July 13th.

Santiago was replaced by Cam Barnes, who pitched the rest of the game. Barnes gave up four runs on five hits, with two walks and four strikeouts.

Owen Toal started on the mound for Amherst and pitched into the third inning. Toal retired seven of nine batters he faced, walking two.

Thea Hanscom gave up Frontier’s only run off an RBI double from Jack O’Neil. Hanscom gave up two hits. Frontier was held to three hits in the game.

“We were just doing what we have been doing every game,” catcher JB Mills said. “We just played solid defense and we always play great defense when we win.”

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Amherst added three more runs in the fifth and one in the sixth. Amherst had nine hits in the game and struck out four times.

The two teams faced three times in the regular season, and Amherst won two.

“Tonight I figured that they were going to bring all their guns blazing, and they did that,” Frontier coach John O’Neil said.

Frontier had one varsity-level player, Carter Woodward (0-for-2), who starts at third base for Smith Academy.

“Everyone on this team is earning a spot on a varsity team and not playing or trying to earn a spot on a varsity team,” O’Neil said. “I told the boys that I don’t define winning as wins and losses. I define winning as what we do after we’re done playing and how we take those lessons as something to learn from.”

In the next round, Amherst will play Northampton at Stan Ziomek Diamond and Frontier will play an away game at Palmer both at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.

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