AMHERST – For one of the few times this season, everything went right for the Amherst baseball team on Tuesday.

Starting pitcher Chuck May was dialed in on the mound, and his defense behind him was rock solid. At the plate, batters were aggressive, and on the bases they were speed demons, swiping bases left and right. Senior closer Ian Waite came in to rest May’s arm for later in the week, keeping visiting Ludlow from completing a comeback attempt.

All of it culminated in the ‘Canes first win of the season, a 15-4 blowout over the Lions. There was even a cherry on top for one Amherst player – after the game, Neil Cunniffee received a surprise promposal (he said yes).

The Hurricanes improved to 1-8 on the season with the victory.

“It's been a long time coming. If you had told me in the beginning of the season that it would be game nine before we got our first [win], I would have said that I don't think that was possible, not with the tradition that we have here at Amherst,” Amherst head coach Jeff Gladu said. “Today's one of the first games that I had every single kid that was a regular as a starter and healthy.” 

Injuries and inconsistencies have plagued Amherst early this season. After a nailbiting 3-2 loss to Frontier early in the year, the team lost their top ace Thatcher Rudnik for a handful of games, and from there struggled to find its footing. 

“(Rudnik) has been a kid that's been hurt for us. He's been our ace and losing him opening day really, really hurt,” Gladu said. “It changed the whole dynamic of my infield and my outfield by not having him on the field.” 

You’d have never guessed that Amherst hadn’t picked up a win yet watching the squad play Ludlow. With the whole team healthy, Amherst looked deadly, starting off with three consecutive outs on Ludlow’s first three batters and reeling off four runs in the bottom of the first.

After picking up another run in the second, the hosts really broke out in the third inning, pushing 10 runs across in the frame. Aryeh Rubinstein and Rudnik led that charge with a double apiece, and the team finished with nine hits in that fourth inning alone. 

“We've been fighting really hard,” Cunniffee said. “The last few games, we really turned it around, and this one was really great.” 

All of Ludlow’s runs came in the top of the fifth, but the Lions were able to plate just four runners before Amherst and Waite slowed their roll. May finished the game with four strikeouts and just one hit through four innings before Waite came on in relief. 

“I felt great… I was locked in and I felt good warming up,” May said. “I definitely felt my intensity today. That's what got me through the innings.” 

The other standout in Amherst’s game was the team’s energy, which was ‘electric,’ May said. From the very first inning, the ‘Canes were yelling and cheering from the dugout for their teammates, keeping their spirits up as they defended their home turf. 

“I lost my voice halfway through the game,” Cunniffee said. “I was screaming my head off because I love seeing our boys play well. If anyone's able to talk after this game, I'll be disappointed.” 

As the ‘Canes start playing more league games, they’ll focus on using this momentum moving forward. With the lineup healthy and Rudnik back at 100 percent, Amherst can finally start playing the kind of baseball it’s been looking for since the beginning of the year. 

“I feel like this is something that we can really build upon,” Gladu said. “We're getting into our conference schedule, and I challenged these guys – we got 10 games left, and we’ve got a chance to finish .500 or better, so let's see what we can do.” 

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.

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