AMHERST – Sam Schreiber kept Amherst guessing on the mound and left no doubt.
The Frontier Regional senior pitcher allowed just two hits and two walks, striking out four in a 10-1 win over the Hurricanes on Wednesday at Stan Ziomek Diamond. He credited his partnership with catcher Dylan Martin and their system.
“We had curveball and fastball working, and I was hitting my spots. Dylan called it behind the plate, and I threw it right to him,” Schreiber said. “That’s basically it.”
At one point he sat down six Hurricanes in a row over three innings.
“Sam’s a super efficient pitcher. He’s always throwing strikes, always around the zone,” Frontier coach Chris Williams said. “It’s something he’s been doing for us for a few years now. I was pumped to see him get that clutch hit early on and get us rolling.”
Frontier led 1-0 in the second after Alex Gochinski scampered home after a failed pickoff throw standing on third with two outs. He singled with one out then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Martin was on second, while Tyler Dubreuil waited at first after back to back walks, bringing up Schreiber. He lifted a single to deep enough right field to score both runs and put the Redhawks (2-0) up 3-0.
“Seeing those guys on base, I know that bringing them in is the best thing for the team, so just put the ball in play and see what happens,” Schreiber said.
Frontier scored the first five runs of the game. Gochinski launched an RBI triple in the third so deep that it would have cleared a fence if there was one to make it 4-0.
Frontier ran itself into its fifth run in the fourth. Martin reached on an error before eventually stealing second and third. Then Dubreuil walked and stole second behind him. Kevin Baumann knocked a short hit just in front of the pitcher, and Martin ran home, expertly sliding around a Nate Mills tag to score.
“When you’re playing against a (Chris) Williams-coached team, those guys are going to be aggressive with the bat, on the bases, they’re going to put pressure on your defense,” Amherst coach Jeff Gladu said.
Elijah Rubinstein drove in Amherst’s only run in the fourth when he singled home Evan Dooley to make it 5-1.
Frontier answered with five runs in a row. Martin had an RBI single, and Baumann singled in two in the fifth, then Dubreuil and Tyler Cusson laced back-to-back RBI singles in the seventh.
“When guys are in scoring position, it just seems like our leaders are coming up with clutch hits,” Williams said.
That makes it two wins over higher division teams in two games for Frontier after downing Wahconah to open the week. The road doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Williamstown to play Mount Greylock on Friday.
“We’re just looking to keep it rolling,” Williams said. “We’re a top heavy team with a lot of juniors and seniors, so these guys know what they’re doing. It’s not their first rodeo.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.