SOUTH DEERFIELD — After stranding a pair of runners in scoring position in a tie game in the sixth inning, the Frontier baseball team made sure to capitalize when runners reached in the seventh on Wednesday against Amherst. 

Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh, Nico Fasulo singled to put a runner on for the Redhawks. Fasulo swiped second and with a base open at first, the Hurricanes opted to walk Rosco Palmer.

Fasulo and Palmer executed a double steal to put two runners in scoring position for Wyatt Edes. Edes smashed a base hit up the middle to bring Fasulo home, lifting Frontier to a walk-off 6-5 independent victory.

“It seemed like we were coming back every inning,” Redhawks coach Chris Williams said. “They were scoring and we had to match them. It was disappointing not getting anything in the sixth. In the seventh, I always tell Fasulo if he gets on in the seventh and we need a run, we’re going to win the game. That's what he did for us. He’s stepped up for us offensively in a big way. It’s great when you can rely on your leadoff guy to put the ball in play consistently. He’s so fast on the bases and Wyatt did a great job bringing him in.” 

Amherst’s Thatcher Rudnik had a big game on the mound to contain Frontier. The junior went the distance, scattered six hits, struck out six and allowed just one walk. 

“Every single year against Frontier, we’re right there the first four or five innings,” Hurricanes coach Jeff Gladu said. “Today I had my ace on the mound and I couldn’t ask any more of him. He’s coming back from an injury and was still able to give us 94 pitches today.” 

Owen Babb came on for relief to close out the fourth for Max Skribiski-Banack and pitched the rest of the way, not allowing a run in 3 1/3 innings of work. 

The win was the fifth in a row for Frontier (6-1). 

“I’m thrilled with the way we’ve been playing recently,” Williams said. “We had our ups and downs today. Owen came in and locked things down for us. That was huge for us and kept us in it. Offensively we never put our heads down. We knew we’d be able to score runs and we went out there and continued the process. On the base path I don’t know if there’s anyone who can compete with us there. It gives our batters an easier job getting guys in.” 

Neil Cunniffe scored on a wild pitch to give Amherst (2-5) a 1-0 lead in the first. Fasulo singled and scored on a wild pitch himself in the bottom of the frame to knot the game at one. 

A Cunniffe ground out brought Nathaniel Ziomek home in the second to put the Hurricanes back in front. Tyler Cusson and Porter Hall both singled in the bottom of the second for Frontier and after moving to second and third, Fasulo beat out a throw to first while Cusson and Hall scored in the process, putting the Redhawks ahead 3-2.

Matthew Vassallo blasted a double and Elijah Rubinstein scored him on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at three. Frontier once again had an answer in the bottom of the frame, as Palmer demolished a solo home run over the left field fence that put the Redhawks up, 4-3. 

Amherst tallied a pair of runs in the fifth. Matthew Hockman got on with a single and Spencer Waite knocked him in with a base hit. An error enabled Waite to come home, giving the Hurricanes a 5-4 lead. 

Fasulo singled to open the bottom of the fifth, stole a base and scored on a passed ball to tie the game at five. 

“Frontier has played in a million games like this,” Gladu said. “They don’t panic. We didn’t panic either but we picked a tough inning for them to get some speed on the bases. The running game is what gets it going for us and for them. They had some timely steals.”

Athol 8, Mahar 7 — Tied 7-7 going into the bottom of the sixth, Ethan Heuer singled for the Bears. Marc Gould drove him in to give Athol the lead and the Bears shut down the Senators in the seventh, with host Athol walking away with a Bi-County North victory on Wednesday. 

“A really gutsy effort from our guys on a day where we weren't at our best, especially early,” Bears coach Josh Talbot said. “It's always great to beat Mahar and even better when you come from behind four different times and snag the win away from them.

“Real proud of Marc Gould who had a great day at the plate and plated courtesy runner Enyert Arias Cepeda with the go-ahead run,” Talbot added. “He's put a lot of work in to improve his entire game and it's a big moment for him.”

Gould tallied three hits while Hunter Smith, Logan Cormier, Oliver Johnson and Alex Lavigne hit safely for Athol. Noah Wein pitched 6 2/3 innings for the Bears, striking out 11. Lavigne got the final out of the game. 

Jayden Delgado cracked three hits and drove in two runs while Morgan Softic, Sam Connors, Will Barnes and Hunter Brooks hit safely for Mahar. 

Southwick 7, Pioneer 3 — A four-run second inning from the Rams proved to be the difference, as the Panthers suffered their second loss of the season with an independent defeat in Southwick Wednesday. 

Heath Gomez knocked a pair of hits while Alex McClelland, Hugh Cyhowski and Ben Werner hit safely for Pioneer. Cyhowski and Werner each struck out four in the loss. 

Wahconah 7, Greenfield 0 — Leading just 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, James Rabuse crushed a grand slam to help propel the Warriors to an independent victory over the visiting Green Wave on Wednesday in Dalton. 

Michael Pierce struck out eight and added a base hit at the plate while Deven Dubie knocked a triple for Greenfield.