With their backs against the wall, Frontier Alber’s Hearing Services came through in the clutch Friday night.
On the road in an elimination game, Frontier knocked off Westfield, 5-2, to stay alive in the Pioneer Valley Youth Baseball League Sandy Koufax playoffs at Jachym Field in Westfield.
Kevin Baumann was 3-for-4 to pace the offense for Frontier, which advanced to play in the playoff semifinals this morning at 10 a.m. at Headmaster’s Field in Deerfield against Northampton. Matt Como singled and tripled while driving in a run, and he added an outfield assist at home plate to cut down a Westfield run.
Ben Zaranek, who was the winning pitcher for Frontier, doubled and drove in a run at the plate. Tyler Baranowski also doubled, while Ben Martino added a hit.
• Elsewhere, despite outhitting Northampton by a 13-3 margin, Pioneer Stone Seals/Travel Kuz dropped an 8-5 decision in a winner’s bracket game at Florence Field Friday night.
As a result, Pioneer will meet Amherst 1 p.m. today at Headmaster’s Field in the other semifinal. The winner will meet the winner of the Frontier-Northampton game at 4 p.m.
Jason Quinn and Robby Kenyon both had two hits and an RBI, while Dalton Henderson and James Robison registered two singles each. Jake Dodge doubled and drove in a run for Pioneer, and Josh Brunelle added a single and an RBI. Cayden Lehtomaki and Hunter Haughey notched singles.
• In other action, Amherst advanced to today’s semifinals thanks to a 6-3 victory over Mohawk Hubie’s Tavern Diamond Dawgs in Buckland.
Hubie’s, which led 2-0 after one inning, held a 9-2 edge in hits and left 11 runners on base (nine in scoring position), but couldn’t break through in key spots and saw its season come to an end as a result.
Cam Lococo struck out eight batters in six-plus innings for Hubie’s, while Liam O’Donnell added three strikeouts in relief.
Devon Buchanon had two hits, including a double, and an RBI, while Tyler Dubreuil also had two hits to go with a stolen base. Reuben Bassett tripled to help the hosts rally in the seventh inning, and scored on an O’Donnell RBI double. The team got the tying run to the plate but Amherst closed it out.
Lococo, Austin Gilbert and Roscoe Palmer all added hits.
Beacon Classic
The Beacon Clay Court Classic men’s singles tennis tournament begins Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Beacon Courts on Sanderson St.
All matches will be best two out of three sets with a 12-point tiebreaker. The tournament is single elimination, and players must start play by 5:30 each day or be subject to default. Players may arrive early for warm-up.
Each player must bring a can of unopened tennis balls to each match. The winner keeps the unopened can. Players must be available all week or until the draw is completed.
All proceeds benefit the Greenfield clay courts. Gift certificates are awarded to semifinalists and finalists provided by West County Cider of Colrain.
For more information and to register (by Sunday), contact director Tim Prevost at 773-8984.
Montague Camp
The Montague Parks & Recreation Department is holding Swimming Mini-Camps beginning on July 30. The Freestyle Camp will run from July 30 through Aug. 2, while the Individual Medley Camp (backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly) will run from Aug. 6 through Aug. 9. The camps are for competitive swimmers, and are not a learn-to-swim program. Ages 6 through 9 will run from 5:30 until 7 p.m., while ages 10 and up will run from 7 until 8:30 p.m.
Cost is $40 per minicamp for residents of Montague, and $45 for nonresidents. Max enrollment is 24 per age group. All swimmers should arrive with a proper swimsuit, goggles, swim cap, water bottle, towels and shower articles.
For more information or to register, call 863-3216 or go to: www.montague.net.
Keene State camp
The Keene State Men’s Basketball Prospect Camp will take place Aug. 4 at Spaulding Gym in Keene, N.H.
The camp is open to boys entering grades 9 through 12. Cost is $65 per camper and includes a T-shirt. The camp runs from 9:30 a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m.
To register and for more information go to keeneowls.com.
Montague 3-on-3 tourney
The Montague Parks & Recreation Department and “Next Up Basketball” are teaming to bring local youths ages 18 and under their first 3-on-3 tournament at Unity Park in Turners Falls on Aug. 11.
There will be four divisions: Varsity, JV, 14U and 12U with a four game guarantee/single elimination format. Proof of age required at registration. The cost is $25 per team, with a maximum of four players per team. There will be no separate gender divisions, so teams may be co-ed or all one gender. Each team must have a team captain/coach.
A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available for local businesses. For more information, contact unitystreethoops3@yahoo.com or 413-768-2674; or MPRD at 413-863-3216. A completed registration form and waiver must be emailed to: unitystreethoops3@yahoo.com by Aug. 3. Payment is due at tournament check-in (cash only/exact amount of $25).