AMHERST — The Amherst 14U baseball team executed the rare, walk-off bunt, in its 10-9 win against Brattleboro Maroon during the third round of the PVYBL Koufax division playoffs at Amherst Middle School on Friday.

Tied 9-9 with the winning run 90 feet away at third base, Walker Austin dropped a dribbler down the third base line, forcing the Brattleboro third baseman to retrieve it. As soon as the throw was on the way to first base, Amherst’s Oliver Howard took off for home and beat the ensuing throw to the plate with a nifty slide, lifting the ‘Canes past the visiting Post 5 in suspenseful fashion.

“He did it on his own, I didn’t call that,” Amherst head coach Sanjay Arwade said on Austin’s bunt. “He saw the opportunity and put down one that was good enough.”

Throughout Friday’s back and forth battle that featured three lead changes, bunts were a constant for the ‘Canes, even attempting a couple during leadoff batter situations.

“We have discovered bunting as a weapon this season,” Sanjay Arwade said. “I think the kids have all come around to the fact that you should never be embarrassed to lay a good bunt down, it’s part of good baseball.”

Amherst’s seventh-inning rally began with a bloop single to right field from Cyrus Arwade that found unoccupied grass in fair territory, which instantly put the tying runner on base with the score 9-8 in favor of Brattleboro.

Howard then roasted a double to the outfield that advanced Arwade to third, before Daniel Lebron was intentionally walked, loading the bases for the Hurricanes.

Jonah Sommers struck out for Amherst for the first out of the inning, setting the stage for Austin’s game-winning play, but not before a wild pitch from Brattleboro allowed Arwade to score and even the score at 9-9.

“Our boys have been behind a few times over the course of the season and they have never quit, there is no quit in these guys,” Sanjay Arwade said.

The ‘Canes erased two hefty Brattleboro leads in Friday’s clash of the top two seeds in the Koufax playoffs. The first being a 5-0 hole after 2 1/2 innings and then a 9-6 deficit following the top of the sixth frame.

Amherst, the No. 1 seed, attained eight hits altogether in the comeback effort, led by two from Arwade. Gus Garrett Peltier paced the ‘Canes with two RBIs, while Theo Garrett Peltier kick-started the late charge with a pinch-hit RBI double during the sixth inning.

On the mound, the Hurricanes rotated through five pitchers in order to keep arms fresh and available for the upcoming games this weekend. Nick Stinson started the game for the hosts, then relief pitchers Jack Bajnoci, Gus Garrett Peltier, Howard and Sommers all made appearances at some point.

“We might have to play as many as four games over three days in this tournament, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and so trying to strategize the pitching is really difficult,” Sanjay Arwade said. “We tried to go with a bullpen game [Friday] and keep as many people for [Saturday]. We had a bunch of guys pitch well. It’s tough to be economical with pitches at this level.”

Since the PVYBL playoffs are double elimination, there’s a chance these two teams will meet again. Amherst has yet to lose and Friday was Brattleboro’s first loss of the tournament so if both squads win their next game, a rematch for the Koufax league championship will take place.

“We’ve been playing against Brattleboro teams for many years in this league and they play very good baseball,” Sanjay Arwade said.

First up for Amherst is a bout with Northampton on Saturday morning at Deerfield Academy.

First pitch is set for 10 a.m.

Amherst 4, Frontier 1 — The Hurricanes scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the sixth inning in its second-round win over the Redhawks on Wednesday.

Trailing 1-0, hits from Ian Kim and Cyrus Arwade, plus a pair of sacrifice flies from Gus Garrett Peltier and Nick Stinson, gave Amherst all the momentum heading into the final frame.

Jonah Summers sealed the deal with the save on the mound.

Starting pitchers Callan Payne of Frontier and Amherst’s Arwade were cruising, not allowing an earned run between the two of them, before both were taken out during the fourth inning due to pitch-count restrictions.