The Amherst youth baseball team began its PVYBL Koufax division playoff slate with a bang, taking down West County, 18-5, at Amherst Middle School on Monday.

The top-seeded Hurricanes strung together 11 hits in the five-inning affair. Oliver Howard concluded with three RBIs in a 3-for-4 performance while Cyrus Arwade, Nick Stinson and Gus Garrett Peltier recorded multiple hits.

Amherst received four brilliant innings on the mound from Jack Bajnoci, who allowed just two runs (unearned) in the outing.

The Hurricanes will take on fourth-seeded Frontier1 next on Wednesday at Amherst Middle School.

First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.