AMHERST — One more hit.
That’s all Amherst needed to complete an improbable comeback Thursday against St. Ignatius. The game was originally scheduled to be played at the Pipe Yard but was moved to Amherst due to wet, unplayable conditions at the Lorain venue.
Amherst spotted the Wildcats a 7-1 lead before a grand slam by Andrew Eliopoulos keyed a five-run sixth inning that gave the Comets a chance to pull out the win in the last inning. Amherst had the tying run in scoring position and the winning run at first base before a pop fly to short-center by Ryan Bartizal ended the game and gave Ignatius (1-0) a 7-6 victory.
The loss evened Amherst’s record at 1-1 after an opening win over Vermilion on Tuesday.
Ignatius senior Matt Rosinski threw a perfect game through 3 2/3 innings and the Wildcats took advantage with some alert baserunning to build the lead. The Wildcats had a 4-0 lead to that point before Amherst leftfielder Brett Szakats whacked a home run deep over the left-field fence.
“It felt good,” Szakats said. “They had a perfect game going. This is our senior year for a lot of us. We wanted to maybe beat Ignatius — the big team around here — but it just didn’t happen.”
It appeared all but over when the Wildcats scored two runs in each of the next two innings, but the Comets’ pesky nine-hole hitter — 5-foot-7 sophomore Xavier Bonilla — delivered a two-strike single to open the bottom of the fifth to get things rolling. Walks to Seth Rosario, Szakats and Bartizal brought home Bonilla with one out and Eliopoulos on deck.
“I just didn’t want to strike out,” Eliopoulos said. “He had me 1-2 (in the count). I looked at two fastballs right over the plate. I just said I don’t want to strike out with the bases loaded. He threw me a fat fastball and I just went with it.”
It was a no-doubter as the ball cleared the fence in left-center to pull Amherst to within a run.
“That was my first homer of my varsity career,” said Eliopoulos, a junior first baseman. “That was like the third home run I’ve had in my whole life.”
 In the seventh, Bonilla led off with a single and stole second to put the tying run in scoring position. However, after getting the next two outs, Ignatius wisely pitched around and finally walked Szakats — the second time it put him on rather than risk letting him hit. Szakats was disappointed he didn’t get a chance to hit but was philosophical nonetheless.
“Our team is full of good hitters.” Szakats said, “so anything’s possible with our team.”
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Amherst coach Al McConihe said. “The effort they put forth was outstanding. Andrew Eliopoulos came through with a big, clutch grand slam.
“I tip my hat to St. Ignatius. Their team speed was amazing. They have great players up-and-down the lineup. I guess you could say, even with a loss, it will build our team confidence.”
“This is our first game action,” Ignatius coach Brad Ganor said. “I was happy with our aggressiveness on the bases. I was nervous the whole game, but when (Eliopoulos) hit that out, it was a whole new ballgame. We thought we had it in control and all of a sudden we’re scrambling to win a ballgame.”

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