Andre Chiefs

Melrose, MA-Ace Keith Forbes picked up his second win of the season with six innings of one hit, ten strikeout pitching to lead the Chiefs past the Gately A’s, 3-1 on the Pine Banks turf.

Forbes threw 109 pitches in the sweltering heat before giving way to closer Chris Foundas, who got the A’s in order in the seventh to notch his second save of the season.

Pitching was the story of the evening as both teams combined for a paltry three hits. The A’s Ryan McNeill (5 innings, 3 hits) and reliever Dan Wilson (2 innings, 0 hits) were also sharp for Gately.

The Chiefs picked up two runs in the fourth when leadoff man Brendan Pyburn singled up the middle and went to second on a passed ball. Angel Valdez moved Pyburn to third on an infield grounder and he scored the game’s first run when Andrew Hanson’s grounder was throw high to first by A’s third baseman Peter Copa. Justin Crisafulli was then hit by a McNeill pitch and Mike Andre followed with a line single to center loading the bases. Catcher Matt Anderson then delivered Hanson with a sacrifice fly for the second run of the inning.

The A’s cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth when Bryan Curran lead off with a long double to left, moved to third on an infield grounder and following a strikeout, scored when Perkins grounder was throw low to first by shortstop Nate Leva for an error and an unearned run.

The Chiefs raised their lead to 3-1 in the fifth picking up another unearned run. Paul Koslowski drew a leadoff walk and Phil Costello was hit by a pitch. Leva moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt and Koslowski scored when Pyburn reached on an error at shortstop.

Foundas recorded a strikeout in the seventh to pick up the save and preserve the win for Forbes.

Lefty Dylan Ellis will draw the starting assignment tonight when the Chiefs, now 4-1, host the 4-0 Lexington Blue Sox at Tufts University at 6:00 PM.