Andre Chiefs

East Boston, MA- Matt DiCato made his debut a winning one, throwing 3.1 innings of two hit shutout baseball to get the Chiefs past the Testa Corp. Bombers 8-0 at East Boston Stadium on Thursday night. For the Chiefs pitching staff it was their fourth shutout in the first five games of the season.

After a scoreless first inning, the Chiefs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning courtesy of a Jeff Bercume grand slam to right-centerfield. Mike Andre got the inning started when he drew a walk off Testa starter Matt Pugh. Brendan Pyburn moved Andre up to second with a sacrifice bunt and Paul Yanakopulos drew the second walk of the inning. Catcher Nick Leva followed with a single to right to load the bases and set the stage for Bercume’s bases loaded laser.

Starter Rob Machado got the Bombers side in order in the bottom of the second and the Chiefs made it 5-0 in the top of the third. Former Assumption and NECBL standout Tim Quinn drew a walk and Andre singled to right. Pyburn followed with a RBI double to right scoring Quinn.

Machado surrendered a two out double to Matt O’Flynn in the bottom of the third and Pugh set the Chiefs down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth.

DiCato (pictured left) came on to start the bottom of the fourth after Machado experienced some stiffness in his back between innings. The right-hander, who was 7-3 this spring at Framingham State and the younger brother of Mike DiCato, took immediate control getting the side in order and striking out two in his first inning as a Chief.

Brendan Pyburn

The Chiefs loaded the bases in the fifth when Quinn drew a walk and Andre and Pyburn followed with consecutive singles. Reliever Ronnie Wallace (UMass-Amherst) kept it a 5-0 affair when he struck out pinch hitter Matt Boleski swinging and got Leva to line out to end the inning.

DiCato was solid again in the bottom of the fifth with two more K’s.

It went to 7-0 in the top of the sixth when Andre’s bases loaded two out, two RBI single to center plated Tony Deshler who had doubled and Juan Portes who had walked.

DICato worked his third straight scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth despite giving up a two out triple to Devin Perry.

The Chiefs added their final run in the top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Rob Caggiano (Medford, MA, Babson) worked a walk and rookie Christian Veneziano of St. John’s Prep made his initial ICL appearance when he pinch ran. Veneziano went to second on a passed ball, to third when Bercume reached on an infield error and scored on a wild pitch.

Dan O’Flynn led off the Bombers’ seventh with a single and DiCato recorded his sixth K of the night before being lifted for rookie lefty John Chotkowski. The former Tewksbury ace faced two batters, allowing a single to Joe Barry before recording his first ICL strikeout. Another rookie lefty, Dan Bonito (Swampscott, MA/ Western New England) came on to strikeout the only batter he faced to end the game.

It was a big night at the plate for three former Merrimack College teammates as Bercume (2-4, 4 RBI), Andre (3-3, 2 RBI) and Pyburn (2-3, RBI) drove in all of the Chiefs runs.

The Chiefs are off on Friday before hosting the Bombers on Saturday at Tufts University at 1:30 PM.