Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- Maybe there is something that agrees with the Chiefs in the late night City of Malden water supply.

The Chiefs and Blue Sox have met in Malden three times in last ten months. And in each of the three meetings the Chiefs have come away with a dramatic eleventh hour last inning walk off win.

The first two meetings came last August in Games Three and Four of the 2011 championship series at Pine Banks with Mike Barbati’s single bringing the Chiefs back from the grave in Game Three as they overcame a 4-1 seventh inning deficit to win 5-4. Two days later Mike Andre’s walk off grand slam gave the Chiefs a dramatic 6-2 win, concluding a Game Four ten inning classic.

Now Monday night’s game may not have had the implications of last year’s championship series but you would be hard pressed to convince the Blue Sox and Chiefs of that fact.

In a playoff atmosphere, albeit it only being the first week of July, the Chiefs pulled off yet another heart pounding and this time controversial last inning comeback to beat Lexington 5-4 at Maplewood.

Oh, this one had its twists and turns just like many of the Chiefs-Blue Sox matchups over the last few years.

It started quietly enough as two of the ICL’s best pitchers, Matt Karis and Jared Freni went head to head in the first inning.

The Chiefs drew first blood in the bottom of the second when Brendan Pyburn hit an opposite field double to left and scored on Mike Baillargeon’s RBI single.

Meanwhile Freni was cruising and allowed just one hit through the first four innings and the Chiefs doubled the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Tony Deshler lined a single to right and was sacrificed to second on a Nick Leva bunt. Jeff Bercume then reached on an infield single over the mound with Deshler forced to hold at second. Hal Landers then dropped a Texas League ground rule double down the left field line scoring Deshler to make it 2-0. With runners at second and third, Karis pitched out of the jam by getting Juan Portes looking at a breaking ball and Peter Copa to ground out to Ross Curley at third base.

Things got a bit hot and heavy in the Blue Sox sixth. Curley led off with a laser double to left-center. Freni then got Justin Wright to line to Landers in right for the first out. Steve Gath was next and he flew to Deshler in left for out number two. Freni walked Mike Moragn and Jeff Vigurs in succession on close pitches with the Chiefs dugout not pleased with the ball four calls. Ageless veteran Dan Graham was next up and deposited a Freni fastball deep over the center field wall to give the Blue Sox an instant 4-2 lead. As Graham was rounding the bases, Freni expressed his disapproval with home plate umpire Bill Carroll’s calls and was subsequently ejected. Mike DiCato came on to restore order and got Mike Abraham to ground out to end the inning.

The Chiefs made some noise in the bottom of the sixth but came up empty. After Karis got Pyburn to fly to left, Baillargeon singled up the middle and Andre drew a walk. Deshler then grounded into a Gath (unassisted) to Morgan doubleplay seemingly taking the air out of the Chiefs balloon as the game moved to the top of the seventh with the Sox holding on to the 4-2 lead.

DiCato kept the Blue Sox off the board in the top of the seventh setting the stage for the Chiefs’ dramatics in the bottom of the inning.

Leva got things started when he led off with a single to left with Barbati coming on to pinch run.

Bercume was next up and he drew a walk, with the Blue Sox bench and Karis not pleased with the strikezone, to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Landers then dropped a perfect bunt and when the throw to get him at first skipped into right field, Barbati came around to score to make it 4-3. With Landers at second and Bercume at third, Portes (shown right) avenged two earlier strikeouts and drilled a Karis pitch into right-center with Bercume and Landers scoring easily to give the Chiefs their tenth win of the season in walk off fashion, 5-4. The Chiefs got to Karis (4-1) for ten hits. The right-hander struck out five and issued two walks. DiCato (2-1) got the win in relief of Freni, who allowed four runs and four hits while striking out four in his 5.2 innings.

With the win, the Chiefs move into first place as the ICL heads into the annual Fourth of July Break with a 10-2-2 mark. The Blue Sox are close behind in second at 10-3-1.