Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- Billy Mottram and Peter Copa hit third inning homers to lead the Chiefs to a 4-3 win over the Melrose Americans at Maplewood Park on Wednesday evening. With the win they extend their season opening winning streak to four games.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Copa singled, went to second on a bad hop Vinny Scifo error off the bat of Mike Barbati, and scored on a Chad Conner RBI single to left.

The Americans tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the third. Chris Sharpe reached on a throwing error by shortstop Nate Witkowski. Starter Mitchell Clegg then struck out Brian Carney for the first out before the Americans executed a perfect hit and run with Anthony Licciardello lining a single to right with Sharpe running and ending up on third. Clegg ran the count to 3-0 on Scifo, before tweaking a muscle in his side that forced him to leave the game in what appeared to be a precautionary measure. Matt DiCato came on and threw ball four to Scifio to load the bases. 2014 Rookie of the Year Mac Singleton then delivered Sharpe with an RBI infield grounder to Mike Barbati at second. DiCato got out of the jam relatively cheap when he got Matt Brown to ground to Witkowski to end the inning.

The Chiefs responded via the long ball route to retake the lead in the bottom of the third off Melrose starter Dillon Corliss (Winterport, ME/Framingham State). Mottram gave his team a 2-1 lead when he hit his first homer of the year to left-center. Johnny Welch followed with a rocket double to left before Copa made it a 4-1 game with a long two run homer to straightaway left.

In the Americans' fourth, a walk to Harrison Smoske and a single from Sharpe into the shortstop hole, that Witkowski bobbled and was charged with an error that allowed Smoske to go to third, put runners on the corners with two out. Barbati turned in the defensive gem of the night when he nabbed Colby Maiola’s hard grounder that was headed for centerfield and threw him out by a step at first to end the threat.

The Americans chipped a run off the lead to make it 4-2 in the top of the fifth on a walk to Scifo, a single by Singleton, and a RBI double by veteran Mike Addesa.

Melrose closed the gap to 4-3 in the sixth when Carney drew a walk and scored on John Jennings pinch-hit double to right-center.

Smoske made a nice running catch of Mike Andre's gap shot to begin the bottom of the sixth, Corliss struck out Witkowski for the second out, and then retired Barbati on a comebacker, to keep it a 4-3 game heading for the seventh.

Southpaw Evan Walsh (Arlington, MA/Bentley) came out of the Chiefs’ bullpen and struck out the left-handed hitting Singleton for the first out of the seventh. Righty Mike DiCato replaced Walsh and got Brown on a grounder to Barbati before surrendering a two out bloop single to left by Addesa. DiCato ended the night, and picked up the save, when Smoske popped out to Barbati in short right.

Matt DiCato (2-0) picked up the win in relief of Clegg. Corliss (0-1), allowed seven hits and struck out three in his six innings of work. -Bruce Tillman