Andre Chiefs

Somerville, MA- The Chiefs opened up leads of 6-0 and 7-2, then saw the Royals close to 7-6 before coming away from Trum Field with an 8-6 win on Tuesday night. With the win, the Chiefs vaulted into first place with a 10-3 record as the ICL nears the regular season half way point. 

After a scoreless first inning, the Chiefs staked starter Jared Freni to a 4-0 advantage in the top of the second. Peter Copa drew a walk and Shane Stande singled before Mike Andre drove them both home with long double to straight away right-field to make it 2-0. Singles from Nate Witkowski, an infield error, and a Mike Burgoyne RBI single, then upped the lead to 4-0 off Royals’ starter Rich Gilbride.

Freni shut the Royals down in the bottom of the second and the Chiefs picked up two more runs in the top of the third. Matt Nuzzo drilled a one out solo homer, his second of the year, a moonshot to left to make it a five run lead. Three consecutive singles followed from Copa, Stande, and Andre (RBI), that jumped the margin to 6-0.

Wagner Gomez then got the Royals back into the game when he drilled a triple to deep right, scoring Jake Cintolo and Sean Harrington, who had both singled, to cut the lead to 6-2 heading for the fourth.

After a scoreless fourth, the Chiefs added a run to the lead in the fifth when Mike Barbati’s RBI single scored Copa, who had walked, to make it 7-2.

Freni struck out the Somerville side in the bottom of the fifth and reliver Paul Pollano pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the sixth.

The Royals made things much too close for comfort when they struck for four big runs in the bottom of the sixth. Luke Ronchi lead off and reached on a Nuzzo error at third. Freni then made James McConville his 11th strikeout victim of the night before George Crowley singled. Freni then walked Brendan O’Flaherty to load the bases. Number nine hitter Nick Valdario then delivered two big runs with a line single to right, cutting the lead to 7-4. Mitchell Clegg came out of the Chiefs’ bullpen and Cintolo greeted him with a gap shot double to left-center, scoring both O’Flaherty and Valdario, to suddenly make it a one run game. With Cintolo representing the tying run at second, Clegg came up big and struck out Harrington, and then got Brian Campbell on a comebacker to the mound, to keep the Chiefs in the lead.

The Chiefs picked up a big insurance run in the top of the seventh. Witkowski rapped a one out double off the fence in left before Pollano issued consecutive walks to Mike DiCato, Burgoyne, and then Jamel Vilmont, to make it 8-6. Pollano avoided further damage when he got Nuzzo to pop up, and then Copa to ground out.

Clegg came out firing and was dominant in the bottom of the seventh, striking out Gomez swinging, retiring Ronchi on a pop up to Copa, before securing the win by striking out McConville.

Freni (4-2) went 5.1 innings, allowed six hits and struck out 11. Clegg, who recorded his first save of the year, worked the final 1.2 innings and struck out three. Gilbride (0-3) worked four innings plus and was tagged with the loss.- Ian Roberts