Announcement
Wakefield, MA- Evan Walsh picked up his fourth win of the season, a complete game six-hitter, and Ben Waldrip had a perfect four for four afternoon, with two RBI’s as well as a big seventh inning catch, when the Chiefs edged the Merchants 4-3 at Walsh Field. With their third straight win, the Chiefs climbed back to the .500 mark as the ICL’s regular season, and playoff race, enters their final days.
The typical ingredients were all in place for a tough road loss. The Chiefs allowed the Merchants to hang around, grounded into three doubleplays, left a dozen men on base, and committed two errors. But such was not the case on this day as Walsh got the win with his fifth straight quality start.
The Chiefs staked their lefty to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first and certainly looked poised to score much more against Merchant starter Andrew Auld. Tony Serino started the game with a leadoff single and Danny DIMare was hit by an Auld pitch. When Matt Nuzzo’s single scored Serino, the Chiefs had a quick 1-0 lead. The margin went to 2-0, with still nobody out, when Waldrip singled home DiMare. Auld then got the first big twin killing of the game when Leivi Ventura bounced into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. Nuzzo and Waldrip stayed stranded when Kyle Dembrowski fouled out to catcher Joe Barry.
The Merchants caught a break and took advantage to knot things up in the home half of the first. Bobby Losanno led off with a single to right but was erased at second on Dillon Koster’s grounder. Ryan Collins was next and he singled to center. The throw to get Koster going first to third on the play hit him in the back and bounded away from Ventura allowing him to score the Merchants first run. A Walsh wild pitch brought Collins across the plate and the teams were tied at two each after an inning.
The Chiefs picked up two more runs in the top of the second to take a 4-2 lead. Andrew Caulfield was hit by an Auld pitch and Shane Stande bunted him to second. Serino then followed with his second single of the day before RBI singles form DiMare and Waldrip, sandwiched around a Nuzzo flyout, drove home Caulfield and Serino respectively to give the visitors a 4-2 advantage. Auld loaded the bases when he hit Ventura with a pitch but escaped further scoring when he retired Peter Copa on liner right at Mike Mangonian at second.
Walsh stranded two Wakefield runners, who both walked, in the bottom of the second when he recorded a couple of inning ending K’s.
The Chiefs left two more runners in scoring position, after walks to Dembrowski and Stande, in the top of the third.
After a quiet fourth inning, the Chiefs left the bases full again in the top of the fifth (Dembrowski double, Stande walk, Serino single) when reliever Jake Berrisi got DiMare to hit into a 6-4-3 doubleplay.
Walsh recorded two more strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth.
The Merchants turned their third doubleplay of the game in top the sixth when Ventura grounded into his second of the game, this time going the 5-4-3 path after Waldrip’s fourth straight single of the game.
Walsh worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth and Copa became the fourth Chief of the game to be hit by a pitch when leading off the seventh. He couldn’t get any further than first when Berrisi struck out Dembrowski on a check swing strikeout and the got Caulfield and Stande on outfield flies.
The Merchants weren't going to down easy when Losanno led off the bottom of the seventh with a sharp single to left. After two unsuccessful bunt attempts by Koster he flew out to Waldrip in left. Waldrip then turned in the web gem of the game when he made a diving grab of a Collins sinking fly to left for the second out. Walsh’s third consecutive pickoff attempt of Losanno was thrown wide of first for an error and the 2017 ICL MVP scampered to second with the tying run. Not to be denied, Walsh got the Chiefs the win when he threw out Anthony Cecere at first on a nubber in front of the plate.
Chiefs Chatter…..The12-12 Chiefs host the Somerville Royals on Monday night at Maplewood…. Walsh (4-3) lowered his ERA to 2.19 in a team leading 39.1 innings pitched….Waldrip moved into the ICL’s top five in batting average and upped his average to .411 with his perfect day at the plate….
