Andre Chiefs

Lexington, MA- The Chiefs’ picked an inopportune time to experience their worst two defensive innings of the season on the way to an 11-7 loss to the Blue Sox on Friday night.

The Chiefs squandered a 3-0 fourth inning lead and saw Lexington score eight times in bottom of the fourth inning, then add three more runs in the fifth. The Chiefs battled back to make it interesting in the sixth, but the big Blue Sox lead was just too much to overcome.

While the Blue Sox advance to the ICL championship series for the ninth consecutive season, the defending champs will have to beat the winner of Sunday’s Reading-Watertown game on Monday night to join Lexington in the ICL finals for the fifth straight season and the sixth time in the last seven years.

Chiefs’ starter Mike Gedman kept the Blue Sox off the board over the first two innings.

The Chiefs took a 3-0 lead and threatened to blow the game open off Alsis Herrera in the top of the third inning. Mike Barbati reached on an error by Ross Curley and Nick Leva bunted him to second. Herrera was having trouble throwing strikes and then walked Tony Serino, hit Billy Mottram with a pitch, then walked Juan Portes, to force in Barbati to make it 1-0. Johnny Welch followed and lined a single to left, scoring Serino for a 2-0 Chiefs’ lead. Herrera then recorded a big strikeout when he caught Gedman looking at strike three before Peter Copa singled to left, scoring Mottram, to up the lead to 3-0. Herrera and the Blue Sox stayed within range when Ryan Sonberg flew to Dave Ahern in right, with the bases loaded, to end the inning.

The Chiefs turned a 5-4-3 doubleplay, after a Kyle Adie one out single, to end the bottom of the third and Herrera set the side down in order in top of the fourth.

Things began to unravel quickly for the Chiefs when Gedman exhibited uncharacteristic wildness and walked the first three batters he faced in succession to open the bottom of the fourth. Singles from Steve Gath and Ahern then tied the game at 3-3. A double from Alex Voitik, and then a disputed RBI fielder’s choice groundout by Kyle Adie, on which Leva was ejected for arguing the call, plated two more runs and just like that the Sox were in front 5-3. Mike DiCato replaced Gedman on the mound and a single from Curley and a throwing error by Welch, ran the lead to 7-3. Tim Dunphy came on as the Chiefs’ third pitcher of the frame and Mike Hart drove in the inning’s eighth run with a grounder to first. Dunphy got Dan Graham to line to Welch to finally end the prolonged inning.

The Chiefs went quietly in the top of the fifth and the Blue Sox tallied three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. A double by Gath, singles from Ahern and Voitik, another infield throwing error, and a Curley two run triple, accounted for the runs to make it an 11-3 game heading into the sixth.

The Chiefs actually brought the tying run to the plate when they scored four times in the top of the sixth, without the benefit of a hit. Gedman reached on an infield error, Copa walked, and everyone was safe on Sonberg’s fielder’s choice, which loaded the bases with nobody out. Barbati then grounded out for the first out, with Gedman scoring on the play to make it 11-4. That was the night for Herrera as righty-Borja-Jones Berasaluce came out of the Lexington pen. Berasaluce couldn’t find the plate and walked John Prentice, pinch-hitter Mike Burgoyne, and Mottram in rapid succession to push across a couple of runs and close the lead to 11-6. Jeff Blount replaced Berasaluce and uncorked a wild pitch that sent Prentice across the plate to make it 11-7. Blount got a big out when he struck out Portes swinging before walking Welch to bring the tying run to the plate in Gedman. Blount got tough and retired the side when he got the big lefty swinging on a high 1-2 fastball to end the inning.

Dunphy and Matt DiCato combined to retire the Lexington side in order in the bottom of the sixth.

Blount took any possible dramatics out of the top of the seventh when Copa grounded to second, Sonberg flew to right, and Barbati grounded to third to end the game.

The Chiefs only had two hits and one earned run in the game but were the beneficiaries of eight walks, a HBP, and two Blue Sox errors, while the Blue Sox recorded eleven hits. Five of the Lexington runs were unearned as the two usually sure handed teams combined to make five errors.

The time and location of Monday’s game will not be known until after the Reading vs. Watertown game is completed on Sunday. That game will be played at Watertown’s Victory Field starting at 7:15 PM and can be followed live at: www.pointstreak.com/baseball/scoreboard.html?leagueid=789&seasonid=29791.

Playoff Notebook..... The Reading Bulldogs eliminated the Wakefield Merchants 3-0 and the Watertown Reds did the same to the Arlington Trojans 8-0 in other Friday action.....The Chiefs found themselves in the exact same position a year ago when they had to await the winner of the Watertown-Reading game to join them in Game Nine of the double elimination tournament. Last year the Bulldogs beat the Reds 7-0 in Game Eight before being eliminated by the Chiefs, 6-2....The Chiefs then went on to beat the Blue Sox in five games to win their second ICL title in three years......