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EMASS CLASSIC: Copa Gets RBI, Freni Save in ICL's Win over Boston Park League
ICL Correspondent
Lexington, MA - The Intercity League defeated the Boston Park League 5-2 Saturday afternoon and will play the Cranberry League Sunday at 3:00 p.m. for the championship of the Inaugural Eastern Masschusetts All-Star Baseball Classic.
The tournament which brings together the best of the best from the Intercity League, Cranberry League, Boston Park League and Yawkey League is being held at Lexington High School, home of the ICL's Lexington Blue Sox.
The ICL All-Stars took a 2-1 lead in the second. Watertown's Steve Busby had a lead off infield single. An infield out moved him to second. James Ramsey (Wakefield) walked to put runners on the corners. Kevin Davis (Medford) singled to load the bases with one out. Justin Mansfield (Arlington) singled to center to drive in Busby. Devon Perry (Testa) followed a strikeout with a walk to force in the second run and give the home team a 2-1 lead.
The Park league answered back in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. With one out Francis Gonzalez (Padres) doubled to left and scored when J. P. Songin (Palmer Club) followed with a double to right.
The ICL took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. Bill Cataldo (Reading) singled and took second on the throwing error by BPL shortstop Manuel Soto (Padres). Scott Searles (Wakefield) walked and then Jason Twomley (Lexington) loaded the bases on an infield single. Catcher Zak Tallis (Reading) walked to force in his Bulldog teammate Cataldo with the go-ahead run. Pete Copa (Andre) reached on fielders choice and Searles scored for a 4-2 lead.
"It was a workman like effort," said ICL manager Rick DeAngelis (Lexington). "We got good pitching and made some nice defensive plays."
The host team used five different pitchers and the final three faced 12 batters over the last four innings.
Winning pitcher Nick Kelley (Reading) pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, retiring the last four batters he faced.
Jonathan Richard (Medford) faced six batters in his two innings (7th and 8th) of work despite giving up a single and a walk. He was helped out by two double plays. In the seventh Bobby Sabatino (Cannon Club) singled with one out. Devon Davis (Cannon Club) hit a fly ball to right that Arlington's Jeff Friedman caught. Sabatino was off on contact and reached second base before heading back to first where he was forced out by Friedman's throw to Copa. In the eighth a more conventional 6-4-3 double play ended the inning as Joe Sheehan (Medford) to Morgan Brown (Arlington) to Copa to stop the BPL rally.
Andre's Jared Freni pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with the righty striking out the first two batters for the save.
Lexington's Matt Karis (4-1 regular season) started for the ICL and gave up a run in two innings of work and struck out a game-high three. Teammate Mike O'Brien followed Karis on the mound and gave up the second run and struck out two. Both Blue Sox hurlers struck out the first and last batter they faced.
The eight ICL hits were generated by eight different players and five different players scored and four different players drove in a run. The Intercity leaguers took advantage of six walks by BPL pitchers as two walks scored and two more drove in runs.
In the first game of the tournament the Cranberry Leagues's Ryan Morgan (Braintree) drove in four runs to lead his team to an 8-3 win over the Yawkey League. Morgan broke open the game in the second with a three-run home run to right well over the fence for a 5-1 lead. He singled in the seventh CBL run in the sixth inning. He was the only player on the day to hit a home run and to drive in multiple runs.
Both starters picked the decisions. For the Cranberry League Brendan Pittsley (Middleboro) got the win going two innings, allowing one run and giving up two hits. Chris Foundas (Somerville) took the loss pitching the first two innings for the Yawkey League. He gave up five runs, four hits, walked two and struck out one.
The tournament is an idea that has been in the making for a long time and has finally come to fruition. The championship game will offer the opportunity for the winning team (league) to have bragging rights, for at least a year, as to who is the best of the best in Greater Boston amateur baseball.
EMASS CLASSIC: ICL Takes EMass Tourney, Dunphy Throws 2 Scoreless Innings in 6-5 Win
ICL Correspondent
Lexington, MA - Steve Gath's (Lexington) two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth drove in Devin Perry (Testa) from second base with the winning run to give the Intercity League a 6-5 victory over the Cranberry League in the Inaugural Eastern Massachusetts All-Star Baseball Classic.
In a game that epitomized the best of amateur baseball in Eastern Massachusetts both teams had leads, lost them, regained them and finally the home team took a lead for good in the bottom of the eighth.
The Intercity league was up 2-0 through five innings and then the offenses took over as the teams combined to score nine runs over the next three innings.
The Intercity League had taken a 2-0 lead after four thanks to Mark O'Flynn (Testa) who drove in the first two runs. The rightfielder singled to drive in Wakefield's James Ramsey in the second and then brought home Joe Sheehan (Medford) with a bases loaded sacrifice fly in the fourth.
The game changed in sixth as the Cranberry League roared back to take a 3-2 lead. Nick Carafa (Testa) was on the mound for his second inning of work. After a 1-2-3 fifth Carafa gave up consecutive singles to start the sixth to the eight (John Keating, Rockland) and nine (Dustin Brown, Plymouth) hitters. Two fly outs and a wild pitch had runners on second and third with two outs. Lexington manager decided to go with a lefty on lefty match up and brought in Watertown's Charlie DeFrancesco to face Ryan Morgan (Braintree). Morgan took a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right and into a windshield for a 3-2 Cranberry league lead. It was Morgan's second 3-run home run in as many days.
The Intercity League mounted its own comeback in the seventh.
The bases were loaded with two outs thanks to three walks by Cranberry League hurler Tim Cooney (Rockland). CBL manager Tony DeSilva brought in Kyle Musco after the third walk to face Lexington's Justin Wright. On a 2-2 count Wright drove a fastball into rightfield for a triple that drove in Devin Perry (Testa), Nick Conti (Reading) and Pete Copa (Andre) to the gave the home team a 5-3 lead.
In the top of the eighth the visitors rallied to tie the game at 5-5 off of two ICL pitchers.
Watertowns Pat O'Donnell walked the first two batters he faced and ICL manager DeAngelis had the quick hook and brought in Lexington's Steve Bodnar. A sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. Morgan came to the plate and delivered an RBI single for his eighth RBI of the tourney to make it a 5-4 game. Frank Curreri (Braintree) followed with a sacrifice fly to center that scored David Billotte (Easton) with the tying run.
Bodnar closed out the game by striking out the last two batters to earn the win in the first championship game of the Eastern Massachusetts All-Star Baseball Classic.
"It was a great baseball game by two evenly matched teams," said ICL manager Rick DeAngelis of the Lexington Blue Sox.
It was a great baseball game was expressed by fans, players and coaches alike. It was also a great tournament that many players were glad to see had finally come into being. Thanks to the hard work of the Cranberry Leagues Joe Paulucci, Dave McKay of the Yawkey League, Walter Bentson of the Boston Park League and Rick DeAngelis of the Intercity League this tournament was put together and finally realized.
Thanks to all the coaches and players who gave their time and dedication to the game to make the first EMASBC successful.
Thanks to all the fans who came out for the three games to support their favorite team.
Finally thanks to all the people who worked behind the scenes to help make this event happen and be as successful as it was.
With the end of the 2012 event fans and players alike are all ready looking forward to 2013. But for now the Intercity League has won the bragging rights to being the best amateur league in Eastern Massachusetts.
Chiefs Walk Off with 5-4 Win Over Lexington
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.
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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.
Medford, MA- Veteran left-hander Tim Dunphy (3-0-1) won his third straight decision in a 4-0 blanking of the Americans at humid Playstead Park in Medford on Sunday afternoon. For Dunphy, it was his second win over the Americans in less than a week as he was the winner in last Monday’s 12-3 win at Maplewood.
The Chiefs scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the first inning. Jeff Bercume beat out an infield single to second base and Nat Witkowski singled to left. Mike Baillargeon followed with a line single to right that loaded the bases with nobody out. Tony Deshler, hitting in the cleanup spot, then grounded into a 4-6-3 doubleplay with Bercume scoring. Medford’s Ryan McNiff got out of the early jam with just the one run when he got Matt Boleski to fly out to right to end the inning.
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The Chiefs got to McNiff for another run in the visitor’s second. After Mike DiCato grounded out, Mike Andre singled to right and Mike Barbati (pitcured left) dropped a single into short leftfield. Catcher Nick Leva was then hit by a McNiff pitch to load the bases. Bercume delivered Andre with a single to right to make it 2-0. McNiff got Witkowski to pop up and Baillargeon to fly to center to keep it a ttwo run game.
It stayed 2-0 until the top of the seventh when the Chiefs picked up a couple of insurance runs to double their lead to 4-0. Witkowski singled to left to get things started. McNiff got Baillargeon to fly to center for the first out. Witkowski then stole second and went to third when Deshler’s outfield fly was dropped to put runners at second and third with one out. Boleski drilled a single to right scoring Witkowski and when the ball was bobbled, Deshler came across with the fourth run.
Dunphy set the Americans down in order in the seventh to give the Chiefs their ninth win (9-2-2)of the year. He allowed just four hits, struck out four, and issued just one walk. He did not allow a runner to get beyond second base.
The Chiefs return to action on Monday when the host the 10-2-1 Lexington Blue Sox at Maplewood Park (Malden Catholic) at 7:45 PM. The Blue Sox were also 4-0 winners on Sunday, beating the Merchants in Wakefield.
Jared Freni (2-0-1) will draw the starting assignment for the Chiefs on Monday while the Blue Sox are expected to counter with ace Matt Karis (4-0).
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Chiefs 9, Brooklyn, NY 4 (Non-League)
Friday, June 29
at Maplewood Park (Malden, MA)
Non-League
Brooklyn 000 030 010 4 9 2
Chiefs 121 001 40X 9 10 1
Brooklyn-Chrisano, Vargas (4th), Ariza (5th) and Feliz
Chiefs- Matt DiCato, Witkowski (6th), Machado (8th) and Leva, Yanakopulos (5th), Deshler (8th)
WP-DiCato
LP-Chrisano
HRS- Chiefs- Bercume
