Andre Chiefs

Lexington, MA- The Blue Sox offense rung out thirteen hits to rough up the Chiefs 8-1 and take a 2-0 series lead in Lexington on Thursday night.

With the win, Lexington is in a position to lock up their unprecedented fifth straight Intercity League Championship on Friday night at Pine Banks in Malden at 7:45 PM.

Lexington’s Drew Brzozowski and Chiefs’ starter Tim Dunphy both cruised through a 1-2-3 first inning.

Justin Crisafulli led off the Chiefs second inning with a single and moved into scoring position on Mike Andre’s groundout and went to third when Mike DiCato grounded to Steve Gath at shortstop. Crisafulli was left at third when Brzozowski struck out Mike Barbati swinging to end the inning.

The Blue Sox struck for four straight two out hits and two runs in the bottom of the second. Matt McEvoy got things started when he beat out an infield single up the middle. Three more singles from Ross Curley, Tom Haugh and Dan Capra accounted for the two runs. The inning ended when Jeff Bercume fired a strike to Andre at third base to get Haugh attempting to go from first to third on Capra’s RBI single.

Brzozowski got the Chiefs in order again in the top of the third.The Blue Sox threatened for more in the home half of the inning on singles by Pete Frates and Gath before Dunphy got out of the jam when Jeff Vigurs flew to Vinny Pennell in left.

The Chiefs cut the lead in half to 2-1 in the top of the fourth. Baillargeon led off with a single. Pennell flew to center for the first out and Brzozowski struck out Crisafulli for out number two. Andre kept things going when he singled to left and DiCato followed with a single up the middle driving in Baillargeon. Brzozowski didn’t let the Chiefs get any closer when he struck out Barbati looking on an inside pitch, stranding Andre and DiCato, to end the inning.

Lexington picked up three runs to take a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. McEvoy singled and Curley sacrificed him to second. Haugh then singled to left scoring McEvoy to make it 3-1. Capra followed with a gap triple that scored Haugh to make it 4-1. Frates then singled over the drawn in Chiefs’ infield to score Capra to jump the lead to 5-1, Frates stole second but Dunphy kept the Chiefs within four runs when he struck out Justin Wright and Dan Graham in succession.

Brzozowski held the Chiefs scoreless in the top of the fifth. Jake Crawford came out of the bullpen to relieve Dunphy with one out in the bottom of the inning and kept the Sox off the board.

The Chiefs last opportunity to get back into the game came in the top of the sixth. Baillargeon singled up the middle before Pennell grounded out. After Crisafulli flew to left for the second out, Andre followed with a ground rule double that skipped off the first base bag and went out of play down the right field line putting runners on second and third. Brzozowski ended the inning when he got DiCato to ground sharply to Curley at third base.

The Blue Sox put it out of reach against Crawford in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three more runs, to take a 8-1 lead. Walks to Haugh, Graham and Gath combined with singles by Frates and Vigurs led to the runs.

Two out singles from Nick Leva and Bercume gave the Chiefs two more baserunners in the top of the seventh but Brzozowski brought the evening to a close when he caught Baillargeon looking at strike three on an inside fastball.

The Chiefs are expected to send right-hander Rob Machado to the mound in the must win Game Three on Friday while the Blue Sox will counter with Steve Bodnar.

Friday’s game is being played at Pine Banks due to the fact that Tufts University does not have lights. Pine Banks is located on the Malden-Melrose line. The GPS address is 1087 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176.

If the Chiefs can force a Game Four, the time and location will be set for either Monday or Tuesday and will be announced after the impact of Hurricane Irene is known.  

Regardless of Friday’s outcome, there will no games played on Saturday or Sunday..  

Lexington, MA- Babson left-hander Mike O’Brien and former Princeton and Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Tim Lahey combined on a three hit shutout to get the Lexington Blue Sox past the Chiefs 3-0 in Game One of the Intercity League Championship Series on Wednesday night.

Game Two of the best of five series is scheduled back in Lexington on Thursday at 8:00 PM.

Dan Graham had a 2 RBI double

Chiefs’ starter Jared Freni and O’Brien kept the game scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when the Blue Sox scored twice to take the lead. Veteran Dan Graham (pictured left) gave Lexington all the runs they would need when he crushed a two out, two RBI double to straight away center, scoring Tom Haugh (Bentley) who had walked and Pete Frates (Boston College) who had singled. Graham, the former Central Connecticut star is a two time Intercity League MVP. He played professionally in the Can-Am Legaue with the Brockton Rox.

The Blue Sox added their third run on former Virginia Commonwealth standout Justin Wright’s solo homer to right-center field in the bottom of the fifth inning.

O’Brien worked five innings, allowed three hits and struck out five. Lahey came on to pitch the final two frames to pick up the save and did not allow a hit.

Vinny Pennell (double), Jeff Bercume (infield single) and Mike Barbati (single) was all the Chiefs could show in the hit column for the evening.

The Chiefs were not without their scoring chances as they had men on base in every inning but the seventh. Pennell doubled to left with two outs in the first inning but O’Brien struck out Justin

Former KC Royal Vinny Pennell had a double

Crisafulli to end the inning. Barbati’s single came with two outs in the second but O’Brien got Boleski to pop up. In the third, Bercume reached on his infield single and Mike Baillargeon drew a walk. With Pennell at the plate, Bercume tried to steal third but was thrown out by Jeff Vigurs. Pennell eventually drew a walk but Crisafulli grounded out to end the inning. An inning later in the fourth, Mike Andre was hit by a pitch leading off but Mike DiCato grounded into a doubleplay. Nick Leva led off the sixth with a ball earmarked for the left-center field gap that Frates made a diving catch on to rob him of extra bases. Bercume then drew a walk before Matt McEvoy made the second good defensive play of the inning when he ran down Baillargeon’s liner to left. The Chiefs final chance came against Lahey in the sixth when Crisafulli led off and reached on an infield error. Andre then hit a short hop laser to Ross Curley at third who made Lexington’s third outstanding defensive play of the game and started a 5-4-3 doubleplay.

Freni pitched very well despite taking the loss. The former UMass-Amherst righty went six innings, allowed three runs (all earned), six hits, and struck out nine.

Weather permitting, a pair of former Brandeis University pitchers will get the starting assignments in Game Two on Thursday. The Chiefs will send southpaw Tim Dunphy, who is 7-1-1 overall this season and 3-0 in playoffs, to the mound while the Blue Sox will counter with righty Drew Brzozowski, who is 5-0 so far this season.

Game Three of the series will be played on the turf of Pine Banks Park, on the Malden-Melrose line on Friday at 7:45 PM.

League officials will be closely monitoring weather conditions over the next few days. The possibility exists for severe thunderstorms on Thursday and the prospect of Hurricane Irene is looming boldly for the weekend.

Any weather related changes to the schedule will be immediately posted at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com. as well as local media outlets.

(Mike Mills, Dave Galehouse and Mark Cavanaugh Photos)

Lexington, MA- The Chiefs and Blue Sox will open their best of five Championship Series at Lexington High School on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM. The Blue Sox earned their ticket to the finals by coming from behind to beat the upstart Reading Bulldogs 4-3 on Monday night in Game Five of the their semifinal series. The Chiefs won their Game Five against the Wakefield Merchants on Sunday afternoon, 5-3.

Game Two of the series will be also be played in Lexington on Thursday at 8:00 PM. The Chiefs will host Game Three at Pine Banks Park, on the Malden/Melrose line on Friday at 7:45 PM. The schedule for Games 4 or 5, if needed, will be posted soon.

The Blue Sox and Chiefs are back in familiar territory as championships have been synonymous with both franchises. For the Chiefs, it will be their twenty-fourth trip to a championship series since 1960. The Hosmer-Andre Chiefs franchise has won seventeen previous crowns. Five were won by Manager Lenny Dempsey, eight by Joe O'Donnell, and four by present manager Chuck Andre. Both Dempsey and O'Donnell were inducted as charter members of the ICL's Hall of Fame last November. The Chiefs were named the ICL's "Team of Decade" for the 1970's and 1990's. They also received special recognition for the 1960's, when they won five titles when participating primarily in the then rival Suburban Twi-League.

Rick DeAngelis

The Blue Sox have been the dominant team in the Intercity League since 1998, when they succeeded the Chiefs to the title after the Medford based club won their fourth crown of the decade in 1997. Their initial 1998 championship started a run that has seen Rick DeAngelis' club ring up eight titles in the last thirteen seasons, including the last four in a row, and six of the last seven beginning in 2004. The only interruption of the Blue Sox streak was in 2006, when they were upset by the Watertown Reds in the semifinals. Last season the Blue Sox defeated the Reds in the Intercity League's Championship Series. The Blue Sox were named as the ICL's "Team of the Decade" for 2000-2009.

Surprisingly, the Chiefs and Blue Sox have met only one previous time in the Championship Series. In 2009, the Blue Sox overcame a 1-0 Chiefs lead in the series, to win the title three games to one.

 

The schedule for the first three games of the Intercity League’s best of five Championship Series between the Chiefs and Blue Sox has been set.

The first two games of the series will be played at Lexington High on Wednesday and Thursday nights starting at 8:00 PM.

On Friday, the Chiefs will use the turf field at Pine Banks Park, on the Malden/Melrose line, as their home field and play Game Three under the lights there at 7:45 PM.

Due to the late starting date of the Championship Series and early sunsets in the later part of August, the Chiefs are unable to play any weeknight games at their longtime home of Huskins Field, on the campus of Tufts University, because there are no lights.

The schedule is as follows;

GAME 1: Wednesday, August 24- Chiefs at Blue Sox, Lexington High, 8:00 PM
GAME 2: Thursday, August 25- Chiefs at Blue Sox, Lexington High, 8:00 PM
GAME 3: Friday, August 26 – Blue Sox at Chiefs, Pine Banks Park Turf, 7:45 PM
GAME 4: TBA, (if needed)
GAME 5: TBA, (if needed)

For those fans heading to the Championship series and using GPS:

Lexington High School is located at 100 Worthen Road, Lexington, MA 02421
Pine Banks Park is located on Main Street, on the Malden/Melrose line.
The GPS address is approximately 82 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176