Andre Chiefs

Medford, MA- Mike DiCato tossed a complete game three-hitter to get the Chiefs past the Mooney Dental Tanners 4-1 at Tufts University on Monday evening. It was the Chiefs third straight over the Woburn based club having swept a doubleheader on Sunday 12-4 and 9-2. 

DiCato was in control from start to finish. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and lost his shutout bid with two outs in the seventh on a wind blown infield pop-up single. 

Wind was once again a factor at Tufts on this night, knocking down ball after ball and causing havoc with routine fly balls. 

The Chiefs provided DiCato with single tallies in each of the first three innings. After DiCato had an easy 1-2-3 first inning, red hot Hal Landers drew a leadoff walk for the Chiefs but Tanners starter Joe Harvey got Brendan Pyburn swinging. Landers then stole second before Jeff Bercume flew out deep to right-center for the second out. Cleanup man Justin Crisafulli then came through with a RBI single to center that scored Landers. 

DiCato set the Tanners side down in order again in the second and the Chiefs added another run in the bottom on the inning on a Landers RBI single that scored Bob McCarthy who had walked. 

A one out walk was all DiCato would yield in the third and the Chiefs made it a 3-0 game in the home half of the inning when Crisafulli picked up his second RBI on infield ground out. 

DiCato worked another 1-2-3 inning and Harvey kept the Chiefs off the board in fourth despite a leadoff single from Mike Andre. 

The no-hit bid ended in the top of the fifth when Phil Recco drilled a clean line drive single to right-center.  

DiCato walked Jon Smart to start the Tanners sixth but he was erased when Matt Ruane bounced into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. 

The Chiefs added their fourth run in the bottom of the sixth. JP Pollard reached on throwing error and Andre sacrificed him to third. McCarthy then drew a walk and was thrown out trying to steal second with Pollard scoring on the play. 

DiCato took his one hitter and shutout into the seventh and things got a little interesting courtesy of a little shoddy defense and a whole lot of wind. Joe Smith led off and reached on an error when Pyburn bobbled his grounder. DiCato got Keegan DeNapoli looking for the first out and Andre made a nice play charging a Recco slow grounder and throwing him out at first for out number two. Bob Wronski then hit a towering pop-up that appeared would end the game and give DiCato the shutout. The wind took over and the ball fell between second baseman Mike Barbati and DiCato near the mound and was scored a base hit. Smith, running with two outs, scored on the play as the Tanners averted the shutout. Pinch-hitter Ryan Doyle then singled to right and when DiCato walked Alex Stotik to load the bases the Tanners suddenly had the go ahead run at the plate in Brian Svenson. DiCato got Svenson down in the count 0-2  and got him to hit a one hopper at Andre to end the game. 

Harvey pitched very well for Mooney allowing just four hits (Landers, Pyburn, Andre & Crisafulli). DiCato struck out six and raised his record to 4-2. 

Ryan McNeill will get the start when the Chiefs travel to East Boston Stadium on Tuesday at 8:00 PM to face the Bombers.

Woburn, MA- The Chiefs will visit Ferullo Field in Woburn on Sunday as they take on the Mooney Dental Tanners in a doubleheader starting at 5:30 PM. On Monday, the two teams will play at Tufts University in a 6:00 PM start. Monday's game is a make-up of the game that was rained out on Thursday.

Wet grounds caused the postponement of Friday's game at Tufts with Lexington. No make-up date has been announced for this game as yet.

After the three game set with the Tanners, the Chiefs travel to East Boston Stadium to meet the Testa Corp. Bombers on Tuesday night at 8:00 PM before returning home to host the Medford Americans on both Wednesday and Thursday. Next Friday, the Chiefs host the Blue Sox, also at Tufts University, at 6:00 PM. 

Wakefield, MA- Three runs on thirteen hits. 

Not bad offensive numbers for an ICL game. 

When that is your team’s total over a three game stretch, you are not going to put many “W’s” in the win column.  

Such is the latest saga of the Chiefs, who remain mired in a team-wide batting funk. The most recent chapter of non-production came on Wednesday night at Walsh Field when Trinity lefty and ICL all-star James Ramsey held the Chiefs to a single run for the third straight game. 

Ramsey was the story in this one as he surrendered just three hits, two of the infield variety, as the Merchants sent the unproductive Chiefs to their second straight defeat, 3-1. Chiefs’ right-hander Mike DiCato suffered the loss but certainly pitched well enough to win. 

The Merchants struck for two runs in the bottom of the second inning on singles from Jason Banos and Alex LiDonni and a Matt Russo double. 

After that, both DiCato and Ramsey made it a two man show with Ramsey not allowing a hit until rookie Dario Pizzano tripled with one out in fifth. 

The Merchants lead went to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth. L.J. Demaino singled and went to second when DiCato’s pickoff attempt skipped by J.P. Pollard. DiCato got Kevin Johnson to pop up and struck out Mike Sorrentino before Taylor von Kriengenbergh delivered Demaino with a two out single to center. 

The Chiefs averted the shutout picking up a run in the sixth and threatened for more. Hal Landers led off and beat out a bunt single. Brendan Pyburn followed with infield single that glanced off Johnson’s glove at shortstop and went into short centerfield, allowing Landers to move to third. Bob McCarthy then hit a roller at first baseman Jason Roth and Landers beat his throw home to make it 3-1 and leaving runners on first and second with nobody out. Ramsey slammed the door shut when he got Bercume on groundout and then got Crisafulli to hit into a 5-4-3 doubleplay. 

Ryan McNeill came on to work a scoreless sixth inning for the Chiefs and allowed a single to Jon Davison.  

Ramsey made easy work of the Chiefs in the top of the seventh, retiring Pollard and Pizzano on infield grounders and ending things when he got Peter Copa to foul out to third. 

Ramsey, who worked a scoreless 1-2-3 inning for the ICL in Sunday’s all-star game, struck out just one and did not issue a walk. 

DiCato, now 3-2, allowed just six hits in his five innings of work, struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. 

The Chiefs will try and rebound on Thursday when they host the Mooney Dental Tanners at Tufts University at 6:00 PM. Dan Lozeau is expected to get the starting assignment for the Chiefs.   

Lexington, MA- The defending champion Blue Sox knocked off the Chiefs in Lexington on Monday night, 7-1. It was the third time in two weeks that the Sox beat the Chiefs at home. The teams will meet three more times during the regular season, all at Tufts University. 

The Sox runs came in two bunches, scoring three times in the bottom of the first and adding a four spot in the fourth inning.  

Things started well enough for the Chiefs when leadoff man Brendan Pyburn reached on an infield single. Sox starter Tim Bryant then retired the next three batters in a row when Bob McCarthy grounded out, Jeff Bercume flew to center and Dario Pizzano was called out on strikes. 

Lexington went right to work against Chiefs rookie right-hander Rob Machado (UMass-Amherst) in bottom of the first. Machado walked leadoff man Pete Frates and then surrendered consecutive singles to Ross Curley and Dan Graham to load the bases. Steve Gath delivered a sacrifice fly to right scoring Frates for a 1-0 Sox lead. Matt McEvoy drew Machado’s second walk of the inning to re-load the bases and Sean McElroy quickly unloaded them when he delivered a two RBI single to put Lexington in front 3-0. 

Bryant gave up a second inning double to J.P. Pollard and Machado settled down a bit in the bottom of the inning to keep it a 3-0 game. 

Both pitchers got the respective sides in order in third and the Chiefs made a bit of noise in the top of the fourth. Bercume led off with a single to center and Bryant got the first out when he caught Pizzano looking for the second time. Peter Copa then singled to right to put two men on with one away. McEvoy then made the defensive play of the night when he robbed Pollard of extra bases with a diving catch in the left-centerfield gap. The threat went by the boards when Bryant struck out Mike Barbati looking. 

The Blue Sox chased Machado and put the game away when they scored four times in the bottom of the fourth to go up 7-zip. McEvoy was hit by a pitch and Jeff Nolet drilled a single to left that skipped past Pizzano and went all the way to fence allowing McEvoy to score from first. Machado then got Rollins star Ben Hewett to ground out to Barbati but Frates followed with a line single to left that scored Nolet to make it 5-0 and ended Machado’s night. Chris Foundas came in from the bullpen and struck out Curley before allowing consecutive singles to Graham and Gath that pushed the Sox lead to 7-0. 

Hal Landers picked up a one out single in the Chiefs fifth but the inning ended when Pyburn bounced into a 5-4-3 doubleplay. 

Foundas regained some of the form that made him the ICL’s all-star closer in 2008 when he retired the Sox side in order in the bottom of the fifth. 

The Chiefs finally broke their nineteen inning scoring drought at Lexington in the sixth. McCarthy led off with a double down the left field line and he went to third on a long fly from Bercume that Frates ran down on the warning track in center. Copa’s RBI single, just inside the third base bag, scored McCarthy with the Chiefs only run. 

Lefty Matt Boleski worked an impressive sixth inning for the Chiefs, striking out the side. 

Matt O’Brien from Boston College came on to close things out for the Sox working a 1-2-3 seventh. 

Despite the score, both teams recorded seven hits and there was only one error in the game. Machado (0-2) took the loss for the Chiefs. He worked 3.1 innings, was charged with all seven runs (six earned), gave up five hits, struck out two but walked three and hit two batters. Bryant, the former Bentley righty who is now 2-0, worked six innings, striking out three and walking none while lowering his ERA to 0.57 on the season. 

The Chiefs will send Mike DiCato (3-1) to the hill on Tuesday night, weather permitting, when they host the Medford Americans at Tufts University at 6:00 PM.   

Wet grounds and more rain in the forecast for tonight (Tuesday) has already caused the early postponement of all three Intercity League games that were scheduled.

The Medford Americans at Chiefs game scheduled for Tufts University at 6:00 PM has been washed out and will be made up on Wednesday, July 29 at 6:00 PM.

The Wakefield Merchants at Lexington Blue Sox game at Lexington High School has also been postponed. The teams are currently working on a make-up date which is expected to be announced soon.

The Mooney Dental Tanners at Testa Corp. Bombers game, slated for East Boston Stadium, was postponed at 4:45 PM. Bombers management observed the conditions of the artificial surface and decided that the ongoing rain would render the field unplayable.

In ICL action on Monday night, the first place Blue Sox beat the Chiefs 7-1 at Lexington High School and the Medford Americans jumped out to a 7-1 lead and held on to knock off the Testa Corp. Bombers 7-6 at Playstead Park in Medford.

On Wednesday, the Chiefs will travel to Wakefield to meet the Merchants at Walsh Field in a 6:00 PM start and the Bombers head to Lexington High School to meet the Blue Sox under the lights at 8:00 PM.

All schedule and weather related updates are immediately posted on the Intercity League's website at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com.