Andre Chiefs

Here's a look back at the selections from 2006-2008.

MVP Award
2008 Josh Klimkiewicz-Cassell Club
2007 Dan Graham-Blue Sox & Josh Klimkiewicz Cassell Club (co-MVP)
2006 Zack Golden-Cassell Club

Outstanding Hitter
2008 Josh Klimkiewicz-Cassell Club
2007 Josh Klimkiewicz-Cassell Club
2006 Zack Golden-Cassell Club

Outstanding Pitcher
2008 Marc Hewett-Blue Sox
2007 Bryan Lambert-Cassell Club
2006 Bill Cooke-Blue Sox

Rookie of the Year
2008 Ben Hewett-Blue Sox
2007 Bob McCarthy-Cassell Club
2006 Mike Andre-Chiefs

Rookie Pitcher of the Year
2008 Marc Hewett-Blue Sox
2007 Connor O'Sullivan-Pierce-Gately A's
2006 Jeff Keefe-Americans

Manager of the Year
2007 Rick DeAngelis-Blue Sox
2006 Bob Nasson-Cassell Club

Playoff MVP
2008 Bill Cooke-Blue Sox
2007 Mike Kotarski-Blue Sox
2006 Tim Dempsey-Cassell Club

Sportsmanship Award
2008 Orazio Azzarello-Americans
2007 Luke Begley-Reds
2006 Steve Coffey-Merchants

(Special to www.andrechiefs.com) August 18, 2008
Wakefield, MA- Right up until the moment Nate Leva's screaming line drive was snagged by Lexington shortstop Anthony Santos to end their semi-final series against the powerful and veteran laden Blue Sox late Sunday afternoon, they just would not quit.

Such was the saga of the 2008 Chiefs as the upstart club emptied the tank each night from late May to mid August. It will be remembered as the year the franchise regained some ICL prominence after two seasons of being a virtual expansion team and sporting the only two sub .500 records in team history. The team rediscovered its winning ways and battled into the ICL playoffs for the 44th time in 46 seasons. The Chiefs completed the regular ICL season with a 17-8-6 record to go along with a 3-1 non-league mark, and pretty much had a battle on thier hands every night, win, lose or tie.

They fought through injuries and matched the ICL's best, pitch for pitch and hit for hit, as the young club matured with each passing day. In fact, the Chiefs went 11-2-1 over their last fourteen regular season games and finally clinched a playoff spot on August 9th. To go along with the six hard fought ties, the team was involved in ten one run games and five two run games. Those numbers mean that 21 of their 37 games were decided by two runs or less, including six last inning wins. 'These kids don't know how to quit" said Chiefs veteran manager Chuck Andre, following another come from behind win in late July.

Sure, the Chiefs would like to be playing for a few more days as the ICL finals begin in Lexington this week. But nobody really thought that they would be playing last week either, at least not before another season or two of ripening on the vine.

Aside from 32 year old veteran and ICL legend Justin Crisafulli, who has a boatload of championships and playoff experience with the Chiefs, and 27 year old Paul Koslowski, the Chiefs day to day lineup got their first taste of what it meant to be in contention.

Second baseman Brendan Pyburn, an ICL rookie, and shortstop Leva are both just 20. Third baseman Mike Andre, who is one of the Chiefs veterans in his third ICL campaign and was Rookie of the Year in 2006, is 21. Converted infiielder Mike Barbati, who rode the pine during the first half of the season until breaking into the lineup and can play any position, is just 19.  Outfielders Phil Costello and Matt Boleski are also just 21 years old. You can then add star lefty Dylan Ellis, who was sensational all year at age 20, and rookie reserves Alex Fisher and Nicky Leva, who are just 18 to the list. Closer Chris Foundas and relievers Joe Martini and Jose Pimental are also all just 21.

Maybe the best story of all was 20 year old rookie catcher Matt Lawlor who burst into camp a week before the season started and won the catching job. Not only did he win the job, he established himself as a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate hitting a lofty .398 and was named to the ICL mid season all-star team.

Another great storyline would be the tale of centerfielder Andrew Hanson. The Princeton graduate just completed law school and found time between Chiefs games to study for the bar exam which he took in July. He ended his first ICL year hitting .293.

Others like Connor Bishop and Nicky Dunn were very valuable assets to the 2008 team. Bishop, in his third season is also 20 years old. The Arlington lefty saw only limited action on the mound, but came up huge in a winning relief effort against Cassell in July. Dunn, another rookie from Salem State, is a gifted athlete and did anything needed to help the team, from pinch running, to catching, to playing second base, as well as all three outfield spots.

Leva, became a legitimate ICL shortstop as the season progressed. Known for his hard nosed play and the product of the highly respected Cambridge baseball programs, he will complete his four year term as starting shortstop next spring for the D-2 Bridgeport University Purple Knights.

Veteran ace and former pro Keith Forbes anchored a solid pitching staff that will only improve next season with the expected return of a few arms that were with the club in 2006 and 2007. Two of those additions are expected to be righty's Danny Lozeau of Bryant and Mike DiCato of UMass-Amherst. Lefty Jeff DeCarlo of Michigan and Jared Freni of UMass could also be on the horizon. Lozeau, DiCato, DeCarlo and Freni all saw action with the young Chiefs in 2006 or 2007.

Injuries played a key part in the 2008 season. ICL all-star outfielder Brian Macrina was lost for the year in early May with nagging leg injuries. His status for 2009 is still uncertain. Franklin Pierce star Matt Anderson was able to play in only 14 games and his season ended in mid July when a knee injury put him on the shelf. He is expected to be healthy and bring a big bat to the 2009 lineup. Koslowski and Andre battled leg injuries during the season with both of them playing through it as best as possible. In fact, Andre started all 37 games for the Chiefs before finally being forced out of the lineup in the fourth inning of Sunday's game. Koslowski did his best Kurt Gibson impression on August 5 when he hobbled around the bases after hitting a huge pinch hit home run that broke a 4-4 tie and propelled the Chiefs to an important win over the Americans.

And who could forget Assistant Manager Paul Crisafulli exiting his familar third base coaching box to make two pinch hit appearances, both resulting in basehits. Or Dave Marsters, the Chiefs record holder in every pitching category, dusting off the cobwebs to make a couple of late season quality starts.

But without question, the single biggest reason for the 2008 turnaround was the re-emergence of veteran slugger Justin Crisafulli. The Chiefs captain re-established himself as an ICL force following two subpar season's by Crisafulli standards. The former Cleveland Indian hit a whopping .402 with three homers and 22 RBI's. He finished second in the ICL batting race and led the ICL in hits with 37. He ceratinly has to be considered as a serious candidate for the 2008 ICL MVP award.

So the 2008 "season of thunderstorms" went into the books for the Chiefs late Sunday afternoon in Wakefield, thanks to a heavy dose of veterans like Cooke, Graham, McElroy and Hughes, but not before the Chiefs put up one more good fight.

"This these guys remind me of the 1989 team " said Andre, when approached after the game. If his assessment is correct, that will mean very good news for Chiefs fans. The 1989 team he was speaking of, qualified for the ICL playoffs on the final day of the regular season but was quickly dispatched by the veteran filled Augustine A's. That same group of players went on to dominate the ICL for the next ten seasons, winning four championships, six pennants, and playing over .750 baseball, which included two record setting eighteen game unbeaten streaks.

Now, if history can only repeat itself.

Wakefield, MA- The defending champion Lexington Blue Sox advanced to the ICL finals with a 4-2 win over the Andre Chiefs in a game played at Walsh Field in Wakefield on Sunday afternoon.

Veteran lefty Bill Cooke pitched a complete game for the Blue Sox, allowing eight hits, striking out eight and walking none as Lexington moved on to the ICL championship series for the third time in four years.

Lexington took a 1-0 off Chiefs starter and loser Keith Forbes in the top of the second inning when Matt Gedman doubled, went to third on an infield grounder and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to center from Jeff Nolet.

The Blue Sox lead went to 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning on a Ross Curley RBI single that scored Nolet, who had reached on a fielder's choice.

The Chiefs, as they have done all season, clawed their way back to knot the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth on four consecutive singles by Andrew Hanson, Justin Crisafulli, Matt Lawlor and Paul Koslowski.

It stayed a 2-2 game until the top of the sixth inning when the Blue Sox picked up a couple of runs to re-take the lead. Nolet walked, Anthony Santos singled and Curley was hit by a Forbes pitch to load the bases. Danny Graham then drew a walk to force in Nolet and Ben Hewett followed with a RBI single to left scoring Santos to make it 4-2. Koslowski came on for Forbes and got lefties Danny Hughes swinging and Gedman on an infield grounder.

The Chiefs came up empty against Cooke in the sixth, despite a Crisafulli leadoff single, and Chris Foundas set the Sox down in the top of seventh.

(From www.intercityleaguebaseball.com) 
Lexington, MA- Blue Sox righty Marc Hewett and Chiefs southpaw Dylan Ellis hooked up in a classic pitchers duel on Saturday afternoon with Lexington scratching out a run with two away in the bottom of the ninth inning to come away with a 2-1 win. With the extra inning victory, the Blue Sox take a 1-0 lead in the best of three semi-finals series.

The Chiefs and Blue Sox traded first inning runs. Matt Lawlor gave the Chiefs a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a sacrifice fly. The Blue Sox answered and tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a Danny Hughes RBI fielders choice.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth. Hughes led off and drew a full count walk. With Matt Gedman at the plate, Hughes advanced to second on a passed ball. Gedman then hit a hard shot labled for right field but Chiefs first baseman Paul Koslowski made a nice diving stop and just beat Gedman to the bag with Hughes going to third. Ellis then got pinch hitter Eric Poling to bounce back to him for the second out of the inning. Jack Laurendeau followed and won it for the Blue Sox when he hit a sharp grounder down the first base line. Koslowski was able make the diving stop, but the speedy Laurendeau beat his throw to first that allowed Hughes to score the winning run.

Hewett of Rollins Collge, allowed just five hits and struck out seven while raising his overall 2008 record to 9-1.

Ellis, from Merrimack College, allowed six hits and struck out four. He was tagged his first loss of the season in eight decisions.

Lexington, MA- The Lexington Blue Sox roughed up Chiefs starter David Garcia for six first inning runs en route to an 11-7 win in the regular season's final game for both teams. With the win the Blue Sox claim the ICL's pennant and the Chiefs head to the playoffs, finishing fourth with a 17-8-6 record.

The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Blue Sox starter Kevin Scanlon. After two outs, Andrew Hanson reached on an infield error, moved to third on the first of Matt Lawlor's three hits on the night, and eventually scored on a Paul Koslowski RBI single.

The Sox used first inning doubles by Danny Graham, Sean McElroy and Anthony Santos sandwiched around two base on balls, a hit batsman and a Matt Gedman RBI single, to score a half dozen runs off Garcia in the bottom of the first inning.

Joe Martini came on to start the second inning for the Chiefs and after Graham led off with his second double in as many innings, he retired the next three Lexington hitters in order.

The Chiefs responded and came up with three runs in the top of the third inning to cut the Lexington lead to 6-4. Nate Leva led off with a single off Sox reliever Sammy Steed. Hanson followed with another single and Justin Crisafulli drew a base on balls. Lawlor then singled to left driving in Leva and Hanson scored when the ball was misplayed to make it a 6-3 game. Steed got Koslowski swinging and Phil Costello walked. Mike Andre then hit a RBI grounder, which Anthony Santos made a nice play on to throw him out at first, with Crisafulli scoring on the play.

The Blue Sox picked up two unearned runs off Martini in the bottom of the third to increase thier lead to 8-4. McElroy reached on an error by Leva at shortstop and went to second on a passed ball. Jack Laurendeau then singled driving in McElroy to up the lead to 7-4. Laurendeau went to second on the throw home and to third on a fly ball to right. He scored the Sox eighth run on a long Santos sacrifice fly to center.

The Chiefs kept battling back, as they have done all season long, and cut the Blue Sox lead to 8-7 in the top of the fourth on singles from Brendan Pyburn and Lawlor, a hit batsman, a long double by Leva and a sacrifice fly from Koslowski.

Lefty Dylan Ellis came on to work the fourth and fifth innings for the Chiefs and retired all six batters he faced. Veteran Barry Foster turned the same trick for the Sox, holding the Chiefs scoreless as well in innings five and six.

Chris Foundas came on for Ellis to start the bottom of the sixth inning and experienced control problems as the Blue Sox picked up three more runs to take an 11-7 lead. A Ben Hewett two RBI double and a Gedman single, along with four walks issued by Foundas (one intentional), resulted in the Sox picking up their four runs. Righty Jose Pimentel came on for Foundas with two out and retired the only batter he faced on a ground ball.

Former UMass-Amherst ace Jesse Santos set the Chiefs down quietly in the top of the seventh as the Blue Sox picked up their 24th win of the year.