Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- Despite Chiefs’ pitching striking 16 batters the Wakefield Merchants used a two-run homer from Bobby Losanno and took advantage of some sloppy defense to take a 5-2 win at Maplewood on Monday night.

Zach Kirby’s 13 K’s in 6 innings and Mitchell Clegg, who was making his 2019 debut, striking out the side in the seventh was not enough to hold off the Merchants.

The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Ben Waldrip (pictured) hit his second homer of the year off Merchants starter James McNamara.

Wakefield erased that lead and took the lead for good in the top of the third on a Jon Luders single and Losanno’s two run shot.

The Merchants’ margin went to 4-1 in the top of the fourth on a Chris Butler double, a Kirby error, and a RBI fielders’ choice grounder from Kevin Lucey. They padded the lead in the top of the sixth when Bryant Dana reached on an error and came around to score on a Luders double.

The Chiefs picked a run in the bottom of the seventh on a R.J. Libby RBI double, scoring pinch-hitter Gino DeSimone who had walked.

McNamara evened his season mark at 2-2 with the win. He went 6.1 innings, allowed six hits, and struck out three. Joseph Maguire came on in the seventh and closed the game with two strikeouts.

Kirby dropped to 2-2 with the loss. He allowed five runs, two earned, and gave up seven hits around his 13 strikeouts. Clegg gave up a leadoff single to Losanno in the seventh before getting the next three batters on strikeouts.

Chiefs Chatter.… The Chiefs fall to 7-3 with the loss. They travel to Victory Field in Watertown tonight to take on Alibrandis in a 7:45 PM start…..

The Chiefs will be looking to improve on their 7-2 record as they prepare for their final two games before the ICL’s annual Fourth of July Break.

The club will host the Wakefield Merchants at Maplewood/Malden Catholic on Monday at 8:00 PM before travelling to Victory Field in Watertown to visit Alibrandis at 7:45 PM.

Following the break, the Chiefs will return to action on Monday, July 8 when they meet the Blue Sox in Lexington at 8:00 PM.

Malden, MA- Newcomer R.J. Libby turned in a four hit and three RBI performance in his ICL debut, and Andrew Caulfield and Matt Nuzzo hit back to back fourth inning homers, when the Chiefs held off the Malden Maddogs 11-8 on Tuesday night at Maplewood.

Libby(pictured), who hit .294 this spring in 42 games for Assumption, gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead with an RBI single in the first, singled in the third, and drove home two more runs with a sixth inning double and a seventh inning single.

The offense moved into high gear when Caulfield and Nuzzo’s consecutive dingers put the Chiefs up 4-3 in the top of the fourth.

They opened up some space scoring five times in top of the sixth to take a 10-3 lead before the Maddogs closed the gap with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Both teams scored single runs in the seventh to account for the 11-8 final.

Nuzzo, Caulfield, Tony Serino and Michael Nestor all had two hits apiece to contribute to the Chiefs’ 12 hit attack.

Lefty Tim Dunphy worked into the sixth inning to raise his record to 3-0 on the season. David Kerns spelled Dunphy and registered his fourth save.

Chiefs Chatter…… The 7-2 Chiefs are now off until Monday when they host the Wakefield Merchants at Maplewood at 8:00 PM. On Tuesday they travel to Victory Field in Watertown to visit Alibrandis at 7:45 PM before embarking for the ICL’s annual Fourth of July Break…..

Malden, MA- Zach Kirby fired a neat one-hitter, striking out 11, when the Chiefs rolled to their second straight shutout win, blanking the Melrose Americans 10-0 on Monday night at Maplewood.

Kirby followed Saturday’s record setting 20 strikeout one-hitter from Evan Walsh with a jewel of his own. The only hit he allowed was a single to Elias Varinos leading off the game.

Ben Waldrip had a mammoth game at the plate. The Chiefs’ cleanup man went three for three including a homer, a double, and five RBI’s.

Waldrip, a Colorado Rockies 10th Round selection out of Jacksonville State in 2012, provided the Chiefs with a quick 2-0 lead when a he drilled a two-run homer to center with two outs in the bottom of the first inning.

The lead went to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth on singles from Waldrip and Nate Witkowski, a two RBI double from Manny Cabral, and an RBI ground out from Mike Burgoyne.

The Chiefs put the game away with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Doubles from Matt Nuzzo, Witkowski and Cabral, sandwiched around a Waldrip sacrifice fly, upped the lead to 8-0.

Waldrip was at it again in the home half of the sixth when his two RBI double scored Nick Leva, who was hit by a pitch, and pinch-hitter Gino DeSimone, who singled, to make it 10-0.

Kirby was on cruise control all night long, retiring the side in order in the second, third and sixth innings. The Americans had only three baserunners over the final six frames, all via the base on balls route.

Former Colby-Sawyer standout Chris Mitchell (1-2) worked into the fifth for the Americans before giving way to Matt Lessard and then Nick Colluci in sixth.

Chiefs Chatter…. Kirby raised his record to 2-1 on the season. The Rochester, MA product has now struck out 32 batters in 21 innings while allowing just 11 hits. With Monday’s effort he lowered his ERA to 1.67 on the year. The big right-hander pitched in both the Frontier and Pecos Independent League’s since graduating from Framingham State in 2016…. Over the last two games, the Walsh-Kirby combo has allowed just two hits while striking out 31 batters in 14 innings…..The Chiefs pitching staff has now struck out an ICL leading 84 batters in only 56 innings so far this season….The staff also owns a league best 2.00 ERA over the first eight games….. Manny Cabral had his best offensive night at the plate so far with a couple of doubles and three RBI’s. Cabral was the captain of the 2012 Northern Essex CC World Series team before moving on to appear in 26 games for Texas Southern in 2013….. The now 6-2 Chiefs will meet the Malden Maddogs on Tuesday night in a 7:45 PM start at Maplewood. Lefty Tim Dunphy (2-0, 1.75 ERA) is expected to draw the starting nod…

Lexington, MA- Lefthander Evan Walsh set an all-time Intercity League record when he struck out 20 batters in a 7-0 Andre Chiefs win over the Reading Bulldogs on Saturday at Lexington High. Walsh’s gem included a nine pitch, three strikeout “immaculate inning” to close the game out in the bottom of the seventh. The only hit Walsh allowed was a centerfield single to Tyler Cedeno with two outs in the bottom of the third inning.

The previous strikeout record was set by Chiefs’ righty Jared Freni who struck 17 batters on August 6, 2010 in a 3-0 win over Mooney Dental at Ferullo Field in Woburn.

The Chiefs gave their southpaw a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Veteran catcher Nick Leva, making his first appearance of the year, singled home rookies Gino DeSimone (single) and Evan Reynolds (error).

The lead doubled to 4-0 in the top of the fifth. Leva walked, Walsh reached on an error, and Tony Serino drew another walk to load the bases. Reading starter Anthony Sapenza (0-1) took a big step to escape the jam when he got Andrew Caulfield to bounce into a 1-2-3 doubleplay. Matt Nuzzo saw to it that the Chiefs wouldn’t come away empty handed when he plated both Serino and Walsh with a two run double.

The Chiefs added three more runs in the top of the seventh against Brandon Mullarkey on consecutive doubles by Serino and Caulfield, that followed a Leva walk and a throwing error.

Walsh allowed four baserunners on the day. Cedeno’s single in the third and walks in the second, fourth and sixth. He threw 107 pitches, 70 for strikes. The former Bentley standout raised his season record to 2-0. He went six innings to get the win against the Bulldogs on June 5. In that game he allowed four hits and struck out 10.

Chiefs Chatter…. Walsh, an Arlington MA native, began his career with the ICL champion Chiefs in 2014 out of Arlington Catholic. Following the 2015 season, when he made nine appearances with a 3.50 ERA in 16 innings, he moved on to play for the Arlington Trojans in both the 2016 & 2017 campaigns. Walsh returned to the Chiefs last season when he went 4-3 in 8 starts with an ERA of 2.46….. He graduated from Bentley University in 2017. While pitching for the Falcons he recorded an 11-17 record in 48 appearances (27 starts) during his college career…. The now 5-2 Chiefs return to Maplewood on Monday to host the Melrose Americans at 8;00 PM. On Tuesday, they meet the Malden Maddogs at Maplewood at 7:45 PM…..