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Reds Eliminate Chiefs from Playoffs
Posted by Andre Chiefs at Aug 12, 2018 5:00PM PDT
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Malden, MA- And so it ended.
The Watertown Reds unceremoniously brought the curtain down on the Chiefs’ disappointing 2018 season with a convincing 10-3 win on Sunday night at Maplewood. With the win, the Reds sweep the best of three series 2-0 and will now advance to meet the #2 seeded Wakefield Merchants starting Tuesday in the semi-final round.
For the Chiefs and their injury riddled pitching staff, it was their earliest exit from the ICL playoffs in over a decade. For the franchise, it was only the third time in 53 years that they concluded a season with a sub .500 record, ending up the campaign at 14-17. The only other losing marks in Chiefs’ seasons past were in 2006 and 2007 when they returned to the ICL with one of the youngest teams in league history after taking a two year hiatus.
Now to Sunday’s game.
The Chiefs actually held early leads of 1-0 and 3-1 before the Reds’ rallied and took advantage of some Evan Walsh wildness, with a couple of clutch doubles mixed in, to score five times in the fourth inning. They then added four more runs in the sixth, to take the series clinching win in going away fashion.
The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead when Matt Nuzzo hit a solo homer off Reds’ starter Nate Beck in the bottom of the first. The Reds tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the second. Josh Miller led of with a flare double off Nuzzo’s glove down the right field line and came around to score when Peter Copa airmailed a throw to third, trying to double up Miller after an infield grounder.
It looked like it could be the Chiefs night when they used three Watertown errors, a Juan Portes double, and a Leivi Ventura RBI single, to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning.
It was not to be when the wheels came off the Chiefs’ wagon in the top of the fourth. The Reds sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs, despite getting only two hits. Walsh experienced sudden wildness, walking four batters, hitting another, and giving up big doubles to Ben Johnston and Dan Chaisson in between. When the smoke cleared, the Reds had chased Walsh and had a 6-3 lead. Injured staff ace Jared Freni gamely came out of the Chiefs' bullpen in an attempt to relieve Walsh. But after throwing just two pitches something apparently gave out and Freni was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be an upper leg injury. Rookie Jack Fargo took his warmups from the mound after Freni’s departure and kept the Chiefs in the game for the time being when he got Logan Gillis on a long fly ball to Tony Serino, with two men on, to retire the side.
Beck walked Shane Stande to open the bottom of the fourth and was relieved by southpaw Nate Espelin. Serino greeted Espelin with a line single but the Chiefs’ last real threat of the night went by the boards when Nuzzo grounded into a doubleplay and Ben Waldrip flew out to deep left.
Fargo worked a sharp top of the fifth, aided by a doubleplay, and Espelin only allowed a two single to Ventura in the bottom of the inning.
The Reds put the dagger in the Chiefs’ season in the top of the sixth. A leadoff double by Sean Callahan-Montague, followed by a line single from Steve Tramontozzi, set the Reds up with runners on second and third with nobody out. The left-handed Waldrip replaced Fargo and a Kyle LaVigne single made it 8-3. A batter later Will Breenan put the game out of reach with a two-run homer to center that accounted for the 10-3 final.
Chiefs Chatter…..The Reds-Merchants best of five series will start on Tuesday at Trum Field at 8:15 PM….Alibrandis beat the Reading Bulldogs 7-3 to win that series 2-1 and advance to meet the Blue Sox in Lexington also on Tuesday…..Watch for the Chiefs’ season ending recap which is coming soon….
The Watertown Reds unceremoniously brought the curtain down on the Chiefs’ disappointing 2018 season with a convincing 10-3 win on Sunday night at Maplewood. With the win, the Reds sweep the best of three series 2-0 and will now advance to meet the #2 seeded Wakefield Merchants starting Tuesday in the semi-final round.
For the Chiefs and their injury riddled pitching staff, it was their earliest exit from the ICL playoffs in over a decade. For the franchise, it was only the third time in 53 years that they concluded a season with a sub .500 record, ending up the campaign at 14-17. The only other losing marks in Chiefs’ seasons past were in 2006 and 2007 when they returned to the ICL with one of the youngest teams in league history after taking a two year hiatus.
Now to Sunday’s game.
The Chiefs actually held early leads of 1-0 and 3-1 before the Reds’ rallied and took advantage of some Evan Walsh wildness, with a couple of clutch doubles mixed in, to score five times in the fourth inning. They then added four more runs in the sixth, to take the series clinching win in going away fashion.
The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead when Matt Nuzzo hit a solo homer off Reds’ starter Nate Beck in the bottom of the first. The Reds tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the second. Josh Miller led of with a flare double off Nuzzo’s glove down the right field line and came around to score when Peter Copa airmailed a throw to third, trying to double up Miller after an infield grounder.
It looked like it could be the Chiefs night when they used three Watertown errors, a Juan Portes double, and a Leivi Ventura RBI single, to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning.
It was not to be when the wheels came off the Chiefs’ wagon in the top of the fourth. The Reds sent 10 men to the plate and scored five runs, despite getting only two hits. Walsh experienced sudden wildness, walking four batters, hitting another, and giving up big doubles to Ben Johnston and Dan Chaisson in between. When the smoke cleared, the Reds had chased Walsh and had a 6-3 lead. Injured staff ace Jared Freni gamely came out of the Chiefs' bullpen in an attempt to relieve Walsh. But after throwing just two pitches something apparently gave out and Freni was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be an upper leg injury. Rookie Jack Fargo took his warmups from the mound after Freni’s departure and kept the Chiefs in the game for the time being when he got Logan Gillis on a long fly ball to Tony Serino, with two men on, to retire the side.
Beck walked Shane Stande to open the bottom of the fourth and was relieved by southpaw Nate Espelin. Serino greeted Espelin with a line single but the Chiefs’ last real threat of the night went by the boards when Nuzzo grounded into a doubleplay and Ben Waldrip flew out to deep left.
Fargo worked a sharp top of the fifth, aided by a doubleplay, and Espelin only allowed a two single to Ventura in the bottom of the inning.
The Reds put the dagger in the Chiefs’ season in the top of the sixth. A leadoff double by Sean Callahan-Montague, followed by a line single from Steve Tramontozzi, set the Reds up with runners on second and third with nobody out. The left-handed Waldrip replaced Fargo and a Kyle LaVigne single made it 8-3. A batter later Will Breenan put the game out of reach with a two-run homer to center that accounted for the 10-3 final.
Chiefs Chatter…..The Reds-Merchants best of five series will start on Tuesday at Trum Field at 8:15 PM….Alibrandis beat the Reading Bulldogs 7-3 to win that series 2-1 and advance to meet the Blue Sox in Lexington also on Tuesday…..Watch for the Chiefs’ season ending recap which is coming soon….
Watertown Takes Series Lead with 6-3 Win at Victory Field
Posted by Andre Chiefs at Aug 9, 2018 5:00PM PDT
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Watertown, MA- The Reds scored three times in each of the third and fourth innings to take game one of their best of three series with the Chiefs 6-3 on Thursday night at Victory Field. The Chiefs now face a must win game when they host game two at Maplewood on Sunday night.
Chiefs’ starter Mitchell Clegg and the Reds’ Worth Walrod tossed zeros over the first two innings.
The Chiefs took a short-lived 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on singles from Shane Stande, Matt Nuzzo, and Johnny Welch. The Reds escaped further damage when Nuzzo got caught between second and third on nice block of a pitch by catcher Jake Miller before being picked off diving back to second to end the inning with Juan Portes at the plate.
The Reds took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Steve Tramontozzi led off with a single to right and came around to score on Kyle LaVigne’s long double. Ben Johnston then followed with another single to make it 2-1 Reds. Johnson scored the Reds third run of the inning when Miller’s hard-hit grounder skipped past shortstop Nate Witkowski.
A Will Breenan two run triple, a sacrifice fly from Johnston, and another Chiefs error, led to three more runs and a 6-1 lead in the Watertown fourth.
Walrod and Chiefs’ relievers David Kerns and Ben Waldrip kept the game at 6-1 until the Chiefs scored a couple of runs and made a late run when they brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh. Stande singled with one out and pinch-hitter Erick Ramirez drew a walk. Dan Haverty replaced Walrod and Nuzzo greeted him with a line single that loaded the bases. Waldrip was next and grounded to second for out number two with Stande scoring to make it 6-2. Welch then singled to left scoring Raimirez and cutting the lead to 6-3. With Portes at the plate representing the tying run, Haverty got him to line out to Gillis at second base to end the game.
Walrod went 6.1 innings to get the win. He was charged with all three runs, gave up seven hits, and struck out five. Clegg worked four innings and was tagged with the loss. He allowed six runs (four earned), seven hits, and struck out six.
Chiefs Chatter….Game two of the series will be played at Maplewood/Malden Catholic on Sunday at 8:00 PM. If the Chiefs win, game three will be contested back in Watertown on Monday at 7:30 PM……In Thursday’s other first round game, the Reading Bulldogs got a five-hit shutout from Jack Burke to blank Alibrandis 6-0. Game two of that series will be played at Morelli Field in Melrose on Friday night at 8:00 PM…..
Dunphy Pitching, Waldrip 7 RBI's, Give Chiefs 12-3 Play-in Game Win
Posted by Chiefs Baseball at Aug 8, 2018 5:00PM PDT
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Malden, MA- The Chiefs had to overcome a 3-0 first inning hole, and then some hostile weather, to take a 12-3 win over the Melrose Americans in an elimination play-in game at Maplewood on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Chiefs advance and will now move on to play the Watertown Reds in a best of three series that starts tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 PM at Victory Field.
The game was twice delayed by rain and lightning in the top of the first inning. The first delay lasted 15 minutes with the second delay stretching over an hour.
After the prolonged top of the first inning that went on for nearly two hours, the evening turned into the Tim Dunphy and Ben Waldrip show.
Following the first stoppage of play, the Americans took a 2-0 lead off Chiefs' starter Jared Freni on singles by Malcolm Nachmanoff, John Jennings and Dave Center. With runners on first and third with two outs, the game was halted and tarps went on for a second time at 8:40 PM. When play finally resumed a little before 9:50 PM, the Chiefs opted to go to lefty Tim Dunphy to complete the first inning. Charlie Huegi greeted him with a single and the Americans had a 3-0 lead.
The Chiefs finally got their first turn at bat and quickly tied the game up at 3-3. Chris Mitchell, who obviously felt the effects of warming up nearly two hours before he threw a pitch in the game, walked Tony Serino and Matt Nuzzo in succession. Waldrip was next and he tied things up with a three-run shot to center.
Dunphy and Mitchell worked a scoreless second inning and the Chiefs took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. Doubles from Nuzzo, Waldrip and Leivi Ventura put the Chiefs out in front 5-3.
The Americans mounted their only threat against Dunphy in the top of the fourth. Huegi led off with his second straight single and Matt Hosman drew a walk. Dan Cacciola then moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Casey Santos-Ocampo then hit a fly to Serino in center with Huegi tagging and apparently scoring on the play. The Chiefs bench immediately thought Huegi left early and when Dunphy walked over and stepped on third and appealed, the run was erased and they had themselves a big inning ending doubleplay.
The Chiefs put the game away when they sent eleven men to the plate and scored five more times to make it a 10-3 game in the bottom of the fourth. A Nate Witkowski lead off double, singles from Serino, Waldrip and Johnny Welch, and walks to Shane Stande, Juan Portes, Ventura, and Witkowski, led to the runs off Mitchell and reliever Shawn Smeglin.
The Chiefs added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on consecutive singles from Serino, Nuzzo and Waldrip, and a Welch sacrifice fly, off the Americans’ third pitcher of the night Aram Hamilton-Grenham.
Dunphy allowed just four singles in his 6.1 innings. He retired the last seven in row, and eleven of the last twelve batters he faced. He got the Melrose side in order in the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Chiefs Chatter….Waldrip finished the night 4-4 with seven RBI’s….Dunphy picked up his 46th career win in a Chiefs uniform and his 10th postseason victory….The two hour plus first inning, with two delays, had to be one of the longest in ICL history…..The game actually moved along pretty well and despite the stoppages concluded at 11:17 PM…..
With the win, the Chiefs advance and will now move on to play the Watertown Reds in a best of three series that starts tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 PM at Victory Field.
The game was twice delayed by rain and lightning in the top of the first inning. The first delay lasted 15 minutes with the second delay stretching over an hour.
After the prolonged top of the first inning that went on for nearly two hours, the evening turned into the Tim Dunphy and Ben Waldrip show.
Following the first stoppage of play, the Americans took a 2-0 lead off Chiefs' starter Jared Freni on singles by Malcolm Nachmanoff, John Jennings and Dave Center. With runners on first and third with two outs, the game was halted and tarps went on for a second time at 8:40 PM. When play finally resumed a little before 9:50 PM, the Chiefs opted to go to lefty Tim Dunphy to complete the first inning. Charlie Huegi greeted him with a single and the Americans had a 3-0 lead.
The Chiefs finally got their first turn at bat and quickly tied the game up at 3-3. Chris Mitchell, who obviously felt the effects of warming up nearly two hours before he threw a pitch in the game, walked Tony Serino and Matt Nuzzo in succession. Waldrip was next and he tied things up with a three-run shot to center.
Dunphy and Mitchell worked a scoreless second inning and the Chiefs took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. Doubles from Nuzzo, Waldrip and Leivi Ventura put the Chiefs out in front 5-3.
The Americans mounted their only threat against Dunphy in the top of the fourth. Huegi led off with his second straight single and Matt Hosman drew a walk. Dan Cacciola then moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Casey Santos-Ocampo then hit a fly to Serino in center with Huegi tagging and apparently scoring on the play. The Chiefs bench immediately thought Huegi left early and when Dunphy walked over and stepped on third and appealed, the run was erased and they had themselves a big inning ending doubleplay.
The Chiefs put the game away when they sent eleven men to the plate and scored five more times to make it a 10-3 game in the bottom of the fourth. A Nate Witkowski lead off double, singles from Serino, Waldrip and Johnny Welch, and walks to Shane Stande, Juan Portes, Ventura, and Witkowski, led to the runs off Mitchell and reliever Shawn Smeglin.
The Chiefs added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on consecutive singles from Serino, Nuzzo and Waldrip, and a Welch sacrifice fly, off the Americans’ third pitcher of the night Aram Hamilton-Grenham.
Dunphy allowed just four singles in his 6.1 innings. He retired the last seven in row, and eleven of the last twelve batters he faced. He got the Melrose side in order in the third, sixth and seventh innings.
Chiefs Chatter….Waldrip finished the night 4-4 with seven RBI’s….Dunphy picked up his 46th career win in a Chiefs uniform and his 10th postseason victory….The two hour plus first inning, with two delays, had to be one of the longest in ICL history…..The game actually moved along pretty well and despite the stoppages concluded at 11:17 PM…..
ICL Playoff Update, Chiefs Host Americans in Wednesday Play-in Game
Posted by Chiefs Baseball at Aug 5, 2018 5:00PM PDT
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(Courtesy of www.intercityleaguebaseball.com) Updated Tuesday, Aug. 7 10:02 PM
HERE ARE THE 2018 ICL PLAYOFF SEEDS:
1. Lexington Blue Sox
2. Wakefield Merchants
3. Watertown Reds
4. Alibrandis
5. Reading Bulldogs
6. Melrose Americans/Andre Chiefs (Winner of Wednesday’s Play-In Game)
The Lexington Blue Sox, Wakefield Merchants, Watertown Reds, Alibrandis and the Reading Bulldogs have all secured playoff berths with Lexington and Wakefield earning first round byes.
The Melrose Americans and Andre Chiefs, who both finished the regular season at 13-15 and split their season series 2-2, will meet in a one game play-in on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM at Maplewood Park/Malden Catholic. The Chiefs won a coin toss on Monday that determined the home team.
The winner of the Americans-Chiefs game will become the #6 seed and move on to play the #3 seeded Watertown Reds at Victory Field in game one of a best of three series on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. Game two of that series will be played on Sunday at a time and location TBA.
The Alibrandis-Reading series will also begin on Thursday night at a site TBA, with Alibrandis being the home team. Alibrandis took the #4 seed by virtue of their 10-1 win over Reading on Monday night. Game two of this series will be played on Friday at a time and location TBA.
The ICL’s best of five semi-final series are expected to begin early next week with Lexington and Wakefield hosting the opening games. .
HERE ARE THE 2018 ICL PLAYOFF SEEDS:
1. Lexington Blue Sox
2. Wakefield Merchants
3. Watertown Reds
4. Alibrandis
5. Reading Bulldogs
6. Melrose Americans/Andre Chiefs (Winner of Wednesday’s Play-In Game)
The Lexington Blue Sox, Wakefield Merchants, Watertown Reds, Alibrandis and the Reading Bulldogs have all secured playoff berths with Lexington and Wakefield earning first round byes.
The Melrose Americans and Andre Chiefs, who both finished the regular season at 13-15 and split their season series 2-2, will meet in a one game play-in on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM at Maplewood Park/Malden Catholic. The Chiefs won a coin toss on Monday that determined the home team.
The winner of the Americans-Chiefs game will become the #6 seed and move on to play the #3 seeded Watertown Reds at Victory Field in game one of a best of three series on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. Game two of that series will be played on Sunday at a time and location TBA.
The Alibrandis-Reading series will also begin on Thursday night at a site TBA, with Alibrandis being the home team. Alibrandis took the #4 seed by virtue of their 10-1 win over Reading on Monday night. Game two of this series will be played on Friday at a time and location TBA.
The ICL’s best of five semi-final series are expected to begin early next week with Lexington and Wakefield hosting the opening games. .
Reds Edge Chiefs 4-3 in Watertown
Posted by Chiefs Baseball at Aug 4, 2018 5:00PM PDT
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Watertown, MA- The Watertown Reds scored an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth inning, to break a 3-3 tie, and went on to edge the Chiefs 4-3 on Sunday night at Victory Field.
With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 13-15 on the season and into a sixth place tie with the Melrose Americans. As a result, the Americans and Chiefs will meet at 8:00 PM on Wednesday night, at a site to be announced, in a one game play-in. The winner will advance as the sixth seed and meet the third seeded Reds in the best two of three first round. The loser of the play-in game will be eliminated from the postseason.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead against Chiefs’ starter Evan Walsh in the bottom of the first. Kyle LaVigne led off with a single to left, stole second, and scored on Will Brennan’s double to left-center. Brennan went to third on a Logan Gillis groundout and scored on a strange wild pitch. Catcher Shane Stande made a nice block of a Walsh pitch in the dirt but the ball bounced back toward Walsh. His attempted flip back to Stande was late as Brennan slid across the plate with the second run.
The Chiefs scored all of their runs to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. After Johnny Welch flew out to left, Juan Portes singled and Leivi Ventura doubled off Reds’ starter Sean Mahan. A Peter Copa single to left then scored Portes to make it 2-1. Nate Witkowski’s long sacrifice fly to center then easily scored Ventura to tie the game at 2-2. Tony Serino followed and dropped a perfect bunt toward third. Mike Samko’s throw was both late and high, with Serino reaching first on the bunt single, and Copa coming across the plate on the throwing error to give the Chiefs their only lead of the night at 3-2.
The Reds quickly tied things up against Walsh in the home half of the third. Walsh hit Brennan with a pitch with one out. After Gillis flew out to Serino in center for out number two, consecutive singles from Dan Chaisson and Jake Miller tied the game at three each.
Walsh and Reds’ reliever Matt Wesoloski got the respective sides in order in the fourth.
The Chiefs went down against Wesoloski on three straight groundouts in the top of fifth.
The Reds threatened to take the lead and managed to chase Walsh in the bottom of the inning. Bryan McGrath led off with a pinch-hit single before Walsh got Brennan swinging at a third strike for the first out. When Gillis laced a single, the Reds had runners on second and third with one out. Enter Tim Dunphy who immediately got Chaisson to ground into a 6-4-3 doubleplay to end the inning and keep the game tied at 3-3.
Reliever Nate Esplin issued a couple of walks to Welch and Ventura in the top of the sixth but the Chiefs couldn’t score.
The Reds got the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Singles by Justin Forman and Blasé Cormier put Reds’ runners on first and second with one out. Steve Tramontozzi then hit a broken bat grounder back to Dunphy which had the makings of an inning ending 1-6-3 doubleplay ball. When Dunphy’s throw to second went into centerfield, Forman came across with the Reds’ fourth run.
Esplin allowed a two out single to Serino in the top of the seventh but ended the Chiefs’ night when he got Erick Ramirez on a fly ball to LaVigne in center.
Chiefs Chatter…..Walsh went 4.1 innings, allowed eight hits, and struck out seven. Dunphy, who allowed the one unearned run, fell to 2-2 on the year….The Chiefs only had five hits in the game with four of those coming in the third inning.....
With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 13-15 on the season and into a sixth place tie with the Melrose Americans. As a result, the Americans and Chiefs will meet at 8:00 PM on Wednesday night, at a site to be announced, in a one game play-in. The winner will advance as the sixth seed and meet the third seeded Reds in the best two of three first round. The loser of the play-in game will be eliminated from the postseason.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead against Chiefs’ starter Evan Walsh in the bottom of the first. Kyle LaVigne led off with a single to left, stole second, and scored on Will Brennan’s double to left-center. Brennan went to third on a Logan Gillis groundout and scored on a strange wild pitch. Catcher Shane Stande made a nice block of a Walsh pitch in the dirt but the ball bounced back toward Walsh. His attempted flip back to Stande was late as Brennan slid across the plate with the second run.
The Chiefs scored all of their runs to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. After Johnny Welch flew out to left, Juan Portes singled and Leivi Ventura doubled off Reds’ starter Sean Mahan. A Peter Copa single to left then scored Portes to make it 2-1. Nate Witkowski’s long sacrifice fly to center then easily scored Ventura to tie the game at 2-2. Tony Serino followed and dropped a perfect bunt toward third. Mike Samko’s throw was both late and high, with Serino reaching first on the bunt single, and Copa coming across the plate on the throwing error to give the Chiefs their only lead of the night at 3-2.
The Reds quickly tied things up against Walsh in the home half of the third. Walsh hit Brennan with a pitch with one out. After Gillis flew out to Serino in center for out number two, consecutive singles from Dan Chaisson and Jake Miller tied the game at three each.
Walsh and Reds’ reliever Matt Wesoloski got the respective sides in order in the fourth.
The Chiefs went down against Wesoloski on three straight groundouts in the top of fifth.
The Reds threatened to take the lead and managed to chase Walsh in the bottom of the inning. Bryan McGrath led off with a pinch-hit single before Walsh got Brennan swinging at a third strike for the first out. When Gillis laced a single, the Reds had runners on second and third with one out. Enter Tim Dunphy who immediately got Chaisson to ground into a 6-4-3 doubleplay to end the inning and keep the game tied at 3-3.
Reliever Nate Esplin issued a couple of walks to Welch and Ventura in the top of the sixth but the Chiefs couldn’t score.
The Reds got the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Singles by Justin Forman and Blasé Cormier put Reds’ runners on first and second with one out. Steve Tramontozzi then hit a broken bat grounder back to Dunphy which had the makings of an inning ending 1-6-3 doubleplay ball. When Dunphy’s throw to second went into centerfield, Forman came across with the Reds’ fourth run.
Esplin allowed a two out single to Serino in the top of the seventh but ended the Chiefs’ night when he got Erick Ramirez on a fly ball to LaVigne in center.
Chiefs Chatter…..Walsh went 4.1 innings, allowed eight hits, and struck out seven. Dunphy, who allowed the one unearned run, fell to 2-2 on the year….The Chiefs only had five hits in the game with four of those coming in the third inning.....
