Andre Chiefs

Reading, MA- The Chiefs fortunately haven't experienced too many "tough to take" losses over the past several years. Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Reading Bulldogs may have go to the top of that list.

In a game where they were issued no less than 10 walks, and two others reached via the hit batsman route, the Chiefs still managed to lose leads of 4-1 and 7-2, helped by some inopportune defense, before finally succumbing to a five run Bulldog rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to come away from Morton Field empty handed.

The teams traded runs in the first inning, the Chiefs' tally coming on a bases loaded walk to Steve Gambale, and the Bulldogs' coming when starter Sam Kasten threw away a pickoff attempt.

It stayed a 1-1 game until the top of the fourth when Peter Copa unloaded on a Tim Woods pitch for a three run homer, scoring Billy Mottram (error) and Tony Serino (walk) in front of him, for a 4-1 Chiefs' lead.

Reading cut a run off the lead and closed to 4-2 in the bottom of inning on singles from Hank Oringer and Kyle Devin and an RBI groundout from Corey DiLoretto.

The Chiefs opened up thier lead to 7-2 with three more runs in the top of the fifth on singles from Gambale, Mike Andre, Mike DiCato, and Ryan Sonberg.

Reading picked up a run to make it 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Rosario Missiti and Devin, and a double by Darren Hartwell, before Tim Dunphy replaced Kasten on the mound for the Chiefs and got the final out of the inning.

The Chiefs couldn't capitalize on a Juan Portes leadoff double in the top of the sixth and the Bulldogs came back to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Things started harmlessly enough when Dunphy got Zac Talis to fly to Mike DiCato in right for the first out. Two singles from DiLoretto and Steve Busby followed before Dunphy got Missiti to ground out for the second out. Johnny Hayes then beat out an infield roller to short, scoring DiLoretto to make it 7-4. Two more hits by Mike DeDonato and Hartwell cut the lead to 7-6 and put runners at second and third with two outs. Anthony Sullivan came out of the Chiefs' bullpen and got Oringer to bounce to Portes at third but the throw to first was low and skipped by Copa allowing two runs to score and putting the Bulldogs in front 8-7. Jack Burke kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh to record the save.

Dunphy (3-1-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season. He went one inning, gave up five runs (three earned) and five hits. Kasten worked the first 4.2 innings, was charged with two earned runs, allowed six hits, struck out one, and walked two. Sullivan (0.1 innings) got the final out of the sixth. 

Chiefs Chatter.....The 13-6-1 Chiefs host the Arlington Trojans on Monday at Maplewood starting at 8:15 PM.....They are off on Tuesday and return to Maplewood on Wednesday to meet the Lexington Blue Sox.......
Courtesy Jim Valente & Steve Hartwell

Malden, MA- For the second time in three nights the Chiefs rallied for a walk-off win at Maplewood. Following Monday's 6-5 extra inning score against the Melrose Americans, the Chiefs were down to their final out last night, erasing Reading leads of 4-1, 5-3 and 7-6, and finally taking a dramatic 8-7 win, thanks to the two out heroics of Nate Witkowski and Mike Barbati.

The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead from Reading starter Jack Burke in the first, without the benefit of a hit, on a couple of infield errors and a Juan Portes RBI groundout.

Rookie starter Anthony DeSouza, who is bound for URI, was impressive over the first 3.2 innings while holding the Bulldogs' offense scoreless.

It was still 1-0 Chiefs when trouble began to brew with two outs in the fourth. Kyle Devin tripled off the base of the fence in left and scored on a Zac Talis single. E.J. Martinez followed with a line single to right, and when the ball skipped by Tony Deshler on the field turf for a two base error, Talis scored to give the Bulldogs the lead and Martinez ended up at third. DeSouza then walked Mike Taylor, and he stole second. Chris Bosco delivered both Martinez and Taylor, and gave Reading a 4-1 lead, with a sharp single to right.

Singles from Portes, Witkowski, and Barbati, and a Ryan Sonberg double, closed the gap to 4-3 in the Chiefs' fourth.

Reading answered back with a run and chased DeSouza in the top of the fifth. Darren Hartwell's one out double and Devin's single to center gave the Bulldogs the lead at 5-3. Mike DiCato came out of the Chiefs' bullpen and recorded a big strikeout when he got Talis swinging, with Devin at third, to keep it a two run deficit.

The Chiefs came all the way back to take a 6-5 advantage, scoring three times after two were out, in the bottom of the fifth inning. Portes was hit by a Burke pitch and Peter Copa walked. The Chiefs caught a big break when Martinez threw away Jordan Pallazola's grounder to short allowing Portes to score. Singles from Sonberg and Witkowski accounted for two more runs and a 6-5 Chiefs lead heading into the top of the sixth.

The lead didn't last long as the Bulldogs reached DiCato for two runs to pull back in front. Martinez made immediate amends and led off with a double. Following an infield out that send Martinez to third, Rosario Missiti drew a walk and stole second. Veteran pinch-hitter Steve Busby then put Reading back in the lead with a hard single to right. Cam Farnum came on to run for Busby and he was thrown out by Pallazola attempting to steal second before DiCato got Mike DeDonato to line to Deshler in right to end the inning.

Reliever Colby Morris made easy work of the Chiefs in the bottom of the sixth.

DiCato was aided by a Witkowski unassisted to Copa inning ending doubleplay in the top of the seventh, after walking Hank Oringer.

Morris set the stage for the upcoming dramatics when he hit Copa with a pitch to begin the Chiefs' seventh before giving way to Cody Hall. Pallazola grounded out to Missiti at third for the first out with Copa moving to third on the throw. Sonberg then hit another grounder to Missiti, freezing Copa at third, before he threw out Sonberg at first on a nice pick-up by Taylor. Down to their last out, Witkowski, who provided a walk off win on Monday, once again came up big and lined a single to left-center, scoring Copa, to knot the game at 7-7. It didn't stay that way for long as Barbati dropped a double just inside the rightfield line that scored Witkowski all the way from first with the game winner.

DiCato got the win and improved his record to 3-1 on the season. The veteran righty went 2.1 innings, allowed two runs, two hits, and also struck out two. DeSouza worked the first 4.2 innings, was charged with five runs, gave up seven hits, struck out five (including the side in order in the third), and walked two. Hall (2-1) was tagged with the loss for Reading.

CHIEFS CHATTER.....The 13-5-1 Chiefs are now off until Sunday when they will travel to Morton Field at Reading High School for a rematch with the Bulldogs at 5:00 PM.....In other ICL action on Wednesday, Lexington beat Watertown 4-1, Melrose topped Arlington 11-3, and Somerville handled Wakefield 8-5.....
Courtesy Jim Valente

Malden, MA- Nate Witkowski's one out single to right-center in the bottom of ninth scored pinch-runner Danny DiMare with the game winner when the Chiefs came all the way back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Melrose Americans 6-5 on Monday night at Maplewood. 

Southpaw Tim Dunphy's sparkling 6.1 innings of relief pitching allowed his mates the time to tie the game in the fifth inning and win it in their last at bat.

The Chiefs took a short lived 1-0 off Melrose starter Shawn Smeglin in the home half of the first on a Mike Burgoyne triple and a Billy Mottram RBI double.

After a scoreless second, the Americans took the lead in the top of the third when Isaiah Berg hit a three run shot to left-center off Chiefs' starter Sam Kasten, scoring Tom Petry (walk) and Nick Herzog (single) ahead of him.

Smeglin kept the hosts off the board in the bottom of the third and the Americans scored a couple of more runs off Dunphy in the top of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Singles from Austin Masel, Petry, Herzog, and Christian Rosati, along with a throwing error, accounted for the runs.

The Chiefs answered with three runs off Smeglin and reliever Brendan McDonough in the bottom of the fourth to close within a run. Mike Andre and Witkowski both drew walks and Tony Serino's two out, two RBI double to left-center, along with an Americans' error, made it a 5-4 game.

Dunphy began to assume control in the top of the fifth and the Chiefs tied things up in the bottom of the inning. Singles from Jordan Pallazola and Tony Deshler, another Melrose error, and an RBI fielder's choice from Witkowski, tied the game up at 5-5.

The game remained scoreless over the next three innings until the Chiefs won it in the ninth. Pallazola led off with a single to left and DiMare pinch ran. Deshler then bunted DiMare to second and Sonberg was intentionally walked. Witkowski drilled a 1-1 pitch into the right-centerfield gap to easily score DiMare with the game winner.

Dunphy was lights out after the fourth inning, facing just one batter over the minimum. He got the Americans in order in the fifth and sixth, allowed a one out single to Rosati, who was erased on an inning ending doubleplay, in the seventh, and retired the side in order again in the eighth. In the Melrose ninth, Dunphy walked Anthony Licardello who got caught in a rundown after a missed sacrifice bunt attempt by Masel. After Masel eventually grounded out, Petry singled, before Dunphy got Herzog to flyout.

Smeglin went the first 3.2 innings for the Americans, striking out six, before giving way to McDonough. Rosati took the loss despite allowing just one run and two singles in 3.1 innings. Kasten worked the first 2.2 innings for the Chiefs and gave up three earned runs.

Chiefs Chatter..... The 12-4-1 Chiefs travel to Trum Field in Somerville to meet the Royals on Tuesday at 8:15 PM before returning home on Wednesday to host the Reading Bulldogs...Juan Portes returned to the lineup for the first time this season and had a first inning single....Both Kasten and Dunphy threw two innings for the ICL on Saturday in the EMASS All-Star Classic....
Courtesy Jim Valante

Somerville, MA- For the second time this season the Chiefs made the short trek to Trum Field and for the second time they came away empty. The Somerville Royals, who beat the Chiefs 6-2 on June 21, turned the trick again at the ancient ballyard, this time led by the "bend but don't break" pitching of Chuck Gibson on the way to a 3-1 win on Tuesday night.

The watchword on this night for Chiefs' loyalists was "frustration." 

Offensively the Chiefs managed to strand a dozen, had two runners thrown out at third base, and saw the Royals pitching duo of Gibson and Cal Carroll throw four inning ending strikeouts. 

Defensively, they saw a "lost in the twilight sky triple" and an infield groundout out lead to Somerville's first run with the second run coming on a sacrifice bunt that went for a single and fielder's choice, and then handed the Royals their third run on a two out infield error followed by a misplayed fly ball.

Wasted in all of the above was a pretty solid pitching performance from lefty Mitchell Clegg and a three for three night from Tony Deshler.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in bottom of the first when Jake Cintolo hit a fly ball down the right field line that was never seen off the bat by Mike Burgoyne and went for a triple. Wagner Gomez got an RBI when Cintolo scored on a high infield chopper.

The lead went to 2-0 in the Royals second. Drew Carter drew a walk and Luke Ronchi singled to right. Player-Manager Jim McConville then dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt that got by Clegg toward second base and went for a single to load the bases with no outs. After Clegg struck out Adam Johnson for the first out, the Chiefs came up a half step short of escaping the inning when B.J. Neil just beat out the back end of a 5-4-3 doubleplay attempt.

It went to 3-0 in the third. Cintolo led off with a single but was erased at second when Gomez bounced into a 1-6-4-3 doubleplay off Clegg's glove. George Crowley then reached on an error by Deshler at second and scored when Ryan Sonberg misplayed Carter's warning track fly ball to left into a double.

To recap the scoring chances the Chiefs had would require volumes. Their only run came in the top of the seventh, and even that came with frustration. Jordan Pallazolla doubled into the right-centerfield gap, scoring Peter Copa who had walked, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple.

Gibson (1-2), picked up his first win of the year. He went 5.2 scoreless innings, gave up six hits, walked five, struck out seven, and was tough when he had to be. Carroll chaked up the 1.1 inning save.

Clegg (2-3), allowed six hits (three to Cintolo), two earned runs, struck out eight, and walked just one.

Chiefs Chatter....The now 12-5-1 Chiefs host the Reading Bulldogs at Maplewood on Wednesday in an 8:15 PM start...In other Tuesday action, the Watertown Reds beat the Blue Sox 6-3 in Lexington....
Bruce Tillman, File Photo

Melrose, MA- Six Chiefs' players will join all-star Coach Anthony Durkee on the roster when the Intercity League takes on the Boston Park League in Game One of the Fifth Annual Eastern Massachusetts All-Star Classic today at Morelli Field.

Representing the Chiefs, along with Durkee, are outfielders Mike Burgoyne, Tony Serino, and Danny DiMare, pitchers Tim Dunphy and Sam Kasten, and catcher Jordan Pallazola.

The ICL-BPL game begins at 1:00 PM with the Cranberry League-Yawkey League contest to follow at 4:30 PM. The winners of the first two games will play for the championship at 7:30 PM.

Admission to the event is $5.00.