Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- Mitchell Clegg overcame a arduous begining, allowing two runs and five hits over the first two innings, before throwing four straight scoreless frames of one hit baseball to allow the Chiefs to rally past the Lexington Blue Sox 6-3 on Wednesday night at Maplewood. With their eighth win in the last nine games, the now 9-2 Chiefs maintain sole possession of first place in the ICL.

Both Clegg and Blue Sox starter Aidan Freeburg tossed blanks in the first inning before Lexington took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Dorian Rojas deposited the first pitch he saw from Clegg over the right-centerfield fence for a 1-0 lead. Singles by Kevin Davis and Alex Voitik, sandwiched around a walk to Tom Russo, loaded the bases with nobody out. Josh Hassel then hit a long sacrifice fly to left, scoring Davis and putting the Sox up by two. Clegg got the inning's second out when he struck out Jeff Vigurs. Ross Curley was next and he hit a fielder's choice grounder into the shortstop hole on which Voitik beat Steve Gambale's throw to second to re-load the bases. Clegg got a big out and kept the deficit at two runs when Justin Silvestro hit a sharp grounder to Mike Barbati at second.

The Chiefs cut the margin in half in to 2-1 the bottom of the second when Jordan Pallazola led off the inning with his second homer of the season to center.

After Clegg breezed through the top of the third his mates took advantage of some uncharacteristicly generous Lexington defense to take the lead in bottom of the inning. Singles by Mike Burgoyne and Gambale along with two Blue Sox infield errors handed the Chiefs a couple of runs and a 3-2 lead.  

Clegg retired the side in order in the top of fourth. Singles from Barbati and Gambale, two more Lexington errors, and a triple from Danny DiMare, accounted for three more runs and 6-2 Chiefs' lead at the end of four.

Clegg and Lexington reliever Alsis Herrera kept it a 6-2 score as the game moved to the top of the seventh.

Nate Witkowski turned in the defensive gem of the night when he gloved a Ryan McCarthy missle to shortstop and threw him out at first leading off the seventh. Jeff Vigurs followed and singled to center before Clegg put the Sox down to their last out when he got Curley to fly to Serino in center. Lexington would not go easy as Silvestro drilled a triple into the rightfield corner, scoring Vigurs, to cut the lead to 6-3. Anthony Sullivan came out of the Chiefs' bullpen and walked Julian Alvarez on a close full count pitch, and then Rojas, to load the bases and bring Davis to the plate representing the go-ahead run. The former Bates standout ran the count to 2-2 before Sullivan struck him out swinging with a fastball to seal the win.

Clegg (2-0) struck out three and allowed seven hits, only two after the second inning. The Former Washington Nationals' left-hander threw 97 pitches, 65 for strikes, in his 6.2 innings. Freeberg (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season.

Somerville, MA- Kevin Sinatra, Wyatt Stanley and Cal Carroll held the offense to just four hits, and their infield turned three doubleplays, in a 6-2 Royals win on Tuesday night at Trum Field. In the process Somerville snapped the Chiefs' lCL best winning streak at seven games. 

The Royals struck for three runs in the bottom of the second off starter Mike DiCato. Singles from Adam Johnson, Paul Pollano and Sean McPhee, along with a Wagner Gomez gap shot triple to left-centerfield, gave them a 3-0 lead.

The Chiefs answered with their only two runs of the night in the top of the third. Steve Gambale singled to right-center, and after Mike Barbati bounced back to Sinatra and Mike Burgoyne struck out, Tony Serino doubled into the leftfield corner, scoring Gambale, to make it a 3-1 game. Sinatra issued then issued three consecutive walks to Danny DiMare, Billy Mottram, and Peter Copa, forcing in a run, but the Chiefs drew no closer than 3-2 when Mike Andre flew to right, ending the inning.

The Royals had an answer with two more runs of their own in the bottom of the third to re-take a three run lead at 5-2. Player-Manager Jim McConville led off with a double off the leftfield fence. Catcher George Crowley followed and made it 4-2 with single to center. Crowley stole second and went to third when the throw went into centerfield. He came around to score on Johnson's second single of the night, giving the Royals a 5-2 lead.

The Chiefs had some chances to draw closer. Jordan Pallazola led off the fourth with a walk but Sinatra got Gambale to bounce into a doubleplay. Mike Barbati worked the second walk of the inning but Sinatra caught Burgoyne looking to end the frame. They loaded the bases with one out in the fifth when Danny DiMare beat out a bunt single and Mottram and Copa drew consecutive walks. Lefty Wyatt Stanley spelled Sinatra on the mound and kept the lead intact when he struck out both Andre and Pallazola in succession. One more chance went by the boards in the top of the sixth when Gambale singled but was erased when Stanley got Barbati to ground into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. The Chiefs got another two out runner on base in the inning when Stanley walked Burgoyne but it stayed 5-2 when he got Serino on a pop-up and DiMare on a groundout.

Somerville got another run in the bottom of the sixth. B.J. Neil led off with a single and scored on Luke Ronchi's RBI double to make the score 6-2. When McConville and Crowley both walked to load the bases, Sam Kasten came on for DiCato and got Rob Caggiano to pop to Copa, keeping it a four run lead.

Cal Carroll worked a scoreless seventh and Somerville came away with the win to even their record at 4-4 while the Chiefs fell to 8-2.

Sinatra (1-2) worked the first 4.1 innings, gave up three hits and struck out four. Stanley went 1.2 innings and allowed only a bunt single, while Carroll worked a hitless seventh. DiCato (1-1) worked 5.2 innings and gave up eleven hits. The righty struck out four and walked three.

Chiefs Chatter....The Chiefs host the Lexington Blue Sox on Wednesday night at Maplewood at 8:15 PM....DiCato became only the fourth Chiefs' pitcher to reach 400 innings. His 403 innings pitched puts him behind only Dave Marsters (1,028), Ari Koufos (615) and Jared Freni (519) in that category. The righty is third all-time in appearances with 92, trailing only Marsters (204) and Koufos (120)....

Malden, MA- Ace right-hander Jared Freni tossed an overpowering two-hitter, striking out a dozen batters, in a 4-0 Chiefs win over the Wakefield Merchants at Maplewood on Monday night. It was their seventh straight win and upped the ICL's early season front-runners' record to 8-1.

The hosts handed Freni all the runs he would need in the bottom of the first inning, courtesy of veterans Peter Copa and Mike Andre. Tony Serino drew a leadoff walk and Danny DiMare reached on an error by Wakefield starter Joe Westerman of Merrimack College. The Chiefs played some early small ball when Ryan Sonberg moved both runners into scoring position with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. Copa made that move pay immediate dividends when he bounced a Maplewood turf single over Mike Sorrentino's head at third, scoring Serino, for a 1-0 lead. Andre quickly made it 2-0 with a line single to left scoring DiMare with the second run. Westerman got out of the inning with just the two runs when he got Jordan Pallazolla to bounce into a 5-3, Sorrentino unassisted to Dan Monagle, doubleplay.

Freni breezed thru a 1-2-3 second inning, that included two K's, and the Chiefs' lead went to 3-0 in the bottom of the inning. Steve Gambale got things underway with a leadoff single, and more small ball ensued when Mike Barbati sacrificed him to second. Westerman then got Mike Burgoyne to pop up for the first out. Serino beat out an infield single and when Westerman threw high to first, Gambale came around to score the third run of the night.

Freni walked catcher Joe Barry to open the top of the third but retired the next three batters he faced on an infield grounder, a fly to Burgoyne in left, and a pop up to Barbati at second base.

Andre and Pallazolla drew two out walks in the bottom of the third before Westerman caught Gambale looking at a third strike to keep it 3-0 heading for the fourth.

Freni had his most impressive inning of the game in the Merchants' fourth when he struck out the heart of the Wakefield order (Sorrentino, Napoli & Chris Butler) in succession.

The Chiefs made it a four run game when Barbati led off the bottom of the fourth with a long double to center, moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a passed ball.

Barry broke up Freni's no-hit bid with a clean one out single in the fifth before he struck out both Lou Tarrantino and Mark Poli, ending the inning.

After an uneventful fifth inning, Freni retired the Wakefield side in order in the top of the sixth.Westerman issued two out walks to Serino and DiMare in the home a half of the inning prior to getting pinch-hitter Billy Mottram on a called third strike.

The Merchants got their second hit of the night when Monagle tripled into the right-centerfield gap with two away in the seventh before Freni closed them out with his twelfth strikeout. 

Chiefs Chatter.....Freni joined ICL Hall of Famer Dave Martsers as the second Chiefs' pitcher to reach 700 career strikeouts. He reached the plateau in the third inning and finished the night with 708 career K's, trailing only Marsters, who has 778....Andre moved into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time career RBI list when he drove in his 187th run in the first inning. The Chiefs' veteran passed the late Hank Landers and is behind only ICL Hall of Famers' Justin Crisafulli, Mike Langston, Mike Barnes, Warren Olson and Steve Daley in that category.....A visit to Trum Field in Someville is next up for the Chiefs on Tuesday night before they return home to meet the Lexington Blue Sox on Wednesday night. Both upcoming games will start at 8:15 PM........
-Bruce Tillman, Courtesy Photo-Jim Valante, Box Score at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com

Lexington, MA- Steve Gambale had three singles, and Tony Serino, Mike Burgoyne, Danny DiMare, Peter Copa and Mike DiCato, added a couple of hits each to lead the Chiefs offense to a 10-3 win over the Wakefield Merchants in the annual Jerie DeAngelis Day of Baseball that was played in Lexington on Saturday.

Veteran lefty Tim Dunphy recorded his second straight complete game win while raising his record to 2-0 on the season. Dunphy struck out one, walked one, and allowed nine hits in a economical 70 pitch outing.

DiMare drove in three of the Chiefs runs while Copa and DiCato plated two each. Burgoyne, Jordan Pallazola and Mike Andre, had the other Chiefs' RBI's. Sammy Wishnow completed the Chiefs' ledger with a third inning single in his first start of the season. Scott Searles and Josh Band led Wakefield with two hits each.

For the league leading Chiefs, it was their sixth straight win and the seventh win in eight games so far this season.

Wakefield visits Maplewood in a rematch on Monday night at 8:15 PM.

B.Hack Stats/Pointstreak.com/B.Tillman Text

Arlington, MA- Rookie right-hander Anthony DeSouza made the first start of his ICL career and allowed just three hits in five innings when the Chiefs took their fifth straight win, 10-4 over the Arlington Trojans on Friday night. For DeSouza, it was his second win of the week. He recorded a win on Monday night with two innings of relief against the Melrose Americans.

DeSouza and Arlington lefty Andrew Hamel tossed blanks over the first two innings before the Chiefs came up with three runs on just two hits in the top of the third. Mike DiCato reached on an error, Tony Serino walked, and Mike Burgoyne singled to load the bases. Danny DiMare stayed red hot at the plate and singled off Hamel's glove to score DiCato for a 1-0 Chiefs lead. With the bases still loaded, the Chiefs were handed two gift runs when Trojan catcher Ben Johnson threw a pickoff attempt into rightfield allowing Serino and Burgoyne to score and make it 3-0.

Arlington got to DeSouza for the only run they would get off the former Malden Catholic ace in the bottom of the third. Hunter Sleeoer drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on a close play at the plate after consecutive singles from Ryan Hood and Johnston.

It stayed a 3-1 game until the Chiefs broke things open with a seven run top of the fifth. They sent thirteen men to the plate and recorded seven consecutive hits in the inning and eight overall. After Burgoyne grounded out, Hamel hit DiMare with a pitch. Peter Copa then started the streak of eight straight hits with a double. Mike Andre was next and lined an RBI single, followed by a Jordan Pallozola double, singles from Steve Gambale and DiCato, a Billy Mottram double, and when Serino singled it was quickly 9-1. The streak came to an end at eight straight hits, but still produced a run and a 10-1 margin, when Burgoyne hit a long sacrifice fly to center. 

DeSouza concluded his night by getting the Arlington side in order in the bottom of the fifth and Nick Pascucci did the same to the Chiefs in the top of the sixth.

The most encouraging performance of the night for the Chiefs came in the bottom of the sixth when Anthony Sullivan made a return to the mound for the first time since pitching professionally in 2011. Sullivan, displaying excellent velocity on his fastball, struck out the first two batters he faced before getting a ground ball out.

The Trojans scored three unearend runs via a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh off Sam Kasten, who gave up two walks and a hit before recording a game ending strikeout.

DeSouza, now 2-0, struck out one and walked one as well as making a nice fielding play in the bottom of the third.

CHIEFS CHATTER.....Sullivan was an all-scholastic at Arlington High before going on to a stellar career at St. John's University in New York. He was drafted in the 19th Round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Angels. He appeared in 106 games in the pro ranks, primarily used as closer, and recorded 138 K's in 145.1 innings over six professional seasons before being side tracked by Tommy John surgery.... Gambale made his first start at shortstop for the Chiefs since the 2003 season. He responded with a single and two RBI's....Friday night's win marked the 1,000th game of Chuck Andre's managerial career.... The Chiefs meet the Merchants on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM in the first game of the Jerie DeAngelis Day of Baseball in Lexington....