Andre Chiefs

Lexington, MA- The Chiefs’ picked an inopportune time to experience their worst two defensive innings of the season on the way to an 11-7 loss to the Blue Sox on Friday night.

The Chiefs squandered a 3-0 fourth inning lead and saw Lexington score eight times in bottom of the fourth inning, then add three more runs in the fifth. The Chiefs battled back to make it interesting in the sixth, but the big Blue Sox lead was just too much to overcome.

While the Blue Sox advance to the ICL championship series for the ninth consecutive season, the defending champs will have to beat the winner of Sunday’s Reading-Watertown game on Monday night to join Lexington in the ICL finals for the fifth straight season and the sixth time in the last seven years.

Chiefs’ starter Mike Gedman kept the Blue Sox off the board over the first two innings.

The Chiefs took a 3-0 lead and threatened to blow the game open off Alsis Herrera in the top of the third inning. Mike Barbati reached on an error by Ross Curley and Nick Leva bunted him to second. Herrera was having trouble throwing strikes and then walked Tony Serino, hit Billy Mottram with a pitch, then walked Juan Portes, to force in Barbati to make it 1-0. Johnny Welch followed and lined a single to left, scoring Serino for a 2-0 Chiefs’ lead. Herrera then recorded a big strikeout when he caught Gedman looking at strike three before Peter Copa singled to left, scoring Mottram, to up the lead to 3-0. Herrera and the Blue Sox stayed within range when Ryan Sonberg flew to Dave Ahern in right, with the bases loaded, to end the inning.

The Chiefs turned a 5-4-3 doubleplay, after a Kyle Adie one out single, to end the bottom of the third and Herrera set the side down in order in top of the fourth.

Things began to unravel quickly for the Chiefs when Gedman exhibited uncharacteristic wildness and walked the first three batters he faced in succession to open the bottom of the fourth. Singles from Steve Gath and Ahern then tied the game at 3-3. A double from Alex Voitik, and then a disputed RBI fielder’s choice groundout by Kyle Adie, on which Leva was ejected for arguing the call, plated two more runs and just like that the Sox were in front 5-3. Mike DiCato replaced Gedman on the mound and a single from Curley and a throwing error by Welch, ran the lead to 7-3. Tim Dunphy came on as the Chiefs’ third pitcher of the frame and Mike Hart drove in the inning’s eighth run with a grounder to first. Dunphy got Dan Graham to line to Welch to finally end the prolonged inning.

The Chiefs went quietly in the top of the fifth and the Blue Sox tallied three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. A double by Gath, singles from Ahern and Voitik, another infield throwing error, and a Curley two run triple, accounted for the runs to make it an 11-3 game heading into the sixth.

The Chiefs actually brought the tying run to the plate when they scored four times in the top of the sixth, without the benefit of a hit. Gedman reached on an infield error, Copa walked, and everyone was safe on Sonberg’s fielder’s choice, which loaded the bases with nobody out. Barbati then grounded out for the first out, with Gedman scoring on the play to make it 11-4. That was the night for Herrera as righty-Borja-Jones Berasaluce came out of the Lexington pen. Berasaluce couldn’t find the plate and walked John Prentice, pinch-hitter Mike Burgoyne, and Mottram in rapid succession to push across a couple of runs and close the lead to 11-6. Jeff Blount replaced Berasaluce and uncorked a wild pitch that sent Prentice across the plate to make it 11-7. Blount got a big out when he struck out Portes swinging before walking Welch to bring the tying run to the plate in Gedman. Blount got tough and retired the side when he got the big lefty swinging on a high 1-2 fastball to end the inning.

Dunphy and Matt DiCato combined to retire the Lexington side in order in the bottom of the sixth.

Blount took any possible dramatics out of the top of the seventh when Copa grounded to second, Sonberg flew to right, and Barbati grounded to third to end the game.

The Chiefs only had two hits and one earned run in the game but were the beneficiaries of eight walks, a HBP, and two Blue Sox errors, while the Blue Sox recorded eleven hits. Five of the Lexington runs were unearned as the two usually sure handed teams combined to make five errors.

The time and location of Monday’s game will not be known until after the Reading vs. Watertown game is completed on Sunday. That game will be played at Watertown’s Victory Field starting at 7:15 PM and can be followed live at: www.pointstreak.com/baseball/scoreboard.html?leagueid=789&seasonid=29791.

Playoff Notebook..... The Reading Bulldogs eliminated the Wakefield Merchants 3-0 and the Watertown Reds did the same to the Arlington Trojans 8-0 in other Friday action.....The Chiefs found themselves in the exact same position a year ago when they had to await the winner of the Watertown-Reading game to join them in Game Nine of the double elimination tournament. Last year the Bulldogs beat the Reds 7-0 in Game Eight before being eliminated by the Chiefs, 6-2....The Chiefs then went on to beat the Blue Sox in five games to win their second ICL title in three years......

Melrose, MA- Mitchell Clegg survived a rocky first inning, then proceeded to throw six shutout innings of one hit baseball, to pitch the Chiefs to a 3-2 come from behind second round playoff win over the Watertown Reds on Thursday night at Morelli Field. On a night when offense was at premium, Johnny Welch supplied most of it for the Chiefs with two solo homers.

Coupled with Wednesday’s 13-1 first round win over the Arlington Trojans, the Chiefs now move on to meet the Blue Sox in Lexington on Friday night at 8:00 PM. The winner of that game will automatically advance to the ICL’s best of five championship series next week while the loser will have to win one more game to advance to the big dance on Monday night.

Former Baltimore Orioles’ minor league righty Juan Guzman was lights out for the Reds in the top of the first inning when he struck out Tony Serino, Juan Portes, and Welch, in succession to begin the game.

The Reds went right to work against Clegg in the bottom of the inning. Kyle LaVigne got things started when he beat out a bunt single down the third base line. Clegg appeared to have the fleet leadoff hitter picked off first, but Peter Copa’s throw to second was low and skipped into left, allowing LaVigne to go to third on the error. It was runners on the corners with nobody out for the Reds when the Chiefs and Clegg traded a couple of outs for a run when Sean Callahan bounced into 6-4-3 doubleplay with LaVigne scoring. The doubleplay proved to be mammoth when Dan Chaisson crushed a fastball over the inner half of the plate and sent it well over the leftfield wall for a 2-0 Watertown lead. Steve Rogers kept the Reds’ momentum going when he followed and drilled a gap double but Clegg averted more damage when he struck out Pete Burgio to end the inning.

The Chiefs got their bats on the ball in the top of the second but couldn’t break through against Guzman. Mike Gedman and Mike Andre both lined out to center and Copa lined to second.

Clegg rebounded with a nice 1-2-3 bottom of the second and both he and Guzman dominated the third inning.

The Chiefs cut the lead in half to 2-1 in the top of the fourth when Welch led off the inning with a long homer to right-center. Guzman kept the Reds’ in front when he retired the next three batters in order to end the inning.

The Reds threatened big time to pad their lead in the bottom of the fourth. Rogers led off the frame with his second double of the game. Burgio then drew a walk before Clegg got a big out when he retired Matt Bishop on a towering pop up to Nate Witkowski at shortstop. The Chiefs turned their second doubleplay of the night to escape the jam when Will Brennan bounced into a 1-6-3 twin killing.

In the Chiefs’ fifth, Guzman issued a leadoff walk to Mike Barbati. Billy Mottram pinch hit for Witkowski, but Guzman struck him out swinging for the first out. Ryan Sonberg then came off the bench, as the second pinch hitter of the inning, and came to the plate for Nick Leva. Guzman retired Sonberg for the second out when he got him to fly to Mac Jacobson in right. Serino drew the second walk of the inning, but it remained a 2-1 game when Portes grounded out to close the inning.

Clegg cruised through an easy bottom of the fifth and the Chiefs pulled even at 2-2 in the top of the sixth on Welch’s line drive laser homer to left.

Clegg retired the Reds’ side in order again in the bottom of the sixth.

In the Chiefs’ seventh, Mottram got things going when a long double to right-center. Jhonneris Mendez then came out of the bullpen to replace Guzman. Rookie catcher John Prentice, who went behind the plate after Sonberg hit for Leva in the fifth, dropped a perfect rolling bunt that that stayed fair all the way to the third base bag. With runners on the corners with no outs, the Reds played the infield at doubleplay depth, and Serino plated Mottram with the game winner with a grounder to shortstop. The Chiefs threatened for more when Portes’ double to left-center sent Serino to third. The Reds intentionally walked Welch to load the bases and that strategy paid off when Mendez struck out Gedman swinging, and then got Copa on an infield chopper, to keep it a 3-2 Chiefs lead.

Clegg struck out Burgio for the first out of the seventh before walking Liam O’Connor on a 3-2 pitch to put the tying run aboard. Clegg ended things when he got Brennan to fly to left and then struck out pinch hiiter Ryan Pocock swinging to end the game.

Clegg struck out four and allowed only Rogers’ fourth inning double over the last six innings.

Guzman took the loss. He allowed five hits in six plus innings and struck out ten batters. Mendez allowed two hits and struck out one in the seventh.

Playoff Notebook….For Welch it was his 12th and 13th career homers for the Chiefs….The win was the second big playoff victory for Clegg at Morelli Field. The former Washington Nationals' left-hander threw a complete game, eight inning win, in Game Three of last year’s championship series against the Blue Sox that propelled the Chiefs to another ICL crown in an eventual five game series…..Thursday’s Chiefs’ win, along the Blue Sox 9-2 victory over the Reading Bulldogs, guaranteed that the Chiefs or Blue Sox will be at least one of the participants in the ICL’s championship series for the ninth straight season…Along with Friday’s Chiefs at Blue Sox tilt, the Bulldogs will host the Wakefield Merchants at Morelli Field at 8:00 PM and the Arlington Trojans will visit the Reds at Victory Field at 7:30 PM. The losers of those games will be eliminated while the winners will meet in an elimination game on Sunday……Anthony Greco/Stats from Pointstreak,com

Malden, MA- Jared Freni struck out nine batters in just 4.2 innings, and Billy Mottram had three hits and four RBI’s, to lead the Chiefs to a 13-1 opening round playoff win over the Arlington Trojans on Wednesday night at Maplewood Park.

With the win, the Chiefs move on to meet the Watertown Reds at Morelli Field in Melrose on Thursday evening at 8:00 PM.

The Chiefs went right to work tallying two runs in the bottom of the first inning off Trojans’ starter Paul Frisoli. Mottram drew a one out walk and scored the first run of the game on Juan Portes’ triple to right-center. Johnny Welch was next and he doubled to left, scoring Portes, to make it 2-0.

The Trojans scored their only run of the night in the top of the second inning when Joe Bradlee’s double to right scored Seth Coiley, who had walked.

Four more runs came across for the Chiefs in the bottom of the second. Nick Leva was hit by a Frisoli pitch and Tony Serino singled him to second. Mottram then singled to right-center, scoring Leva, to make it 3-1. Portes’ fly to left was misplayed for an error, allowing Serino to score the fourth run. Welch followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Mottram to make it a 5-1 game. A Mike Andre two out single to right scored Portes to give the Chiefs a 6-1 lead.

Neither team scored in the third inning.

After Freni retired Arlington in order in the top of the fourth, the Chiefs put the game away when they scored five times, despite getting only one hit, in the bottom of the fourth inning off reliever Nick Pascucci. Walks to Peter Copa, Andre, Mike Barbati, and Serino, a Leva HBP, and a Mottram three RBI double, pushed the lead to 11-1.

Matt DiCato came on to relieve Freni with two outs in the top of the fifth and retired Marcus Way on a groundout to retire the side.

The Chiefs picked up their final two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Welch singled up the middle and Mike Gedman drew a walk. Andre then launched a double to the fence in right-center, scoring Welch to run the margin to 12-1. Ryan Sonberg’s pinch hit sacrifice fly to center scored Gedman with the night’s final run.

DiCato worked a scoreless top of the sixth that included a strikeout. Lefty Evan Walsh came out of the Chiefs’ bullpen and got the Arlington side in order in the top of the seventh.

Mottram’s three hits and four RBI led the Chiefs’ offense while Welch and Andre each had a single, double, and a couple of RBI’s.

Freni allowed four hits while raising his career playoff record to 12-1.

Playoff Notebook….The Reading Bulldogs won their playoff game 2-0 over the Wakefield Merchants on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will now travel to Lexington on Thursday to meet the Blue Sox at 8:00 PM…..The Trojans and Merchants will now wait until Friday to play in the loser bracket games against the losers of Thursday night’s games…..Along with picking up his 12th post season victory, Jared Freni recorded his 56th win for the Chiefs….Mike Andre’s two hits pushed him past former Chiefs’ great and ICL Hall of Famer Warren Olson and into fifth place on the all-time hit list. Andre now has 305 hits and trails only Justin Crisafulli, Mike Langston, Mike Barnes, and Dave Clivio, in that category…..The updated 2015 ICL Playoff Schedule and Scoreboard can be found at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com....
–Anthony Greco/Stats by Bruce Hack, Pointstreak.com

Malden, MA- The Chiefs will open defense of their 2014 Intercity League Championship tonight (Wednesday) when they meet the Arlington Trojans in a first round game of the ICL’s double elimination tournament. Tonight’s game will be played at Maplewood Park, on the campus of Malden Catholic, starting at 8:15 PM. The opening game was orginally scheduled for last night but was rained out. 

The surviving two teams from the double elimination format will move on to a best of five championship series.

The Chiefs won the title in 2012 and 2014. The Lexington Blue Sox broke up that streak by winning the crown in 2013.

Playoff games will continue over the next four or five days until the two finalists are determined.

The ICL championship series is scheduled to begin early next week.