Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- Cooperstown is not asking for the tape of this one. Neither is anyone else.

On a Wednesday night when both teams could have easily been suspected of inebriated baserunning, the Chiefs held on for a 3-2 win at Maplewood over old friend Evan Walsh and the Arlington Trojans, mainly due the left arm of Mitchell Clegg. 

The Chiefs scored single runs in the first, third, and sixth innings, to take a three run advantage into the top of the seventh, before holding on for the win.

After Clegg set the Trojans down in order in the top of the first, the hosts took a 1-0 lead when Serino drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on Danny DiMare's infield grounder, and scored on Ryan Sonberg's RBI single.

The lead went to 2-0 in the bottom of the third when Mike Andre drove home Sonberg with an RBI single.

The Chiefs got what proved to be a big insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Mike Burgoyne tripled into the leftfield corner and scored on DiMare's two out RBI single to left.

While the Chiefs were building their 3-0 lead, Clegg was immense on the mound cruising through four 1-2-3 innings and allowing just two hits, both to Mark Webber, the first with one out in the fourth and the second with two outs in the top of the sixth.

The lead should have been much more as the Chiefs had three runners thrown out at second or third, one caught in a run down, and yet another picked off, as well as leaving seven others stranded.

Things became interesting and it appeared that the Chiefs basepath miscues would come back to haunt them in the top of the seventh. Rookie Sam Kasten from Mulhenberg College came on to start the inning for Clegg. Catcher Steve Lavasseur greeted him with a line single to right and when Justin Damarco drew a walk, the Trojans were suddenly in business with two on and nobody out. Kasten got the big first out when he struck out pinch-hitter Nolan Brennan, but he put the tying run on base when he walked Ryan Hood. Brother Kyle Hood was next and he bounced back to Kasten who threw home to Jordan Pallazola, forcing Lavasseur at the plate, for the second out. Mike Bridges was next and he bounced to Sonberg at third who made the play but threw the ball away, allowing both Demarco and Ryan Hood to score. Questionable baserunning fittingly ended the night when Copa retrieved the overthrow and threw out Kyle trying to advance to third.

Clegg (1-0), picked up his first win of the season striking out seven while Kasten picked up the rocky save.

Walsh, who was a reliever for the Chiefs in 2014 and 2015, took the loss and fell to 0-2. The Bentley University lefty surrendered two runs on seven hits in five innings before giving way to Graham Stack, who allowed a run and two hits in the sixth. Neither Trojan pitcher recorded a strikeout in the game.

The Chiefs are off on Thursday and will visit the Trojans in a rematch on Friday night at 7:00 PM at Summer Street Field in Arlington. They will then do a quick turnaround and come right back to play the Wakefield Merchants on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM in the ICL's annual Jerie DeAngelis Day of Baseball in Lexington. 
Game Story-Bruce Hack, Photos-Stephen Hartwell,
Boxscore at www.intercityleaguebase.com

Malden, MA- Jared Freni and the Chiefs spotted the Melrose Americans a 4-0 first inning lead before scoring 17 unanswered runs on the way to a 17-5 win at Maplewood on Monday night.

Freni and reliever Anthony DeSouza were dominant from the second inning on, striking out a combined 15 hitters, and allowing just one hit in innings two thru six until the Americans scored a run on a couple of hits after two were out in the top of the seventh.

The Americans struck quickly in the top of the first for four runs on a bunt single, two infield hits, two walks, and a two out, two RBI single from Harrison Engstrom.

The Chiefs cut the lead in half at 4-2 in the bottom of the second when Jordan Pallazola led off with the first homer of his ICL career and Danny DiMare drove in Ryan Sonberg with an RBI single.

It stayed 4-2 into the bottom of the fifth when the Chiefs inched to within a run on back to back doubles from Pallazola and Sonberg.

The Chiefs sent 19 men to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, scored 14 runs, had eight hits against four pitchers, and took advantage of a few defensive miscues, to take a 17-4 lead into the seventh.

The Americans scored their final run after two were out in the seventh on an Anthony Licciardello double and a Mike Addesa RBI single. The Chiefs offense finished the night with 14 hits, including three each from Pallazola, DiMare, and Mike Burgoyne. 

Freni was lights out after the first inning allowing only a leadoff double by Addesa in the third. He struck out ten in his five innings of work. 

DeSouza (1-0) was equally impressive and got the win in his first ICL appearance. The former Malden Catholic ace, who is bound for URI in the fall, worked two innings, had five strikeouts, and allowed just the two hits in the seventh.

Rookie lefty Kyle Atillio from Saugus, MA got the start for the Americans and fared well in his debut, pitching into the fourth inning before departing with a 4-2 lead. Dylan Gaita, who took the loss, Engstrom, Shawn Smeglin, and Mike Peters, all worked out of the bullpen for Melrose.

Chiefs Chatter.....With the win the Chiefs go to 4-1 on the young season. They are off on Tuesday and return to Maplewood on Wednesday for an 8:15 PM date with the Arlington Trojans. Lefthander Mitchell Clegg is expected to get the start.....Rookie catcher Cal Christofori from Belmont, MA saw his first ICL action when he caught the seventh inning....Peter Copa and Sonberg added two hits each in the game....
Bruce Tillman & .400hitter, Box Score at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com

Beverly, MA- The Chiefs rode the "bend but don't break" double digit hit pitching of Tim Dunphy, then rallied back from a 2-0 fifth inning deficit, in large part due to Danny DiMare, and came away from Endicott College with a gutsy 5-3 victory over the Reading Bulldogs late Friday night. It was their second road win in as many nights as they knocked off the Blue Sox in Lexington on Thursday 6-2. They complete the first week of the season at 3-1.

The Bulldogs never make it easy, especially at home, and this night proved to be no different as John Halsey's boys jumped out to a 2-0 second inning lead.

The Chiefs squandered a big scoring chance in the top of the second when Mike Andre led off with a walk and Ryan Sonberg drilled a double to center. With Chiefs' runners on second and third and nobody out, Reading starter Mike Curtis struck out Jordan Pallazola, Mike Barbati, and Mike Burgoyne, in order, to end the inning.

The Chiefs missed another big scoring opportunity an inning later. Tony Serino drew a leadoff walk before DiMare flew to right for the first out. Billy Mottram then singled and both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Curtis escaped this jam by getting Peter Copa to pop to short and then Andre to line out to right.

Still trailing 2-0, DiMare led off the Chiefs' fifth inning with a triple to right-center. Mottram cut the lead in half when he easily plated him with a sacrifice fly to left to make it a 2-1 game.

Cody Hall spelled Curtis on the mound to begin the top of the sixth and helped the Chiefs' cause by issuing consecutive walks to Sonberg and Pallazola. Barbati then sacrifice bunted the runners to second and third. The Chiefs finally pulled even at 2-2 when a Burgoyne single scored Sonberg. Hall struck out Serino for the second out as Burgoyne stole second. DiMare then delivered the biggest hit thus far in his two year ICL career when he lined a two RBI single to right for a 4-2 lead.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to 4-3 with one away in their half of the sixth when Hank Oringer singled, stole second, and scored on Zac Talis' RBI single. Everyone was safe when Dunphy bobbled Nick Berno's bunt and Mike Taylor drew a walk to load the bases. The Chiefs escaped the bases loaded jam when they turned a Mottram to Barbati to Copa doubleplay, off the bat of John Hayes, that ended the inning.

A Copa double just inside the left-field line and singles from Andre and Pallazola produced an insurance run and a 5-3 lead. Dunphy secured the win in the bottom of the seventh, allowing only a two out infield single to Darren Hartwell, before getting Jordan Roper on a grounder to Mottram to end the game. The veteran lefty ended up giving up ten hits. He struck out three and walked one.

CHIEFS CHATTER- Next up at Maplewood on Monday night are the Melrose Americans at 8:00 PM....The Chiefs got their leadoff hitter aboard in all seven innings.....The annual ICL raffle and Chinese Food Buffet Dinner is Friday, June 24 in Woburn, MA....

Game Story
Game Statistics- Anthony Zeolie
Box Score at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com

Malden, MA- It was game two of the regular season but you would have had trouble convincing the Bulldogs and Chiefs that it wasn't the middle of August. In a game that featured three run comebacks by both teams, crucial doubleplays, a reversal of an apparent Chiefs' walk-off win, and a multitude of missed chances by both sides, Reading finally prevailed in a marathon nine inning affair on Wednesday night at Maplewood.

Reading missed a big scoring opportunity in the top of the first when Mitchell Clegg got Hank Oringer to line into a Mike Barbati to Nate Witkowski double-play with runners on the corners. The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning when Tony Serino walked and went to second when Mike Burgoyne's fly ball was dropped. Ryan Sonberg then moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt on which Jordan Roper made the defensive play of the night to throw him out at first by a step. Peter Copa's RBI groundout then scored Serino with the Chiefs' first run. With Mike Andre at the plate, Burgoyne was tagged out trying to score on Max Mardany's wild pitch.

Clegg retired the Reading side in the top of the second and the Chiefs then opened up a three run lead and looked poised to blow things open until the second line drive double-play of the night cut the uprising short. Five consecutive singles from Andre, Jordan Pallazola, Witkowski, Barbati and Danny DiMare gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead and had them set with the bases loaded and nobody out. Serino then hit a screeching liner right at Roper at third who made the grab and scrambled back to the bag to double up Witkowski. Mardany escaped further damage when he got Burgoyne to line out.

It stayed three-zip until the Bulldogs broke through and picked up a run off Clegg in the top of the fourth on an Oringer single and a long Zac Talis double. Reading picked up five more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-3 lead and chase Clegg, who gave way to Rookie Sam Kasten. A hit batsman, two stolen bases, a Chiefs throwing error by Pallazola on a stolen base, and singles from Darren Hartwell, Nick Berno and Mike Taylor, sandwiched around a Roper gap shot double accounted for the runs.

Kasten, settled in nicley and struck out the Reading side in order in the top of the sixth. After two hard outs off the bats of Andre (liner to left) and Pallazola (sharp groundout to short) the Chiefs inched a run closer to 6-4 when Witkowski lined his first homer of the season to center. The Chiefs weren't finished as Barbati drew a walk and DiMare singled off reliever Corbin Hyde but he struck out Serino to end the threat.

Kasten had his second straight impressive inning in the top of the seventh and the dramatics abounded in the bottom of the inning. With one out in the book, Sonberg and Copa cut the lead to 6-5 on back to back doubles. Andre was next and battled Cody Hall to a 2-2 count before he lined a single to right-center, scoring veteran Steve Gamble who had come on to pinch run for Copa, to knot the game at six each. Mike DiCato, suddenly representing the winning run, came on to pinch run for Andre. The Chiefs couldn't push across the game winner, after DiCato moved into scoring position by stealing second, when Pallazola struck out swinging and Witkowski grounded out.

The Bulldogs took the lead again at 7-6 in the top of the eighth when Hartwell singled, stole second, and scored on a Roper single to left. More dramatics and what initially appeared to be a Chiefs' walk off win was reversed in the bottom of the inning. Barbati got things going with a leadoff single and DiMare sacrificed him to second. After Serino struck out for the second out, Burgoyne drilled a liner down the left field line that scored Barbati to tie things up again at 7-7. When Reading leftfielder Cam Farnham attempted to field the ball he knocked it deep into the leftfield corner and Burgoyne never stopped running and slid across the plate with the apparent winning run as the Chiefs' dugout emptied in celebration. The celebration was brief when umpires Jeff & Don January conferred at length and correctly ruled, according to the ground rules, that the ball was dead as soon as it left the field of play even though Farnham's misplay caused it to bounce into the out of play area. Burgoyne was sent back to second with a ground rule double. The game moved to the ninth when Jack Burke retired Sonberg on a sharp grounder to shortstop Rosario Missilli.

Reading quickly took advantage of their second chance for a road win as Oringer singled off Kasten. Kasten didn't help his own cause when he tried to pick Oringer off first but threw low to the bag for an error sending him to second with the potential go ahead run. Oringer became exactly that when Missilli lined a hard and high infield single off Gambale's glove, who had come on to play third after pinch running in the seventh, to put the visitors back up 8-7. Kasten kept it a one run game by getting Taylor on a groundout and striking out Farnham.

More dramatics were in store for the bottom of the ninth as the Chiefs took another shot at game winning comeback. Gambale got things underway by working a four pitch walk. DiCato, who was now hitting in Andre's spot in the lineup, had a couple of sacrifice bunt attempts before going down swinging. Pallazola was then hit with a pitch to put runners on first and second before Burke caught Witkowski looking for the second out. Things got amped up even more when both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Anthony Sullivan came on to run for Pallazola, representing the winning run, before Burke put an end to the night's festivities by striking out Barbati swinging.

CHIEFS CHATTER- Kasten was impressive in his ICL debut. The rookie righty from Muhlenberg College and Manchester, NH struck out eight in five innings and allowed just two earned runs.....The Chiefs embark on a two game roadtrip on Thursday night in Lexington. On Friday, a rematch is on the agenda with the Bulldogs at Endicott College. Both games will start at 8:00 PM.....Sullivan's pinch running appearance was the first of his ICL career.....
Box Score at www.intercityleaguebaseball.com
Game Story by Bruce Tillman. Photos-Jim Vallente

Lexington, MA- Veteran right-hander Mike DiCato went the distance, scattering seven hits, when the Chiefs got a big early season road win in a 6-2 victory over the Blue Sox on Thursday night. With the win, the Chiefs and DiCato, who made his first appearnce eleven seasons ago in 2006, handed Manager Chuck Andre his 600th career win.

Lexington southpaw Jimmy Hill made quick work of the Chiefs in the top of the first and DiCato set the tone for the evening when he pitched out of a tight spot in the bottom of the inning. Ryan McCarthy and Ross Curley opened up the night with back to back singles to put runners on the corners with nobody out. DiCato got out of the jam unscathed when he got both Justin Silvestro and Julian Alvarez to both pop up and then struck out Tom Russo.

It was six Chiefs up and six Chiefs down in the top of the second when Hill cruised through another 1-2-3 inning.

The Blue Sox took a 1-0 lead after two were out in their half of the second when Jansiel Rivera drew a walk, stole second, and scored on Alex Voitik's RBI single to right.

The Chiefs came right back to take a 2-1 lead in top of the third. Nate Witkowski led things off with a single and moved to second on Mike Barbati's infield grounder. Hill issued Mike Burgoyne a four pitch walk before Danny DiMare laced a double to left-center, scoring Witkowski and sending Burgoyne to third, to tie the game at 1-1. Steve Gambale was next and he gave the Chiefs the lead when he plated Burgoyne with an RBI groundout to Curley at shortstop. Hill got Billy Mottram on a towering infield pop up to close the inning.

Curley led off the Blue Sox third with his second straight single. DiCato got Silvestro to lineout to DiMare in right before Barbati turned in a 4-unassisted-3 doubleplay off the bat of Alvarez.

Hill got the Chiefs in order for the third time in four innings in the top of the fourth before the Blue Sox knotted things up in the bottom of the inning on two Chiefs infield throwing errors and a Rivera RBI single. The Chiefs kept it a 2-2 game when they chalked up their second consecutive inning ending doubleplay, this time of the 1-6-3, (DiCato to Witkowski to Peter Copa) variety. The Chiefs took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when the torrid Witkowski led things off with a double to right. Barbati then advanced Witkowski to third with a grounder to the right side before Burgoyne delivered what proved to be the game winner with an RBI single to right.

Curley's third consecutive single of the game was all the Sox could muster against DiCato in the bottom of the fifth before the Chiefs opened up some breathing room by scoring three times in the top of the sixth against reliever C.J. Doskocil, who came on for Hill to start the frame. Ryan Sonberg, pinch hitting for Gambale, led off the inning with a line single to left-center. The Chiefs were in business with runners on second and third with nobody out when Mottram drilled a line single to right and went to second on the throw to third trying to get Sonberg. Copa then delivered the biggest hit of the night when he drilled a 2-2 pitch into the left-centerfield gap for a two run double and a 5-2 Chiefs' lead. Mike Andre followed and flew to deep right allowing Copa to tag and move to third. Catcher Jordan Pallazola was next and he scored Copa with a single up the middle for the Chiefs' sixth run.

The Blue Sox appeared to have a threat brewing in the bottom of the sixth when Tom Russo drew a leadoff walk and Kevin Davis blooped an opposite field, one out single, just inside the leftfield line. The threat went by the boards when the Chiefs turned their third inning ending doubleplay of the game when Rivera hit a grounder to Barbati who flipped to Witkowski and then on to Copa, sending the game to the seventh with the four run lead intact.

Mottam's second single of the night gave the Chiefs a baserunner in the top of the seventh but Borja Jones-Berasaluce got Copa swinging to retire the side. DiCato got the Blue Sox side in order in the bottom of the seventh when Voitik grounded out, pinch hitter Matt Bender lined out to Barbati and Curley flew to DiMare in right to seal the win.

CHIEFS CHATTER......Mike DiCato needed 95 pitches, of which 60 were strikes, to compete his 29th career win. He has made 90 mound appearnaces for the Chiefs....The Chiefs presented Chuck Andre with the game ball in a post game ceremony......Former Chief third baseman/shortstop Mike Pagliarulo addressed the team prior to the game. Paglarulo went on to play eleven major league seasons, including six as the New York Yankees starting third baseman. He enjoyed his best year for the pinstripes in 1987 when he hit 32 homers and knocked in 87 runs. Pags also had stints with the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins, who he won a World Series with in 1991. He had 134 career MLB homers in 1,246 games....The Chiefs stay on the road on Friday when they travel to Endicott College in Beverly, MA to meet the Reading Bulldogs at 8:00 PM....
Game Story by Bruce Tillman
Statistics from Bruce Hack & Pointstreak.com
Box Score at www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=359856