Andre Chiefs

Woburn, MA- Mitchell Clegg threw five innings of two-hit baseball, retiring the first nine batters he faced in a row, and the Chiefs got shutout innings from Matt DiCato (sixth) and Evan Walsh (seventh) when they knocked off the Mooney Dental Tanners 11-1 on Tuesday night at Ferullo Field.

The Chiefs banged out 16 hits led by Mike Barbati, who went a perfect 4 for 4, and Mike Andre and Mike Burgoyne, who had three hits each.

The Chiefs struck early, putting up a three-spot in the top off of the first inning against Woburn starter Pat Maher. Paul Yanakopoulos singled with one out and scored the game’s first run on Johnny Welch’s long RBI double to center. Mike Gedman was hit with a Maher pitch and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Mike Andre then singled to left, scoring Welch and Gedman, to give the Chiefs a 3-0 lead.

Clegg set the Tanners down in order, with a strikeout, in the bottom of the first and the Chiefs added a run to their lead in the top of the second. Burgoyne led things off with a double to left-center, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

Two outfield fly balls and a strikeout gave Clegg a rocking chair second inning and the Chiefs extended the margin to 6-0 in the top of the third. Barbati singled, Billy Mottram drew a walk, and Burgoyne singled, driving in Barbati with the fifth run. Tony Serino then singled, sending Mottram to third, and Yanakopoulos upped the score to 6-0 with a sacrifice fly to left.

Clegg had his strongest inning in the bottom of the third when he struck out the Woburn side in order.

The Chiefs made it a 7-0 game in the top of the fourth against reliever Chris McNall. Andre singled up the middle with two outs, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Barbati’s double to right-center.

The Tanners broke up Clegg’s streak when Corey O’Neil led off the Woburn fourth with an infield single. Bill Cuozzo then reached on a bad hop grounder and both runners moved up on a passed ball. Clegg struck out Chris Ruocco and Jake Cintollo followed with a single, scoring O’Neil, to make it 7-1. With runners at second and third, Clegg got the final two outs of the inning on groundouts to Welch at third.

The Chiefs’ lead went to 11-1 in the top of the fifth. Burgoyne led off with his third straight hit and Serino drew another walk. After Yanakopoulos popped up, Nate Witkowski drove Burgoyne home with an RBI single to left. Welch popped up for the second out before Gedman made it a 10-1 affair with a long double to right-center, scoring Serino and Witkowski. Andre followed with his third single of the game, with Gedman stopping at third, before Barbati completed his perfect night with a bloop single down the right-field line that plated Gedman. Both Mottram and Burgoyne lined out sharply to end the inning.

Clegg worked a scoreless top of the fifth and Mike Rodriguez came out of the Tanners’ pen to set the Chiefs down in order in the top of the sixth.

Matt DiCato worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, including a strikeout.

Rodriguez gave up lead-off double to Witkowski in the top of the seventh before catching Welch looking at strike three, and then getting pinch-hitters Sam Wishnow and Ceciillio Guante to both ground out.

Evan Walsh got two outfield flies and a pop up to set the Woburn side down in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Clegg, now 2-0, struck out seven and walked one.

The Chiefs travel to Lexington High to meet the Blue Sox on Wednesday at 8:00 PM.
B.Tillman

Arlington, MA- Lefty Tim Dunphy chalked up his ICL best seventh win of the season when the Chiefs turned back the Arlington Trojans 5-1 at Summer Street Field on Friday night.

Dunphy once again was in control from start to finish, scattering eight hits, and getting stronger as the game went on.

The Chiefs, despite stranding a plethora of runners, eleven to be exact, hit the ball hard all evening long.

The Chiefs threatened but could not score in the top of the first inning. Tony Serino drew a walk from Arlington starter Matt Lounsbury and Juan Portes followed and grounded into a hard hit 6-4-3 double play. Johnny Welch and Mike Gedman then had consecutive singles before Peter Copa hit a seed liner right at shortstop Derek Pizarro to end the inning.

Dunphy set the Trojans down in the bottom of the first and the Chiefs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Mike Andre led things off and drilled a two strike Lounsbury pitch off the base of the fence in right for a double. Paul Yanakopoulos followed with a single to center and Mike Barbati doubled to center, scoring both Andre and Yanakopoulos. After Mike Burgoyne popped up, the Chiefs threatened for more when Serino beat out an infield hit and Portes walked to load the bases. Lounsbury got the dangerous Welch to pop up to end the inning.

The Trojans came right back to make it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the second. Dan Csaplar singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Cooney, and scored on a bomb double to straightaway center from Seth Coiley.

The Chiefs took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third. After Mike Gedman bounced out, Copa singled and moved to third on Andre’s line single down the rightfield line. Yanakopoulos then delivered Copa with a long double to left. Lounsbury kept it a 3-1 affair when he got Barbati to pop out and Burgoyne to groundout to end the inning.

It stayed 3-1 until the Chiefs gave Dunphy a little more breathing room in the top of the fifth inning. Gedman drew a walk and Copa reached on a throwing error to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Andre made it 4-1 when he hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Gedman. Barbati then drilled a single to right-center, scoring Copa, to make it a 5-1 game and close out the scoring for the night.

Dunphy shutdown the Trojans, with some bigtime help from Serino, who was outstanding in centerfield, over the final three innings, to give the Chiefs their 17th win of the season.

Dunphy, now 7-1, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.

Chiefs Chatter…. A couple of milestones were reached on Friday. Mike Andre tied Steve Daley for sixth place on the Chiefs’ all-time hit list when he recorded his 273rd hit with his third inning single. Andre now trails only Chiefs’ legends Justin Crisafulli, Mike Langston, Mike Barnes, Dave Clivio and Warren Olson in that category. The veteran also needs only three more RBI’s to pass Clivio and move into sixth place all-time in that department…..In addition, Tim Dunphy tied Joey Santagate for fifth place on the career win list with 28. He now trails only Dave Marsters, Ari Koufos, Jon Drew and present staff mate Jared Freni…..Tony Serino was immense in center for the Chiefs. The UMass-Amherst/Malden Catholic product had six putouts, which included tracking down a Matt Cooney bomb with two runners on to end the Arlington sixth inning….The Chiefs are off until Monday night when they host the Wakefield Merchants at Maplewood at 8:00 PM…..On Tuesday, the Chiefs travel to Ferullo Field in Woburn to meet the Tanners….
--Bruce Tillman

Malden, MA- Mike DiCato threw four innings of shutout ball and his former UMass-Amherst teammate Mike Gedman had a grand slam and a double to lead the Chiefs to 10-0 victory over the Melrose Americans on Monday night at Maplewood.

With the win, the Chiefs clinched themselves a spot in the 2014 ICL postseason.

DiCato stranded Bobby Rosano, who had led off the game with a single, at third base in the top of the first courtesy of an outstanding inning ending play by Peter Copa.

The Chiefs put up a couple of quick runs against starter Chris Hayes (0-4) in their first at bat. Tony Serino drew a walk and scored on Billy Mottram’s opposite field triple to left. Juan Portes made it 2-0 when he brought Mottram home with a sacrifice fly to left.

Mac Singleton hit a ground rule double to left with one out in the Americans’ second. DiCato kept Melrose off the scoreboard when he struck out Gianni Esposito and Shawn Doyle in succession to end the inning.

Hayes blanked the Chiefs in the bottom of the second and DiCato did the same to the Americans in the top of the third.

The Chiefs sent 13 men to the plate and scored seven times to put the game away in the bottom of the third. Mike Burgoyne started things off by drawing a walk and Tony Serino followed by dropping a perfectly placed bunt single. Mottram then lofted a fly ball down the left field line that was misplayed, allowing Burgoyne to score and sending Serino to third. Portes then lined a single to left, scoring Mottram, to make it 4-0. Johnny Welch drew a walk to load the bases for Gedman. The lefty unloaded them and doubled the Chiefs’ lead to 8-0 when he drilled a grand slam to left-center. Mike Peters came on to relieve Hayes and got Peter Copa to fly out for the first out of the inning, Mike Andre then doubled to right, Paul Yanakopoulos singled to left-center, and Burgoyne was hit by a pitch, to load the bases again. Serino made it a 9-0 game with an RBI fielder’s choice that scored Andre. Mottram then reached base for the third consecutive time when he drew a walk before Peters got Portes to fly out to right to end the frame.

Nothing across for either club in the fourth and Matt DiCato came on to work a scoreless top half of the fifth, allowing a hit and striking out a batter.

The Chiefs scored their tenth run in the bottom of the inning on a Gedman double that was sandwiched around two infield errors.

Southpaw Evan Walsh (Arlington Catholic/Bentley) worked the final two innings for the Chiefs, allowing just one hit.

Chiefs Chatter…..The now 16-6 Chiefs clinched a playoff spot as well as another season with a winning record…..The win was the 24th of Mike DiCato's Chiefs’ career…..Rookie Tyler Brinkley made a couple of nice plays at second base in the top of the seventh…..The forecast for heavy thunderstorms never came to fruition and the game was played without any delay…..The Chiefs are off on Thursday and travel to Summer Street Field in Arlington to visit the Trojans on Friday at 7:00 PM….Lefty Tim Dunphy (6-1) is expected to get the starting nod…..
B.Tillman-intercityleaguebaseball.com

Malden, MA- Dan Chaisson’s opposite field three run double, keyed a five run uprising in the fourth inning, when the Watertown Reds held on to beat the Chiefs 5-4 in a Monday night thriller at Maplewood.

After falling behind 5-1, the Chiefs had their chances to tie or win the ballgame, courtesy of some timely hits and a couple of Reds untimely errors.

After Jared Freni retired the Reds side in order in the top of the first, the Chiefs gave him a quick 1-0 in the bottom of the inning. Tony Serino drew a leadoff walk and was promptly bunted to second by Paul Yanakopoulos. Juan Portes then delivered Serino with a line single to left. Reds’ starter and winner Scot Lueders escaped further damage when he got Johnny Welch to fly out and then struck out Mike Gedman.

Lueders and Freni threw zeros over the next two innings before the Reds came up with the biggest inning against Chiefs’ pitching this season. Josue Feliciano got things underway with a double to right-center. Sean Callahan-Montague then drew a walk before Feliciano stole third. Justin Forman drove Feliciano home with a sacrifice fly to Billy Mottram in left, tying the game at 1-1. Steve Morganelli followed with a single up the middle, just out of the reach of the diving Mike Barbati, to put runners at first and second. Mac Jacobson drew the Reds’ second walk of the inning to load the bases and Freni got Kevin Kelley to pop up to Welch for the second out. Chaisson then delivered the game’s key blow, driving a double just inside the first base bag and into the right field corner that cleared the bases. Pedro Vasquez was next and he singled to center scoring Chaisson on a close play at the plate with what proved to be the eventual game-winner. Tempers flared at the end of the inning when both benches emptied as the teams exchanged words. Order was quickly restored without any ejections.

The Chiefs went quietly against Lueders in the bottom of the fourth and Freni set the Reds down in order in the top of the fifth.

The Chiefs climbed back into the game when they scored three times in the home half of the fifth. Serino and Yankopoulos led off the inning with back to back singles. The Chiefs then caught a break when Portes’ potential double-play grounder went through the legs of Kelley at second, allowing Serino to score to cut the lead to 5-2. Welch then lofted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Yanakopoulos, to make it 5-3. Gedman followed and drilled a long double halfway up the fence in right-center, sending Portes to third. Lueders then recorded his biggest out of the night when he struck out Peter Copa swinging for the second out. Mike Andre was next and he singled off the glove of Lueders, scoring Portes to make it 5-4. When Gedman took a wide turn at third, he was gunned out on a close and disputed play, trying to dive back to the bag to end the inning.

Freni held the Reds scoreless in the top of the seventh and the Chiefs seemed poised to tie or win the game in the bottom of the inning. Lueders got Yanakopoulos to line out to center for the first out. Portes then drilled his third single of the game to left-center. Tyler Campo came out of the bullpen to face Welch. Welch reached on an error when Chaisson knocked down his grounder and then threw wide of first, sending Portes to third, and putting runners on the corners with one out. Mike Burgoyne, representing the winning run, came on to pinch run for Welch. Campo put an abrupt end to the Chiefs’ rally, as well as the evening, when he got Gedman to ground into a tailor made doubleplay.

Lueders (3-1), got the win, going 6.1 innings and surrendering 10 hits. The Bentley University right-hander struck out four and walked two. Campo was credited with his second save of the year.

Freni, who saw his record dip to 5-2, allowed six hits, five in the fourth inning. The big righty struck out six and walked two.

With the win, the Reds move to 17-5-1 while the Chiefs fall to 15-6.
(Tillman)

By Bruce Tillman
Reading, MA- Mitchell Clegg made his first start of the season and responded with five innings of one-hit pitching when the Chiefs blanked the Reading Bulldogs 5-0 at Morton Field on Sunday.

Clegg, who was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 21st round of the 2009 MLB Draft, was dominant. The 6’5 southpaw needed just 44 pitches to blank the Bulldogs over the first five frames.

The Chiefs gave Clegg all the runs he would need when they scored three times in the top of the second inning. Johnny Welch lined a single to center off Reading starter Tim Woods to begin the inning. Mike Gedman then singled and Peter Copa drove Welch home with another single. Mike Andre made it 2-0 when he lined a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Gedman. Mike Barbati followed with a single and Billy Mottram drew a walk to load the bases. Tony Serino legged out the back end of an attempted 4-6-3 doubleplay, scoring Copa, for a 3-0 lead.

The Chiefs made it 4-0 in the top of the third. Welch reached on a two base error when Reading centerfielder Darren Hartwell dropped his warning track fly ball. Gedman then singled sending Welch to third. After Gedman stole second, Copa followed with a single up the middle, scoring Welch, with Gedman being thrown out at the plate by Hartwell.

The Chiefs final run came in the top of the seventh when Welch hit his league best fourth homer of the year to left.

Clegg struck out three, hit a batter, and walked none. The only hit he surrendered was a two out opposite field single to Colby Maiola in the bottom of the first inning. Tim Dunphy made a rare relief appearance and kept the shutout intact, working the sixth and seventh innings. Dunphy allowed a couple of seventh inning singles and struck out one.

Clegg (1-0), strained an oblique back in early June against the Americans. He worked an inning last week as a tune-up for today’s start.

Chiefs Chatter…. The Chiefs are expected to send 5-1 Jared Freni to the hill when they host the Watertown Reds on Monday at 8:00 PM at Maplewood…..Gedman (3 for 4) raised his average to .265…..Welch leads the ICL with 18 RBI while Andre and Juan Portes are in a four way tie for second, both driving in 15 runs each so far this season….Sunday’s win was the Chiefs’ ninth win in their last ten games…..