Andre Chiefs

Malden, MA- After being held to just seven hits in their last two games, the Chiefs bats showed some signs of life when they banged out ten runs and a dozen hits on the way to a 10-1 win over the Arlington Trojans at Maplewood on Wednesday night.

Righty Matt DiCato picked up his first win of the season working the first six innings and his mates played some opportunistic defense behind him turning three double plays.

DiCato retired the first two batters of the game then pitched out of a minor jam by striking out Seth Coiley after two out singles by Dave Cunningham and Marcus Way.

The Chiefs went to work with two outs in the bottom of the first. Tony Serino, who was hitting in the three hole, singled up the middle and Juan Portes followed with a double into the left field corner that went off the glove of third baseman Tommy Lenane. Mike Andre then plated both Serino and Portes with a single up the middle for a 2-0 lead.

The Chiefs turned the first of their doubleplays in the top of the second. Dave Csaplar led things off with a single before former Harvard shortstop Morgan Brown bounced into a 6-4-3 twin killing. Matt Cooney then flew out to Serino to end the inning.

Matt Lounsbury held the Chiefs scoreless in the bottom of the inning before the Chiefs defense erased another Trojan threat in the top of the third. Conor Reensterna drew a walk, stole second, but was erased when Derek Pizarro lined into Portes to Mike Barbati doubleplay. Lenane followed with a single but DiCato got Cunningham to fly out to Serino to end the inning.

The Chiefs made it a 3-0 game in the bottom of the third when Serino singled, stole second, and scored on a Portes’ double.

The Trojans threatened but couldn’t score in the top of the fourth. Way led off with a single and was forced at second on a Way fielder’s choice. Csapler then grounded out before Brown drew a walk. DiCato got out of it unscathed when he struck out Cooney on a breaking ball to end the inning.

It went to 4-0 in the Chiefs’ fourth when Barbati singled, was pushed to second on Nick Leva’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on Mike Burgoyne’s RBI single to left.

The Trojans picked up their run in the fifth. Reensterna was hit by a DiCato pitch, moved to second on an infield grounder, and scored on Lenane’s bloop single to right.

The Chiefs got that run right back in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. Portes singled and Andre lined a ground rule double to right. After Chad Conner struck out swinging, Mike DiCato delivered Portes with a sharp single to center.

In the Arlington sixth, Csapler walked and Brown singled into the shortstop hole. Cooney flew to left before the Chiefs’ turned their third doubleplay of the game when Yanakopoulos snagged a Reensterna liner and fired to second to double off Csapler.

It became a rout in the bottom of the sixth after Brett Manley replaced Lounsbury. Two walks, a Burgoyne single, and a Portes sacrifice fly (which was dropped) made it 6-1. School was out when Conner deposited a Manley pitch over the centerfield fence for a grand slam and a 10-1 Chiefs’ lead.

Bentley lefty Evan Walsh came on in relief of DiCato and worked a scoreless seventh.

With the win, DiCato evened his record at 1-1 on the year.

The Chiefs are now off until Sunday at 5:00 PM when they host the Mooney Dental Tanners at Tufts University.

Malden, MA- Jared Freni threw a complete game two-hitter, outdueling Wakefield’s John Russolillo, as the Chiefs shutout the Merchants 4-0 at Maplewood on Monday evening.

On a night when offense was at a premium, veteran Mike Andre provided most of it, driving in three of the four runs scored in the game with a second inning gap shot double and a sixth inning sacrifice fly.

After a scoreless first inning, the Chiefs took a 2-0 lead in the second. Mike Gedman drew a walk and promptly stole second. Nate Witkowski was next and he reached when Wakefield third baseman Kevin Mortimer threw his grounder away with Gedman taking third on the play. Andre then drilled the first pitch he saw from Russolillo to the fence in right-center for a two RBI double, scoring Gedman and Witkowski all the way from first. Russolillo escaped further damage when he got Mike DiCato to ground out with Andre moving to third, Mike Barbati to fly to short center, and struck out catcher Nick Leva swinging.

The Merchants mounted their biggest threat of the night in the top of the third. Nick Murray led things off with an opposite field double to right. Joe Barry then grounded to Gedman at first with Murray taking third. Freni walked Lou Tarantino and he stole second. Bobby Loscano went down swinging for the second out before Freni issued his second walk of the inning to Scott Searles to load the bases. The Chiefs got out of the inning when Brooks Townsend flew to DiCato in left.

It stayed a 2-0 game until the Chiefs picked up their third run in the bottom of the fifth. DiCato was hit by a Russolillo pitch and was sacrificed to second by Barbati. Leva then singled to left-center with DiCato moving to third. Tony Serino legged out the back end of an attempted 6-4-3 doubleplay to pick up an RBI with DiCato scoring. Serino stole second before Paul Yanakopoulos bounced out to end the frame.

Freni cruised through the top of the sixth, getting three infield grounders, before the Chiefs added another run in the bottom of the inning. Juan Portes singled up the middle to get the inning started. Gedman followed and hit a towering fly down the left field line which Tarantino overran for an error. Witkowski then moved the runners up to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Andre followed and drove in his third run of the game when he lined a Russolillo pitch to right for a sacrifice fly, scoring Portes to make it 4-0.

Freni didn’t leave the issue in doubt, striking out the side in the top of the seventh, sandwiched around Murray’s second hit of the night, a two out single up the middle.

Freni, now 2-1, allowed just the two hits to Murray, struck out eight, and walked three. He threw 122 pitches and recorded his 500th career strikeout when he K’d Nick Napoli for the second out of the fourth inning.

Russolillo (Babson/Georgetown, MA) allowed just three hits, walked three, hit a batter, and struck out four. His record fell to 0-2 on the season.

Chiefs Chatter……The still banged up Chiefs played the game without Peter Copa (oblique), Mike Burgoyne (hamstring), and Johnny Welch (still recovering from last week’s HBP)…. Also unavailable due to injuries were LHP Mitchell Clegg and infielder Matt Nuzzo…..Freni joins Dave Marsters and Fred Knox as the only pitchers to have struck out 500 batters in their Chiefs’ careers. Not a bad group to be in as both Knox (2010) and Marsters (2011) have been both inducted into the Intercity League’s Hall of Fame…..Andre also continues to climb the all-time career leader list and hit another milestone when he drove in his 150th run when Witkowski scored from first on his second inning double….. The Chiefs will travel to Endicott College in Beverly on Tuesday night at 8:00 PM to visit the Reading Bulldogs……On Wednesday, the Chiefs return to Maplewood to meet the Arlington Trojans……

Beverly, MA- Reading’s Tim Woods blanked the Chiefs 3-0, besting Tim Dunphy, in an all southpaw battle and a flawlessly played defensive game at Endicott College on Tuesday night.

Hitting was once again scarce on both sides of the ledger as the game featured a total of 10 hits, six by the Chiefs and four off the bats off the Bulldogs. Simply put, Reading capitalized on their limited opportunities while the Chiefs did not.

Dunphy and Woods matched blanks over the first two and one half innings before the Bulldogs broke through with a run in the bottom of the third. Ryan Wolfsberg put Reading in business when he led off the inning and rolled a triple into the right field corner. With the Chiefs’ infield drawn in, Dunphy got Billy Cataldo to ground to Juan Portes at short for the first out. Trevor Bouvier then plated the game’s first run when he hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Wolfsberg.

After the Chiefs wasted a leadoff single by Mike Burgoyne in the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs added a couple of big two out runs in the bottom of the inning. John Halsey flew out and Mike O’Leary grounded to Portes for the first two outs of the inning. Pat Lucas then drew a full count walk. Harrison Smoske made that hurt when he doubled to right-center, just out of the reach of a diving Tony Serino, to score Lucas from first. Burton Deady followed with a single to left to make it 3-0. Wolfsberg added another single before Cataldo grounded out to end the inning.

The Chiefs best scoring chance came in the top of the sixth. They had three hits in the inning sandwiched around a doubleplay. Serino led off and beat out an infield single. Burgoyne, who had two straight singles in his return to lineup, hit the ball sharply again but this time the result was a tailor made 4-6-3 doubleplay. With the bases cleared, the Chiefs continued to battle when Portes and Mike Gedman both singled. The threat went by the boards when Nate Witkowski lined out to right-center with a nice running catch made by Lucas.

Both teams went in order in their last at bat.

For Woods, it was his second straight shutout of the season. The Salem State product threw a one-hit, 10 K performance at the Arlington Trojans last Tuesday. He allowed six hits and struck out four.

Dunphy, now 1-1, took the loss despite allowing just four hits. The veteran walked just one, didn’t record a strikeout, and got a dozen ground ball outs.

The Chiefs return home on Wednesday night when they host the Trojans at Maplewood at 8:00 PM.  Righty Matt DiCato is expected to get the start for the Chiefs.

With Saturday’s game in Lexington against Wakefield already been washed out, the Chiefs don’t return to action until Monday at 8:00 PM when they host the Merchants at Maplewood……..On Tuesday, they make the long trek to Endicott College in Beverly to meet the Reading Bulldogs before returning home to Maplewood to meet the Arlington Trojans on Wednesday at 8……..Johnny Welch’s condition continues to improve after last Monday’s beaning and he is expected back into the lineup as soon…..In the injury department, Peter Copa (oblique) and Matt Nuzzo have not appeared in any of the Chiefs’ first five games…….LHP Mitchell Clegg faced just one batter (a strikeout) before suffering an oblique injury of his own. The former Washington Nationals southpaw is expected back in the next week or so…..The Chiefs started to recover a bit from the injury bug that has plagued them over the first week of the season when Paul Yanakopoulos returned to the lineup on Wednesday night. He immediately contributed with a two run single in his first at bat of the season. Yanakopoulos broke his right hand when playing for UMass-Amherst this past spring……..Rookie Adam Lucey recorded the first hit of his ICL career against Watertown on Wednesday. Lucey hit .327 for the Fisher College Falcons this past spring while appearing in 28 games…..Tony Serino (.467), Mike Barbati (.455), Mike Andre and Juan Portes, both at .308, are among the ICL leaders in the young campaign……Jared Freni has assumed his usual spot atop the ICL strikeout leaders with 23 K’s in his first 13.2 innings, two strikeouts ahead of Arlington’s Brian Chaput who has 21……Tim Dunphy is also among the league leaders in ERA having a 0.68 mark in 10.1 innings……In a league oddity, Mooney’s Chris Ruocco has four hits so far this season, all doubles……Watertown’s Sean Callahan and Will Brennan each have seven RBI’s each to lead the ICL…..Welch leads the Chiefs offense with four RBI……Bruce Tillman

Waltham, MA- Tim Dunphy picked up his first win of the season and his teammates backed him with 11 runs and 11 hits on the way to an 11-2 victory over the Watertown Reds at Bentley University.

Dunphy went 6.2 innings and was staked to five run first inning lead.

The Chiefs scored five times in the top of the first when they sent 11 men to the plate against Reds’ rookie left-hander Brendan Shea. Singles by Mike DiCato, Juan Portes and Paul Yanakopoulos (2 RBI) sandwiched around a balk, a wild pitch, and five walks, accounted for the runs.

The lead went to 8-0 in the top of the third on singles by Mike Andre, Mike Barbati, Adam Lucey, and Tony Serino. For Lucey, (Fisher College/Malden,MA) it was the first hit of his Intercity League career.

The Chiefs made it an 11-0 game in the fourth inning on singles by Barbati, Serino, DiCato and Portes.

The Reds finally broke up the shutout bid when they picked up a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Dunphy struck out a couple and waked just one. Fellow southpaw Evan Walsh (Bentley/Arlington, MA) finished up for the Chiefs in the seventh.

The Chiefs are off until Saturday afternoon when they play the Wakefield Merchants in Lexington's annual Jerie DeAngelis Day of Baseball at Lexington High School at 1:15 PM.