Andre Chiefs

Medford, MA – The Chiefs concluded their four game homestand with a brisk 4-2 win over the expansion Reading Bulldogs on Friday night at Tufts University.

Starter and winner Mike DiCato got the Bulldogs side in order in the top of the first inning, including two strikeouts, and his mates went right to work with the bats in the home half of the inning.

Reading right-hander Dan Eisenberg of Tufts University hit leadoff batter Bob McCarthy with a pitch. Mike Baillargeon followed with a single just inside the third base bag to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Mike Gedman’s grounder forced Baillargeon at second and left runners on the corners with one out. Cleanup man Peter Copa was next and his RBI grounder to short scored McCarthy to give the Chiefs a 1-0 lead. Justin Crisafulli was next up and drew a two out walk. Mike Andre then lined an Eisenberg pitch to right scoring Gedman to up the lead to 2-0. Eisenberg got Matt Anderson to ground sharply to third baseman T.J. Murphy to end the inning.

Reading got a two out single from Kevin O’Leary in the top of the second and Eisenberg settled down and retired the Chiefs in order in the bottom of the inning.

The Bulldogs cut the lead in half in the top of the third and threatened for more. Bill Cataldo got things started with a line single to center. Joe Harvey then bounced to Andre at third base with Cataldo taking second. DiCato struck out Endicott’s Mike Russo swinging for the second out. DiCato uncharacteristically walked Steve Buitkus and Alex Fischer in succession to load the bases. Andrew Bishop of Williams College followed and got Reading on the board when he chopped an infield single between DiCato and Baillargeon at short. DiCato preserved the Chiefs'  2-1 lead when he struck out St. Anselm’s T.J. Murphy with the bases juiced to end the threat.

Eisenberg got the Chiefs 1-2-3 again in the bottom of the third.

The Bulldogs made some noise in the fourth when DiCato hit O’Leary with a pitch to start the inning. Catcher John Halsey then drilled liner right at Tony Deshler in centerfield with O’Leary running on the pitch. Deshler made the catch and threw a strike to Anderson at first to double up O’Leary. Cataldo then singled again but the inning ended when Harvey grounded out to Mike Barbati at second base.

Nothing doing for the Chiefs in the bottom of the fourth as Eisenberg got the side in order for the third straight time.

DiCato started strong in the fifth by striking out Russo and Buitkus before walking Fischer. The game moved to the bottom of the fifth when Bishop grounded out to Baillargeon end the inning.

The Chiefs picked up a much needed run in the bottom of the fifth. Consecutive singles from Barbati and Deshler ended Eisenberg’s night as Reading Manager Matt Morrison brought in former Chief and Malden Catholic lefty Chris Labriola of Central Florida. McCarthy greeted his ex-batterymate with a RBI single to left scoring Barbati and giving the Chiefs a 3-1 lead. Labriola averted further trouble when he got Baillargeon to fly to the warning track in straight-away center, Gedman to groundout and ended the inning when Russo made a nice running grab of a Copa shot to the left-centerfield gap.

Southpaw Jeff DeCarlo spelled DiCato to start the sixth and immediately got into trouble when Murphy singled to left and O’Leary delivered a check swing single to right. Halsey then moved both runners into scoring position with a well placed sacrifice bunt. With the red hot Cataldo at the plate, DeCarlo threw a wild pitch allowing Murphy to score, to chop the lead to 3-2, and sending O’Leary to third representing the tying run. With the Chiefs infield drawn in, Andre turned in the defensive gem of the night when he snagged Cataldo’s liner that was labeled for the left field corner for the second out. DeCarlo left O’Leary stranded ninety feet away when he came up big and struck out Harvey to end the inning.

The Chiefs responded by adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. Veteran Justin Crisafulli led off with hit number 497 of his Chiefs career and Brandeis’ Eric Rosenberg came on to pinch run for him. Andre followed with his second hit of the night, a single to rightfield, that pushed Rosenberg to second. Anderson then moved Rosenberg and Andre each up a base with a sacrifice bunt. Labriola then caught Barbati looking on a full count outside corner fastball for the inning's second out. Deshler was next and he legged out an infield single to the shortstop hole scoring his Brandeis teammate Rosenberg with the fourth Chiefs run. Labriola got McCarthy to fly out to center to close the inning and send the game to the seventh.

DeCarlo got Russo on a comebacker to the mound, Buitkus on a grounder to Barbati at second and then struck out Fischer looking to end the game and chalk up his first save of the season. 

DiCato (2-0), who recorded his second win of the year to go along with a couple of saves, struck out seven and allowed four hits in his 76 pitch, five inning outing.

The Chief enjoy an off day on Saturday and will travel to Walsh Field at Wakefield High School to visit the Merchants on Sunday at 5:00 PM.

Medford, MA- The Chiefs got to Reds starter Brian Casey for two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning.

The Reds got to Chiefs starter Jared Freni for two runs on a walk and two hits in the top of the sixth.

End of scoring.

End of story.

Tie game.

In the first ICL regular season extra inning game ever played at Huskins Field, the Reds and Chiefs battled to a nine inning 2-2 tie that must have had the pitching enthusiasts in the crowd grinning ear to ear.

The ICL implemented a new rule this season where tied games after seven innings would be extended to a maximum of nine innings to try and eliminate an unusual number of ties that have occurred over the past decade. They couldn’t resolve this one with the two extra frames and the way both teams were pitching, they may not have resolved it in twenty-two extra frames.

The Chiefs got their two runs in the first when Hal Landers led off with a single up the middle. Mike Barbati then drilled a line single to left-center putting the Chiefs in business with two on and nobody out. Casey struck out Mike Gedman swinging for the first out before Peter Copa unloaded a bomb double to center scoring both baserunners.

The Reds runs came abruptly in the sixth with Freni seemingly cruising along with two outs and nobody on. Trouble began when he issued a full count walk to Danny Chaisson. Bryan Evans followed and drove a shot to the base of the 410’ sign in center for a triple that scored Chaisson. Brendan Casey then turned Freni’s first pitch, a change-up, into a broken bat RBI single to left that scored Casey knotting the game at two. Rob Machado came out of the bullpen for Freni and got the final out of the inning.

The Reds got a two out single from Josh Chasse in the seventh and the Chiefs brought in University of Michigan southpaw Jeff DeCarlo, who struck out the left-handed hitting Sam Sager, to end the inning.

The Chiefs threatened to win it in the bottom on the ninth but could not score. After Casey struck out Gedman to start the inning, he walked Copa before he got Matt Anderson to fly to center for the second out. Justin Crisafulli then kept things alive when he singled to center sending Copa to second. When Mike Andre followed and lined Casey’s first pitch to Evans in right-field both teams had to settle for a point each.

Casey, who lowered his ERA to 1.18, allowed six hits in his nine innings of work and got the Chiefs side in order five times. The former Tufts standout struck out eight and retired 15 batters in row until he walked Copa in the ninth. It was the righty’s third straight complete game after striking out nine in an opening night 4-1 win over the Americans and posting a ten strikeout, 8-1 win, at Lexington on June 14.

Freni worked 5.2 innings and allowed six hits while striking out five. Machado, who kept his ERA at 0.00 while making his fifth appearance of the season, allowed one hit in his inning of work. DeCarlo retired all seven batters he faced and struck out two.

Thursday’s scheduled game against the Reading Bulldogs has been moved to Friday at Tufts University at 6:00 PM. The early schedule change was made due to the prospect of severe weather in the forecast for Thursday. Both Reading and the Chiefs were both scheduled for an off day on Friday.

Mike DiCato will get the starting assignment for the Chiefs.

Medford, MA- Dylan Ellis won his fourth consecutive start of the season, this time a neat two-hit shutout over the Lexington Blue Sox, and Mike Baillargeon whacked two opposite field homers to lead the Chiefs to an 8-0 win at Tufts University’s Huskins Field on Tuesday. Ellis was once again in control from start to finish on the way to recording his fifteenth career win in a Chiefs uniform.

Former Boston College centerfielder Pete Frates opened the Lexington first inning with line single to right but Ellis promptly picked him off first. The pickoff proved to be big as Rollins’ Ben Hewett then drew a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Steve Gath followed with the best hit ball of the night off Ellis, drilling a shot labeled for the left-center gap. Hal Landers got a good jump on the ball and made a nice running catch. Landers then threw to second to double up Hewett and end the inning.

Landers traded his glove for his bat and led off the bottom of the first with a double to left-center. Baillargeon then went the other way and drilled a Drew Brzozowski fastball over the right-field wall for a quick 2-0 Chiefs lead.   

 After Ellis got the Sox in order in the second, the Chiefs used five hits and three Lexington errors, to score four times in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-0 lead. The frame started quietly enough when Justin Crisafulli flew to Frates in center for the first out. Mike Andre got things started when he lined a Brzozowski pitch to right for a single. Bob McCarthy followed and drilled another single to right that Dan Capra let get away from him for an error, sending Andre to third. Brian Macrina then hit a RBI grounder to shortstop that scored Andre. Macrina went to second and McCarthy to third when the throw to get Macrina at first was low. After Landers flew out, Baillargeon hit a little chopper to third, which appeared he was going to beat out, scoring McCarthy. Hewett’s late throw to first went wide and Macrina came all the way around from second to score the Chiefs fifth run. When Mike Gedman followed with another RBI single that scored Baillargeon, the Chiefs were out to a 6-0 lead.

After a scoreless third inning, Frates led off the Blue Sox fourth when he beat out an infield single up the middle. He was quickly erased when Hewett bounced into a Baillargeon unassisted to first baseman Matt Anderson doubleplay.

The Chiefs lead went to 8-0 off reliever Mike O’Brien in the bottom of the fourth when Baillargeon hit his third round tripper of the year, scoring Landers ahead of him who had singled.  

Ellis, who lowered his ERA to 0.79, struck out five, walked two and allowed just the two singles to Frates. He threw 85 pitches and recorded his third complete game of the season.

The Chiefs homestand continues on Wednesday when they send Jared Freni (1-1) to the mound against the Watertown Reds at 6:00 PM.

Medford, MA- Over the course of a long summer of ICL baseball there are usually several nights that a team would like to forget. One of those nights that fit under the “forgetful column” took place for the Chiefs at Tufts University on Monday night.

The Testa Corp. Bombers, along with leaving nine men on base, had a lot to do with a Chiefs lackluster performance as they saw their six game winning streak come to a halt, 4-1.

The tone for this one was set early as the Bombers came up with two first inning runs and were poised to put up more, if not for a costly base running blunder that got the Chiefs out of the inning rather cheaply.

Chiefs starter Tim Dunphy hit leadoff man Mark O’Flynn with the first pitch of the game. Two pitches later it was 1-0 Bombers when veteran Pete John drilled a long double to straightaway center that scored O’Flynn. It quickly went to 2-0 when Dave Lightbody took Dunphy’s next pitch to the left-field corner for a double that scored John. Dunphy then settled a bit and struck out Mike Addesa for the first out. Sam Bean followed with a single to left and the throw to third was off the mark allowing Bean to take second. Dunphy and the Chiefs escaped further damage when Bean got hung up between second and third on Lemarre Rey’s routine grounder to Tony Deshler at shortstop. Deshler tagged out Bean and then fired home to catcher Bob McCarthy to get Lightbody for an unusual inning ending doubleplay.

The Chiefs squandered early scoring opportunities in the first inning (McCarthy single, Gedman walk) and again in the second when Justin Crisafulli singled and reached third with one out on consecutive wild pitches.

Lightbody made it a 3-0 game in the top of the third inning when he deposited a Dunphy fastball to the right of the 367’ foot sign in left-center for a solo homer.

Bombers starter and winner Jeff Rowan (1-1) of the University of Rochester, pitched out of trouble once again in the bottom of the third as a Landers walk and a Gedman single put two more runners on with one out. Rowan got out of the inning unscathed when Peter Copa fouled out and Matt Anderson grounded out.

Dunphy settled in and retired six of the last seven batters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings.

Rowan kept the Chiefs frustrated in the fourth when they left another runner on base and again in the bottom of the fifth when they wasted a Landers leadoff double.

Michigan lefty Jeff DeCarlo, who was making his first appearance for the Chiefs since 2006, replaced Dunphy to begin the sixth inning and retired the first two batters he faced on a groundout and a strikeout. He then walked Vin Eruzione who stole second and came around to score on Derek Sturkel’s RBI single to left.

Rowan retired the Chiefs in order in the sixth inning on three straight outfield fly balls (Anderson, Mike Andre and Crisafulli). Tufts right-hander Pat O’Donnell worked the top of the seventh and once again looked impressive, recording two K’s.

Former UConn southpaw Mike Hashem took over for Rowan to start the seventh and the Chiefs scored their only run without the benefit of a hit. Hashem, who was making his first appearance of the year, experienced some wildness and issued three walks to Deshler, pinch-hitter Matt Boleski and McCarthy that loaded the bases with one away. Gedman finally got the Chiefs on the board with a RBI infield grounder that scored Deshler. Copa followed and was representing the tying run when he hit a fairly deep fly to the right-center gap that was run down by Bean to end the game.

Rowan, who had lost a 2-0 decision to the Chiefs last week, allowed just four hits, walked two and struck out four. Dunphy (0-1) surrendered seven hits, struck out four and hit a batter in his five innings of work.

The now 7-2 Chiefs continue their homestand on Tuesday when they face the 6-1 Lexington Blue Sox at 6:00 PM.

The season is still young, but Andre Chiefs left-hander Dylan Ellis already has three victories after tossing a six-hit, 2-0 shutout against Testa Bombers.

In the process, the Gloucester native lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.07.

“He has good stuff, typical lefty stuff,” Andre Chiefs manager Chuck Andre said of Ellis, who earlier blanked Arlington Trojans, 7-0. “I saw him pitch his first college game when he beat Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., when he played with my son, Mike (Andre) at Merrimack College. This is his fourth year with us, and he’s been consistent. He pounds the strike zone. He gets the job done, and he gets a ton of ground-ball outs. He’s got a good slider and mixes up his pitches well.”

The 21-year-old Ellis concluded his Merrimack career second in the program’s history in innings pitched (215), strikeouts (185) and ERA (3.05).

“So far good. I don’t know (what the secret is). I’m pitching the way I’ve been all my life, the way all my coaches taught me,” said Ellis, who owns a 2.38 ERA in 155 career innings of Intercity League play. “I try and pick my spots. I usually start with the fastball and try and get ahead in the count and then work with the slider and changeup. It’s been great so far.

“Last year, we lost in the championship (to Lexington), so we’re looking to get back there. We need to get back there. It’s summer ball, but it’s a lot more serious because there’s a lot of guys that played college ball. It’s a fun atmosphere.”