Andre Chiefs

East Boston & Lexington, MA- It wasn’t the longest game ever played but it sure seemed that way. A little under twenty-four hours after it began, spanning two cities and surviving a curfew and a late venue change, the Chiefs and Bombers finally decided Game Four of their best of five semi-final series on Wednesday. For the Chiefs it was well worth the wait as they came out on top 7-6 in ten innings.

With the win, the Chiefs wrapped up the semi-final series three games to one and earned themselves a ticket to the ICL’s Championship Series against the Lexington Blue Sox. 

Mike Andre carried the Chiefs offense driving in four of the Chiefs seven runs, crushing a three run homer, his second of the series, in the first inning, accounted for the tying run on a double play ball in the seventh (no rbi) and putting the Chiefs ahead 6-5 with a RBI single with two outs in the ninth. 

Ryan McNeill started for the Chiefs and worked into sixth, leaving in favor of Dan Lozeau. Lozeau, surrendered the lead in the inning as the Bombers went ahead 5-4, but only briefly as the Chiefs evened things up in the seventh. 

Andre gave the Chiefs the lead again in the top of the ninth and it appeared that it was going to stay that way until Josh Klimkiewicz delivered a long two out RBI single in the bottom of the inning, scoring Jay Defilippo who had drawn a walk, putting things even at 6-6 just before the curfew at East Boston Stadium brought the proceedings to a halt. 

Rookie Hal Landers collected the eventual game winner in the top of the tenth, when the game resumed in Lexington, driving home fellow rookie Dario Pizzano who had doubled and was sacrificed to third by Bob McCarthy. 

Dylan Ellis came on for the Chiefs in the bottom of the tenth inning to earn the save for Lozeau who picked up his second win of the series. Colin Quirk took the loss for the Bombers in relief of Mike Hashem who went the first seven innings.   

By Bruce Tillman
Medford, MA- Centerfielder Jeff Bercume (4-4) was a one man offensive show and the Chiefs got an outstanding two-hit pitching effort from rookie Rob Machado and veteran Danny Lozeau as they nipped the Testa Corp. Bombers 2-1 in eight innings on Monday evening at Tufts University. With the win, the Chiefs take a 2-1 lead in the best of five semi-final series. 

The Bombers got their only run of the night in the top of the first inning. Machado issued a two out walk to Josh Klimkiewicz. Clean-up man Nick Martinho followed and gave the Bombers a quick 1-0 lead when he blasted a long double to the right-centerfield gap scoring Klimkiewicz.  

Bombers starter Anthony Del Prete kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard until they tied the game up in the bottom of the third. Brendan Pyburn led off and drilled a double to the wall in right-center. Brian Macrina then grounded out to shortstop Joe Papa with Pyburn taking third. Bercume brought Pyburn home with the tying run, delivering a single just inside the first base bag. Bercume stole second but Del Prete kept it a 1-1 game when he struck out Mike Baillargeon and got Mike Andre on an infield grounder. 

Machado worked a 1-2-3 fourth and Del Prete, the ICL’s all-star starting pitcher the past two seasons, yielded only a leadoff single to Justin Crisafulli in the bottom of the inning. 

Machado issued a two out walk to Jay DeFillipo in the fifth before getting Vin Eruzione on a fly ball to end the inning.  

After Pyburn and Macrina both grounded out to start the home half of the fifth inning, Bercume drilled a two out triple to right-center. Del Prete got tough once again and caught Baillargeon looking to keep the game tied at 1-1. 

In the top of the sixth, Machado struck out Klimkiewicz swinging (his only K of the night) and then issued a four pitch walk to Martinho. The Chiefs defense came up big once again as Machado got Stan DeMartinis to bounce into a 4-6-3 (Baillargeon to Pyburn to Macrina) doubleplay. 

Del Prete, who pitched professionally for three seasons in Evansville, Indiana, had a rocking chair sixth inning, retiring Andre on fly to left, Crisafulli on a fly to right and Dario Pizzano on hard grounder back to him. 

The Bombers threatened to take the lead without the benefit of a hit in the top of the seventh as Machado began to show some fatigue in the 85 degree heat. Mike Adessa flew to Pizzano in left for the first out and Steve Wadsworth drew a five pitch walk. Papa was next up and he and hit a chopper to Baillargeon’s left. The second baseman’s only play was to first base, throwing Papa out as Wadsworth moved into scoring position. Machado then walked his second batter of the inning (Steve Buitkus) and sixth of the night. With Machado’s pitch count at 96, Chiefs manager Chuck Andre opted to go to the bullpen and summoned Lozeau. Lozeau went up in the count 1-2 to DeFillipo before hitting him with a breaking ball that loaded the bases. Eruzione followed and hit a one-hopper to Andre at third who gloved the ball and stepped on third to end the threat. 

Del Prete was still dealing in the bottom of the seventh. He got catcher Bob McCarthy to fly to right for the first out. Hal Landers followed and bounced a single up the middle representing the winning run. Pyburn then hit a screaming liner Eruzione at second who fired to Klimkiewicz at first to double up Landers sending the game into extra innings. 

Things looked a bit ominous when Lozeau issued the Chiefs seventh walk of the night to Klimkiewicz leading off the Bombers eighth. But the former twenty game winner at Bryant University, let Klimkiewicz get no further as he settled down to retire Martinho on a pop up, DeMartinis swinging on strikes and Adessa on fly out to Bercume. 

Del Prete got Macrina to ground out to Adessa at third for the first out of the Chiefs eighth setting the stage for Bercume’s heroics. The speedy centerfielder beat out an infield roller to second base for his fourth consecutive hit of the night. With Baillargeon at the plate, Bercume took off for second and Wadsworth’s throw sailed into centerfield allowing him to get back to his feet and race to third. Del Prete’s 1-2 pitch to Baillargeon skipped away from Wadsworth just far enough to allow Bercume to slide across the plate with the winning run as the Chiefs dugout emptied to mob him. 

Machado surrendered just two hits in his 6.2 innings of work and Lozeau picked up the first playoff win of his career.

Del Prete, scattered eight hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter. 

Chiefs Chatter….Ryan McNeill will take the mound for the Chiefs against the Bombers Mike Hashem when the teams hook up in Game Four of the series on Tuesday night at East Boston Stadium at 8:00 PM…..The Chiefs were forced to go without Peter Copa who suffered a hamstring pull on Sunday….The Game Three win was the Chiefs first extra inning playoff win since 2002 when they beat the Wakefield Merchants 1-0 in nine innings at Tufts behind Paul Koslowski….Machado threw a one-hitter against Lexington in his last regular season start and combined with Monday's outing he has now allowed just three hits in his last 13.2 innings...   

By Bruce Tillman
East Boston, MA- Dylan Ellis’ gutsy complete game pitching performance sent the Chiefs home from East Boston Stadium with an “edge of your seat” 4-3 playoff win on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Chiefs evened their best of five semi-final series with the Testa Corp. Bombers at one game each. 

The Chiefs threatened right away, putting two men in scoring position in the top of the first inning. Bombers starter Eddie Donovan struck out Brendan Pyburn looking leading off the inning. Mike Baillargeon then tripled into the right center-field gap. Jeff Bercume drew a walk and promptly stole second. Peter Copa was next and he hit a one hopper right at Bombers third baseman Mike Adessa, who looked the runners back and threw him out at first. Donovan, who had a 0.84 ERA in seven appearances for Trinity this spring, escaped the inning when he got Mike Andre to ground out to second baseman Vin Eruzione. 

Ellis got the first two outs in the bottom of the first inning before former Harvard star Josh Klimkiewicz unloaded a bomb triple to center. Ellis matched Donovan’s escape and got Nick Martinho to ground to Baillargeon to keep the game scoreless. 

Donovan hit Justin Crisafulli with a breaking ball leading off the top of the second. The Chiefs could not capitalize as Macrina lined out, catcher Bob McCarthy grounded out and Hal Landers flew out to right. 

Ellis struck out ICL veteran Stan DeMartinis for the first out of the Bombers second before Adessa singled to center. Ellis sent the game into the third inning at 0-0 when he retired Steve Wadsworth on a grounder to Pyburn at shortstop and Joe Papa on a chopper to Baillargeon at second. 

The Chiefs broke the scoring ice in the top of the third inning. Donovan retried Pyburn on a grounder to Eruzione to start the frame. Bailargeon then reached on an infield single to third base. Adessa made a nice play to get to the ball, but threw wide of first for an error allowing Baillargeon to scamper to second. Bercume followed and delivered a laser shot home run to left-center, scoring Baillargeon ahead of him and giving the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. Papa then bobbled Copa’s grounder long enough to allow him to reach first on an error. Copa stole second and Donovan got the second out when Andre lined to center. Macrina came up big when he delivered Copa with a RBI single to left jumping the lead to 3-0. Donovan got McCarthy to pop up to end the inning. 

The Bombers came right back to pick up a run in the bottom of the third. Steve Buitkus lead off with a solid single to right. Jay DeFilippo followed with another single to left. Ellis then got Eruzione to bounce to Copa going to his right and he fired a strike to Pyburn forcing DeFilippo at second base. Klimkiewicz cut the lead to 3-1 when he singled down the left line scoring Buitkus. The Chiefs defense came up big when they turned a 4-6-3 doubleplay off the bat of Martinho to keep it a two run game. 

Donovan and Ellis both worked 1-2 -3 innings in the fourth. 

The Chiefs picked up what proved to be the eventual game winner in the top of the fifth but missed a chance to open up some room when they left the bases loaded. After Bercume grounded out, Copa unloaded on a blast to deep left. As he was rounding first, Copa came up lame with a hamstring pull but managed to get to second before going down in obvious pain. Dario Pizzano came on to run for Copa and Andre beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners with one away. Crisafulli then was hit by a Donovan pitch for the third consecutive time to load the bases. Donovan got the huge second out when he struck out Macrina swinging. McCarthy then came through when he lofted a single to right scoring Pizzano that ran the margin to 4-1. Landers then grounded sharply to second ending the inning. 

Ellis got stronger in the bottom of the fifth, again retiring the side in order, including a strikeout of Buitkus.  

The Chiefs appeared poised to open up the game once again in the top sixth but Donovan pitched himself out of another big time jam. After Pyburn flew out, Baillargeon walked and went to third on a Bercume single to right-center. Pizzano, hitting in Copa’s spot, drew a walk to load the bases. Donovan kept the Bombers in the game when he struck out Andre and Crisafulli both swinging. 

The Bombers built on Donovan’s escape job and threatened to take the lead after two were out in the sixth. Things started well for Ellis when he got the first two batters, Eruzione on a foul-out and Klimkiewicz on a pop-up. Martinho then gave the Bombers immediate life when he hammered a long solo home run to right-center that drew them closer at 4-2. They weren’t nearly finished as DeMartinis worked a walk and went to third when Adessa drilled a rocket single to center. Chiefs’ fans surely began feasting on the fingernails when Wadsworth followed with double to right-center scoring DeMartinis, sending Adessa to third, and putting the potential winning run in scoring position. Ellis got tough once again as he struck out Papa looking as the Chiefs headed to the seventh still holding the one run lead. 

The Chiefs wasted a leadoff single by Macrina in the top of the seventh as Donovan got McCarthy on a pop-up, Landers on a fly to left and Pyburn on a fly to right. 

Ellis kept the dramatics to a minimum in the bottom of the seventh when he retired Buitkis on a fly to Bercume, DeFilippo on a grounder to Baillargeon and finished strongly when he struck out Eruzione to end the game. 

Ellis allowed eight hits and struck out six. Donovan gave up nine hits and K’d five. 

Game Three will be played at Tufts University on Monday at 5:20 PM. 

**Bruce Tillman’s Chiefs Chatter & Game Notes are Coming Soon** 

By Bruce Tillman 
Medford, MA-They had it, they handed it away on a silver platter, and they desperately and unsuccessfully tried to take it back. 

Such was the story of the Chiefs in a hard to take 7-4 loss to the Testa Corp. Bombers in the opening game of their best of five series at Huskins Field on Friday evening. With the loss, the Chiefs find themselves in a one game to none hole, with Game Two at East Boston Stadium facing them on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM. 

Chiefs’ starter Mike DiCato never really found the grove that made him the go to guy during the regular season.  

In the top of the first inning, DiCato got the first out when Jay DeFillipo popped up. Vin Eruzione followed with a hard line single to center. The Chiefs defense took over as Josh Klimkiewicz bounced into a crisp, 5-4-3 (Mike Andre to Mike Baillargeon to Peter Copa) doubleplay. 

In the Chiefs first, Bombers starter Bobby Giarrantani got Brendan Pyburn and Baillargeon to both ground out, walked Jeff Bercume, who stole second, but came out unscathed when Copa flew to center. 

Nick Martinho led off the Bombers second inning with a long double to right-center. DiCato then struck out Stan DeMartinis swinging for the first out. He walked walked Mike Adessa on four straight pitches to put runners on first and second with one away. DiCato pitched his way out of it when both Steve Wadsworth and Joe Papa both grounded out to end the inning. 

The Chiefs came out swinging in the bottom of the second. Andre drilled the first pitch he saw into right field for a single. Justin Crisafulli followed with a double to left putting the Chiefs in business with runners on second and third with nobody out. Giarrantani then got Brian Macrina to ground sharply to third, freezing the runners for the first out. Bob McCarthy followed with a high hopper fielder’s choice RBI to Eruzione at second that scored Andre. Hal Landers then hit a weak fly to shallow left that ended the inning. 

DiCato had to pitch out of trouble again in the top of the third. After Steve Buitkus grounded out, DeFillippo singled to left. Eruzione then grounded to Copa at first for out number two. DiCato, obviously struggling, walked Klimkiewicz and Martinho in succession to load the bases. But he found his best form briefly when he reared back and struck out DeMartinis to end the inning as the Chiefs clung to the 1-0 lead. 

Giarrantani set the Chiefs down in order in the bottom of the third (Pyburn flyout, Baillargeon & Bercume groundouts) and DiCato had his strongest inning of the night when he kept the Bombers quiet in the top of the fourth.  

Crisafulli’s two out single was the all the Chiefs could muster in the bottom of the fourth as the game went into the fifth with the Chiefs still holding on to the 1-0 lead. 

The Bombers fifth started quietly enough when DiCato got DeFillipo swinging for the first out. Eruzione then singled into the shortstop hole and DiCato hit Klimkiewicz with a pitch. He continued to struggle and walked Martinho to load the bases with one out. DeMartinis then hit a chopper back to DiCato, who instead of coming home with what looked like a certain 1-2-3 doubleplay, elected to throw to second base. DiCato’s throw sailed into centerfield for an error and suddenly the Bombers had a 2-1 gift lead. DiCato got Adessa to ground out to Pyburn for the inning’s second out, with both Martinho an DeMartinis moving to second and third. Chris Foundas came on from the bullpen and walked Wadsworth to load the bases. The reliever, who has been hot and cold for the Chiefs this season, then surrendered a huge two RBI single to Joe Papa that extended the Bombers lead to 4-1. 

The Chiefs went quietly in the fifth (McCarthy flyout, Landers groundout, Pyburn flyout) and the Bombers opened up some space in the top of the sixth. DeFillipo led off with a single and Foundas, after two unsuccessful sacrifice bunt attempts, struck out Eruzione for the first out. Klimkiewicz was intentionally walked and he got Martinho to pop up to Baillargeon for the second out. The Chiefs and Foundas looked like they were going to escape the inning when DeMartinis hit a foul ball down the right field line. The Chiefs usually outstanding defense abandoned them once again as the ball ended up going off Copa’s glove, with his back to the plate, with both Baillargeon and Landers looking like they had a better shot at making the catch, giving DeMartinis new life. As fate would have it, the ICL veteran deposited Foundas’ next pitch over the right field fence for a three run homer and a seemingly insurmountable 7-1 Testa lead. 

The Chiefs started to show some life with two outs in the sixth inning. Baillargeon flew to right for the first out and Bercume grounded out to Klimkiewicz unassisted for out number two. Copa then doubled to left and Andre followed with a two run homer over the 379’ sign in right-center that cut the Bombers lead to 7-3. Giarrantani got Crisafulli to ground out to end the inning. 

Rob Machado, who has been nothing short of outstanding lately, came on for Foundas and worked a solid and scoreless seventh. 

Medford, MA- And now they can rest. At least for a few days. 

After a furious stretch, with twenty four games on the docket in the last twenty eight days, the Chiefs earned themselves a second place regular season finish with a sweep of a two site, three team doubleheader on Sunday.  With the wins, the club finishes at 16-11-3 and gets a first round playoff bye and a ticket into the ICL semi-finals. 

GAME ONE- Chiefs 3, Blue Sox 0
Rookie Rob Machado served up the best performance of his young ICL career in the opener, coming within one out of throwing a no-hitter, in a 3-0 shutout of the Lexington Blue Sox at Tufts University on Sunday afternoon. 

Machado lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh inning when Blue Sox rookie pinch-hitter Chris Shaw lined a clean opposite field single to left. 

The game was scoreless through the first 2 ½ innings until the Chiefs picked up all of their runs in the bottom of the third against Drew Brzozowski. Hal Landers got things going when he led off with a double to right-center. Leadoff man Brendan Pyburn followed and moved Landers to third with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Mike Bailargeon then stepped up a drilled a double to left scoring Landers as the Chiefs took a 1-0 lead. Jeff Bercume then grounded out to second base moving Bailargeon to third and Peter Copa delivered him a pitch later with a single to left making it 2-0. Mike Andre then doubled to left scoring Copa giving the Chiefs a 3-0 lead. 

Machado took care of the rest. The right-hander from UMass-Amherst, who was previously a standout at Malden Catholic, was perfect through the ten batters of the game before surrendering a one out walk to Ross Curley in the fourth. He had 1-2-3 innings in the first, second, third, fifth and sixth.  

In the seventh, Machado got the first out by striking out Boston College’s Kyle Prohovich looking. Clean-up hitter Matt McEvoy followed and bounced back to Machado for out number two. Shaw pinch hit for Ben Hewett and drilled the first pitch he saw to left to break up the no hit bid. Machado gained the shutout when he got Tom Haugh to hit a chopper back to him to end the game. 

Machado threw just 81 pitches, struck out three, walked two, and raised his season mark to 2-3.