GAME TWO- Chiefs 5, Americans 1
There was more work to do for the Chiefs as they packed up their gear and headed across town to Playstead Park for a 4:00 PM date with the Americans.

This one had serious playoff implications as an Americans win would have put them in the driver’s seat for a second place finish. Lefty Dylan Ellis (4-1) had other ideas as he stopped the Americans on just four hits in the 5-1 complete game win. 

The Chiefs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Americans ace Dave Martin, who entered the game with a 3-0 mark and league leading 0.26 ERA, having allowed just two earned runs in 27 innings. Peter Copa drew a leadoff walk but Martin caught Mike Andre looking for the inning’s first out. Justin Crisafulli followed and drilled a long single off the base of the fence in left-center that moved Copa to third. With runners on the corners, rookie Dario Pizzano hit a high chopper to Americans second baseman Luke Begley, who only had time to force Crisafulli at second, allowing Copa to score. With Pizzano running on the pitch, catcher Bob McCarthy then lined a single to right with Pizzano taking third. Hal Landers drew Martin’s second walk of the inning to load the bases. Americans first baseman Dave Ahern then made an outstanding grab of a hard hit Brendan Pyburn one-hopper and beat him to the bag to avert further scoring and keep it a 1-0 affair. 

Ahern’s play loomed even bigger in the bottom of the inning when the Americans tied the game at 1-1. Ellis got the first two outs of the inning (Mike Kalfopoulos fly-out, Mike Ferriero strike out) before walking Steve Napier on a 3-2 pitch. Jay Olson made that walk hurt when he drilled a blast off the fence in center scoring Napier to tie the game. Ellis kept it even when he struck out Steve Tahmoush to end the inning. 

The Chiefs came right back in the top of the third to re-take the lead at 2-1. Martin retired Mike Bailargeon on a fly to left for the first out and Jeff Bercume drew a walk. Copa then bounced back to Martin for the second out of the inning with Bercume taking second. Andre then delivered what proved to be the game winning hit when he singled to right scoring Bercume. Martin got Crisafulli to pop up to end the inning. 

Ellis took charge in the next two frames retiring six in a row, including striking out the American’s side in order in the fourth. 

The Chiefs gave their southpaw some breathing room in the top of the fifth. Bailargeon led off and drilled his first ICL home run to right center that jumped the lead to 3-1. Bercume was then hit by a Martin pitch and Copa drew his second walk of the game to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Andre then dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt moving the Bercume and Copa up a base. Crisafulli came up big and lined a single to center scoring both runners and upping the margin to 5-1. 

Ellis survived an outfield miscue by Bercume in centerfield off the bat Napier to lead off the fifth and Martin held the Chiefs scoreless in the top of the sixth. 

The Americans appeared poised to mount a comeback in the bottom of the sixth but Ellis and some outstanding Chiefs defense prevented that. Mike DelPonte led off with a single up the middle and Ahern drew a walk to put two men on with nobody out. Ellis then got a huge out when he struck out K.C. McCarthy swinging. Kalfopoulos then hit a hard hit ball at Copa at first, who made a nice play behind the bag, and beat Kalfopoulos to the base for the second out. With runners now at second and third, Ferreiro hit a tough chopper at Andre at third. The Chiefs veteran charged and gloved the ball on a short hop and threw Ferreiro out at first to end the inning at keep the game at 5-1. 

Martin retired the Chiefs in order in the top of the seventh. 

Ellis got Napier to ground to Bailargeon to open the Medford seventh. Olson then kept the Americans hopes alive when he collected his second hit of the day to right. But it was all Ellis from there as he got Tahmoush to hit into a fielder’s choice and ended the game when Begley grounded to Pyburn. 

Ellis, from Merrimack College & Gloucester, struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 1.44.

Medford, MA- The Lexington Blue Sox scored five times in the fourth inning to erase a 1-0 lead and knock off the Chiefs 5-1 at Playstead Park on Friday.

Two walks, a hit batsman and doubles by Ben Hewett and Eric Poling, along with a Tom Haugh single, provided the Sox with the runs.

Mike Andre and Jeff Bercume both had two hits for the Chiefs.

Mike DiCato (5-3) went the first 5.1 innings and allowed six hits  while striking out four.

Left-hander Connor Bishop worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Chiefs.

Ageless veteran Barry Foster (1-1) went the route for the Blue Sox scattering six hits while striking out five.

The Chiefs and Blue Sox meet again on Sunday at 12:45 PM at Tufts University. Following that game, the Chiefs will travel across town to Playstead Park at 4:00 PM for a make-up game with the Medford Americans. That game will go a long way in determining the final playoff seedings.

The best of three first round of the playoffs are expected to begin on Tuesday. The first and second place teams will receive first round byes.

Chiefs Chatter....Brian Macrina picked up his 214th career hit on Friday to move past Alex Masel (213) and into eighth place on the all-time Chiefs list......Mike Andre reached a milestone when he recorded the 100th hit of his Chiefs career in the fourth inning and now stands 17th on the all-time list....... Mike Langston (538 hits) is the Chiefs all-time hit leader followed by Justin Crisafulli in second place, who has recorded 482 so far in his career.  Mike Barnes (365), Dave Clivio (328), Warren Olson (304), Steve Daley (273) and Hank Landers (238), along with Macrina and Masel, are the Chiefs who have had more than 200 career hits...... For a complete listing of Chiefs all-time leaders, click on "Career Leaders"  on the top left of the Chiefs homepage.....The Chiefs were undecided on thier starting pitching for Sunday..... Bruce Tillman 

East Boston, MA- For the better part of this summer, Chiefs right-hander Chris Foundas has been searching for the form that made him the unanimous selection as the Intercity League all-star closer in 2008.

On Thursday night he found it.

His 2.2 innings of no-hit, six strikeout work, allowed the Chiefs to stage a sixth inning rally and come out of East Boston Stadium with a hard earned 3-3 tie, picking up a big point in the ICL standings.

Foundas was overpowering, entering the game in relief of starter Ryan McNeill with two men on base and one out in the bottom of the fifth and Chiefs already trailing 3-1.

The game featured a scoreless pitcher’s duel between McNeill and Testa Corp. Bombers ace Anthony Del Prete for 3 ½ innings before hosts broke through with a run in the bottom of the fourth.

Nick Martinho started things when he beat out an infield single between first and the mound. With Martinho running on a 3-2 pitch, Steve Wadsworth singled into the shortstop hole. Kevin O’Leary then singled to left to load the bases with nobody out. With the Chiefs infield at double play depth, Joe Papa hit an infield grounder that scored Martinho with the game’s first run as O’Leary was forced at second for the first out. McNeill struck out Paul Bonfiglio for the second out of the inning before walking Steve Buitkus to re-load the bases. He got out of the inning when Jay DeFillippo lined to Brian Macrina in left.

The Chiefs scratched out a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 1-1. Justin Crisafulli broke up Del Prete’s no-hit bid when he singled up the middle with one out. J.P. Pollard’s infield grounder forced Crisafulli at second for out number two. Hal Landers followed with a perfect bunt single moving Pollard to second. The Chiefs inserted Dario Pizzano as a pinch runner for Pollard and he scored when Brendan Pyburn drilled a RBI single to right. Del Prete got Bob McCarthy to ground out to shortstop to end the inning and keep it a 1-1 game.

The Bombers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Vin Eruzione got things going with a single to center. Josh Klimkiewicz then lined shraply to Jeff Bercume in centerfield for the first out. Martinho then roped a triple into the right-center gap scoring Eruzione to give the Bombers the lead at 2-1. When Wadsworth singled to left scoring Martinho, the Bombers went up 3-1 and were threatening for more. Foundas was summoned from the bullpen and got O’Leary to line to center and then struck out Papa swinging to end the inning and keep the Chiefs in range.

Del Prete got Bercume swinging to start the Chiefs sixth. The Chiefs then caught a break when Papa made a nice play to get to a Peter Copa grounder but threw wide of first allowing him to reach on the throwing error. Macrina followed with a single to right putting runners at first and second with one out. Mike Andre then delivered a clutch RBI single to right scoring Copa that cut the lead to 3-2. Crisafulli was hit by a Del Prete pitch and Pizzano hit a RBI fielder’s choice forcing Crisafulli at second and allowing Macrina to score the tying run. With the go-ahead run at third base, Del Prete got tough and struck out Landers to end the inning.

Foundas set the Bombers down in the bottom of the sixth (including two strikeouts) and Del Prete got the Chiefs 1-2-3 (strikeout of Pyburn, McCarthy & Bercume grounders) in the top of the seventh.

Foundas struck out the heart of the Bombers order (Klimkiewicz, Martinho & Wadsworth) in order in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the tie for the Chiefs.

Chiefs Chatter…With the tie, Chiefs go to 14-10-3 (31 points) and assured themselves of another winning season, their 44^th in 46 years….Mike DiCato (5-2) is the expected starter when the Chiefs host the Lexington Blue Sox at Playstead Park on Friday at 6:00 PM. The Chiefs will use Playstead as their home venue on Friday as Tufts University is playing host to a Top-96 showcase…The Chiefs were to play the Blue Sox again on Saturday but that game has been switched to Sunday at 12:45 PM at Tufts University. The Chiefs will then travel to meet the Americans at Playstead on Sunday at 4:00 PM as part of a two site doubleheader. The Americans will have their traveling shoes on as well, as following the Chiefs game, they head to Ferullo Field in Woburn to meet the Tanners at 8:00 PM in what is shaping up as the final regular season game of the ICL season….The best of three first round of the playoffs is scheduled to begin on Tuesday with Seed 3 hosting Seed 6 and Seed 4 hosting Seed 5….The best of semi-finals are slated to start on Friday, August 14….

Medford, MA- The Andre Chiefs at Medford Americans game scheduled for tonight in Medford has been postponed.

A severe downpour hit Playstead Park in West Medford shortly before 4:00 PM this afternoon leaving the field unplayable.

"It is the worst flooding that I have seen in quite awhile", said Americans Manager Kevin Burgoyne, who was at the field and watched as the infield and baselines became flooded.

The game will be made up at Playstead on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM.