Reading & Lexington Take 2-0 Semi-Finals Series Leads

/in /by

The Reading Bulldogs got a three-run homer from Chris Bosco and a two RBI double from Zac Talis to knock off the Andre Chiefs 6-4 to go up two games to none in their best of five series. Colby Morris spelled starter Jack Burke in the 4th inning and got the win with three innings of hitless relief.  Mitchell Clegg, who struck out nine, took the loss.

In the conclusion of game one from Monday night, Mike DeDonato doubled in two runs, and Talis hit a two-run homer, when the Bulldogs scored four times in the top of the 11th inning to break a 2-2 tie and go on to a 6-2 win.

In Somerville, the Lexington Blue Sox got six shutout innings from Ryan Filipowicz to paste the Royals 9-0 at Trum to also take a 2-0 series lead. Jeff Costello, with two doubles and three RBI’s, led the Lexington 10 hit offense. Jonathan Richard went 5.1 innings and was tagged with the loss.

Both the Bulldogs and Blue Sox will be looking to sweep their respective series’ on Wednesday night and move on to meet in the ICL Championship. The Bulldogs will visit the Chiefs at Pine Banks and the Blue Sox will host the Royals at Lexington High.

The games will both begin at 8:00 PM.

Bulldogs-Chiefs Suspended in 11th Tied 2-2, Will Resume Tuesday at Morelli Field at 7:45 PM

/in /by

Melrose, MA- Game one of the best of five semi-finals series between the Reading Bulldogs and the Andre Chiefs was suspended in the top of the eleventh inning, due to a lights curfew, on Monday night at Pine Banks. The game was tied at the point of suspension at 2-2.

The Bulldogs are batting in the top of the eleventh and have the bases loaded with nobody out. Mike DeDonato is at the plate with an 0-2 count.

The game will be picked up at that point at Morelli Field in Melrose on Tuesday night at 7:45 PM. Game Two of the series will immediately follow.

Below is the partial linescore from Monday’s Game One
At Pine Banks, Melrose MA
                                                          R     H     E
BULLDOGS  001 000 001   0       2      11    0
CHIEFS         000 001 001   0       2      10    0
Bulldogs-Hall, Mandrus (7th), Theriault (9th) & Bosco
Chiefs- Freni, Desai (9th), Saia (10th) & Stande
(Reading batting in top of the 11th, bases loaded, no outs, 0-2 count on Mike DeDonato)

Lexington Blue Sox

Lexington Blue Sox Take Opener Over Somerville, 3-2

/in /by

The Lexington Blue Sox erased a 2-0 Somerville lead and went on to take a 3-2 win in game one of their best of five semi-final series on Monday in Lexington. Game two will be played at Trum Field in Somerville on Tuesday at 8:00 PM.

Matt Karis went six innings for Lexington to get the win while Jeff Blount picked up the save.
Aaron Barbosa (single, stolen base) scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth on an error to give Lexington the win.

Somerville scored two in the second inning on an RBI single by Luke Ronchi and a run scoring double by Jake Cintolo. Thomas Russo drove in Lexington’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Barbosa’s single drove in Jeff Costello (single, stolen ) with the tying run in the sixth.

Soren Hanson went the distance for the Royals and struck out nine while allowing just four hits.

Reading & Somerville Sweep into ICL Semi-Finals

/in /by

Both the Reading Bulldogs and the Somerville Royals won their games on Friday night, to sweep their respective first round series 2-0, and move on to the best of five ICL semi-finals which will begin on Monday night.

The #6 seeded Bulldogs got a sixth inning double and three RBI’s from veteran Steve Busby to sweep the #3 Watertown Reds 4-2 at Lexington High. Reading erased a 2-0 fifth inning Watertown lead. Colby Morris picked up the series clinching win with three innings of hitless relief. Nate Beck took the loss for the Reds before giving way to Lamarre Rey in the sixth inning.

The #5 seed Somerville Royals followed up on their 5-2 eleven inning win on Thursday to close out the #4 Wakefield Merchants 10-1 at Morelli Field. Somerville got homers from Brian Campbell (2-2, 2 RBI’s, 4 runs scored) and John Collette (2-3, 4 RBI’s, 2 runs scored), and three hits from Rob Caggiano to lead their 13 hit attack. Jonathan Richard went the distance for the Royals and scattered four hits while striking out five.

The opening game of both semi-final series will be played on Monday night. The Bulldogs will travel to Pine Banks, on the Malden-Melrose line, to face the #1 seeded Andre Chiefs while the Royals move on to visit the #2 seeded Blue Sox at Lexington High.

Both of Monday’s games will begin at 8:00 PM.

Reading & Somerville Take Opening First Round Games

/in /by

The Reading Bulldogs and the Somerville Royals both took a 1-0 lead in their respective best of three series on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs got a strong effort from Jack Burke to beat the Watertown Reds 6-2 at Victory Field. Burke allowed just four hits and struck out seven in six innings as the Bulldogs jumped out to 6-0 fourth inning lead. Kevin Marciano drove in two of the Reading runs and Zac Talis, Darren Hartwell, and Rosario Missiti also had RBI’s. Dan Chassion and Logan Gillis drove in the Watertown runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Royals scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning to beat the Wakefield Merchants 5-2 in a marathon at Lexington High. Brian Campbell, John Collette, and Sean Harrington each had a couple of hits for the Royals. Soren Hanson got the win with three innings of work in relief of Chuck Gibson. Joseph Maguire went the first nine innings for Wakefield and allowed just two runs. Paul McGunigle and Ryan Collins drove in the Merchants’ runs.

Both series continue on Friday night. The Bulldogs and Reds meet at Lexington High and the Merchants and Royals will tangle at Morelli Field in Melrose. Both games will start at 8:00 PM.

Andre Chiefs, Intercity League

Chiefs Win Twice in Lexington to Take Regular Season Pennant

/in /by

The Andre Chiefs won the conclusion of a suspended game 4-2, then took the nightcap 5-2 on Wednesday night in Lexington to edge out the Blue Sox and win the 2017 Regular Season pennant. The Chiefs now earn the #1 seed and the Blue Sox will be the #2 seed in the upcoming ICL Playoffs.

Mitchell Clegg had a hand in both games. The lefty worked a scoreless inning to get the save for Anthony Sullivan (1-0) in the opener.

Clegg then threw a complete game three-hitter to get his 4th win of the year in game two. Johnny Welch hit a first inning grand slam, his 6th homer of the year, to give the Chiefs a 4-0 lead.
Dan Graham and Thomas Russo drove in the Lexington runs in the second game. Drew Leenhouts (3-1) took the loss despite only allowing five hits in his six innings of work.

The Chiefs finish the regular season at 22-6 (44 points) while the Blue Sox ended up at 20-7-1 (41 points).

Royals Get #5 Seed, Chiefs & Blue Sox Win, Meet Tonight to Determine Top Seed

/in /by

The Somerville Royals clinched the fifth seed in the upcoming ICL Playoffs with darkness shortened 6-4 win over the Arlington Trojans at Summer Street Field. Toby Stern (2-0) allowed just three hits. Wagner Gomez went 3-3 with three RBI’s and Sean Harrington added two hits for the Royals.

In Melrose, Jared Freni (7-2) scattered two hits and struck out ten in 6.2 innings when the Chiefs beat the Americans 8-0 at Morelli Field. Peter Copa hit a grand slam and Johnny Welch had a solo homer for the Chiefs who scored seven times in the top of seventh to break open a 1-0 game. Zeke Berg (0-3) pitched a strong six innings for the Americans.

The Lexington Blue Sox won their 11th straight game with a 4-1 victory over the Wakefield Merchants. Kevin Scanlon (1-0) went four innings to get the win as the Blue Sox got homers from Ross Curley and Dan Graham. Andrew Auld (1-2) look the loss.

The regular season will conclude tonight when the Chiefs and Blue Sox meet in Lexington starting at 7:30 PM. The teams will first finish a suspended game with the Chiefs leading 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Following that game, the regularly scheduled game will be played. The results of these two games will determine who will get the top playoff seed.

Bulldogs Secure Playoff Spot, Chiefs & Blue Sox Clinch First-Round Byes

/in /by

The Reading Bulldogs clinched a playoff spot with two wins at Endicott College on Monday night. The Bulldogs beat the Arlington Trojans 7-3 to complete a suspended game, and then got a homer from Mike Taylor and went on to win the second game 10-2.

At Pine Banks, Josh Desai went to 6-0, and threw his third straight shutout, when he out-dueled Chris Mitchell (4-4) as the Chiefs beat the Americans 1-0 to clinch a first-round playoff bye. Matt Nuzzo supplied the game’s only run with a solo homer in the first inning.

In Lexington, the Blue Sox used a two-run sixth inning homer from Dan Graham to tie the game, then got a walk-off seventh inning single from Julian Alvarez, to come from behind to edge the Watertown Reds 3-2. Chris Law (2-1) got the win in relief as the Blue Sox also clinched a first-round bye. Justin Forman’s solo homer and Dan Chaisson’s single gave the Reds a 2-0 third inning lead. Bill Sullivan (3-1) struck out 10 despite taking the loss.

There are three games on tonight’s ICL schedule. The Somerville Royals visit the Trojans at Summer Street Field at 6:15 PM, the Chiefs visit the Americans at Morelli Field in Melrose at 7:30 PM, and the Wakefield Merchants and Blue Sox tangle in Lexington at 8:00 PM.

Prior to the Chiefs-Americans game at Morelli Field, former Chiefs’ Bench Coach Steve Calabresi’s number will be retired. “Coach Cal” passed away suddenly in April after spending nearly thirty years with the Chiefs’ organization.

Joe Walsh Memorial Golf Classic

/in /by

The Joe Walsh Memorial Golf Classic will be held Monday August 14th at LeBaron HIlls Country Club in Lakeville MA

Joe Walsh was an outstanding baseball coach and an even better person. He touched so many lives through his association with Suffolk University, Harvard University, the Cape Cod Baseball League and amateur baseball throughout New England. To honor Joe’s life, a group of former players have created a scholarship in Joe’s name at his alma mater Catholic Memorial High School. This scholarship will be given annually to a deserving student. To fund the scholarship we are holding the third annual golf tournament on August 14th, 2017 at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville, MA. We would love to see as many of Joe’s former baseball players as well as his girls basketball players and track / cross country athletes join us for a great day of golf for a great man and great cause. Keeping Joe’s legacy alive through this annual scholarship! We hope to see you at the tournament, but if you cannot make it, please consider some of the other options available to contribute to the cause. For more information please visit www.joewalshgolf.com

 

 

 

 

Royals Win Two on Sunday

/in /by

The Somerville Royals won both ends of a three team doubleheader that was played at Walsh Field in Wakefield on Sunday. The Royals shutout the Wakefield Merchants 8-0 in the opener and then took the nightcap 9-4 over the Reading Bulldogs.

In the first game, the Royals got two hits each from Sean Cameron, Adam Johnson, and Luke Ronchi, to back the six-hit pitching of Soren Hanson (4-0), and lead them to the 8-0 win over the Merchants. Scott Searles and Dillon Koster had two hits each for Wakefield.

In game two, Jonathan Richard went the distance to even his record at 4-4. Brian Campbell and Sean Harrington led the Royals’ offense with three hits each. Zac Talis had two of Reading’s six hits.