Reds Advance to Championship Series with 13-0 Game Four Win

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Worth Walrod, Pat Maher, and Dan Haverty combined on a two-hit shutout when the #3 Watertown Reds beat the #2 Wakefield Merchants 13-0 on Monday night at Morelli Field. With the win the Reds take the best of five semifinal series 3-1. The Reds now move on to the Intercity League’s Championship Series against either #4 Alibrandis or the #1 Lexington Blue Sox.

The Reds scored nine times in the bottom of the second inning and unleashed a 14 hit attack led by Dan Chaisson’s three hits, four RBI, and second home run of the postseason. Walrod picked up the win, going four innings in the game.

The now 22-12 Reds will be making the third trip in franchise history to the ICL finals and will be looking for their first championship. They last appeared in the finals in 2010 when they lost to the Blue Sox. In 2006 they were defeated by the Cassell Club in three games after beating the Blue Sox in the semifinal round.

The first game of the best of five championship series is expected to be played on Thursday. Once the Reds opponent is determined the days and times of the finals will be posted here.

Albrandis and the Blue Sox will play game five of their series tonight (Tuesday) in Lexington at 8:00 PM.

Lexington Blue Sox

Lexington edges Alibrandis 3-2 to force a game five

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Malden – Lexington took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth and hung on for a 3-2 win to send the semifinal series to a game five Tuesday night in Lexington.

Scoring first for the third straight game, the Blue Sox plated two runs in the second inning, the first time either team scored before the fourth inning in the series. With one out Richie Burgos and Julian Alvarez each singled to start the rally. Ross Curley reached on a fielders’ choice, but all runners were safe due to an Alibrandis error. Dom Zaher followed with his fourth straight hit, and third RBI single to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. After the second out, Morgan Brown walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 Lexington.

The Sox made it 3-0 in the fourth when Zaher had his fifth consecutive single to start the inning. An infield out moved him to second and he scored from there on a double by Brown for his second RBI of the game and sixth of the series.

Alibrandis got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. A walk to Teddy Dziuba and fielder’s choices by David Lightbody and Bobby Barrett left the Alibrandis with two outs and Barrett on third due to an error by the Sox. Barrett scored on a second Blue Sox error and it was 3-1.

The home squad came right back in the fourth and with two outs Juan Parra walked. Parra stole second during Mike Maguires’ at bat, but then Maguire worked a work to put runners on first and second. Dziuba came through with a single to center that scored Parra, with his fifth RBI of the series, and it was 3-2 Lexington. Sox starter Alsis Herrera was lifted and Manny Delcarmen came in from the bullpen. Lightbody lifted a fly ball into right center and Sox right fielder Aaron Barbosa made a diving catch to end the rally and the inning.

Delcarmen gave up a single in the sixth and a walk in the seventh, but retired three batters on strike outs including Dziuba to end the game.

Herrera, made his second start of the series and pitched 4 2/3 innings. The lefty allowed three hits, two runs, one earned, walked four, and struck out five to even his record to 1-1. Delcarmen picked up his first save of the playoffs.

For Alibrandis, starter Sean Sullivan pitched a complete game, giving up 10 hits, the most by a team in the series. He struck out six and walked one, the least by a Alibrandis pitcher in the series.

The winner of game five will advance to the finals where Watertown awaits after defeating Wakefield 13-0 tonight to take that series 3-1.

Game five is Tuesday night in Lexington with an 8:00 pm start.

 

– Bruce Hack, ICL correspondent

Watertown Takes 2-1 Series Lead, Game Four Tonight at Morelli at 8PM

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Mike Samko (triple, 2 RBI), Kyle LaVigne, Ben Johnston and Jake Miller had two hits each to lead the Watertown Reds to a 4-3 come from behind win over the Merchants in Wakefield on Sunday afternoon.

With the win the Reds take a two games to one lead in the best of five series.

Matt Horan, who was 8-0 in the regular season, earned his ninth straight win of the season. The former Franklin Pierce righty went 6.2 innings, struck out six and scattered nine hits, before giving way to Max Meier who picked up the save.

Bobby Losanno, Dillon Koster, Anthony Cecere, and Scott Searles, each had two hits for Wakefield as the Merchants built a 3-1 third inning lead.

Mike Andrews struck out four and allowed ten hits in taking the loss.

Game four of the series will be played at Morelli Field in Melrose tonight (Monday) at 8:00 PM.

 

Alibrandis logo

Alibrandis edges Lexington 2-1 moves to within one win of reaching finals

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Lexington – Veterans Teddy Dziuba and David Lightbody drove in runs in the fifth inning to give the Alibrandis a 2-1 lead. A lead they hung onto and won game three of the best of five semifinals 2-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The win puts the Alibrandis one win away from going to the Intercity League finals in their inaugural season in the ICL.

The fifth inning started with Lexington up 1-0. Matt Henrickson singled to left to start the rally. Hendrickson advanced to second on a sacrifice by Mark Addesa and went to third when Juan Parra reached on an error. Mike Maguire followed with a single through the right side and Hendrickson tried to score from second only to be thrown out at home by right fielder Aaron Barbosa for the second out of the inning. The next batter, Dziuba,  singled to right on the first pitch he saw, to drive in Parra. Player-manager Lightbody singled to center on a 1-0 pitch to drive in Maguire and it was 2-1 Alibrandis.

Lexington had taken the lead in the bottom of the fourth, the earliest in the series the Blue Sox had scored. With two outs Justin Silvestro reached on an infield single. Thomas Russo walked, the fifth of the game  for the Sox, and there were runners on first and second. Barbosa singled to left on the 11 pitch of his at bat to drive in Silvestro for the 1-0 lead.

Mike Geanellis (0-1) took the loss for Lexington, but pitched well enough to win if his offense had been able to deliver. He scattered seven hits, walked none and struck out four in five innings of work.

Lew Jensen (1-0) earned the win for the Alibrandis pitching five innings, giving up four hits, a run, walked six, and struck out four. None of the six Blue Sox he walked scored. He stranded runners at first and second in the second, third, and fourth innings. Chris Costa pitched the last two innings for the save. He struck out four.

Dziuba, Lightbody, and Maguire each had two hits for Alibrandis

The two teams return to Maplewood Field at Malden Catholic for an 8:00 pm contest Monday night. The Alibrandis look to close out the series and advance to the finals. The Blue Sox hope to continue the visiting team winning every game and extend the series to a fifth game.

Pivotal Sunday Games on Tap in Both Semi-Final Series

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The biggest Sunday of the 2018 season looms when the pivotal third game of both semi-final series will be played today. Both best of five series are tied 1-1.

The Wakefield Merchants host the Watertown Reds at Walsh Field in Wakefield at 3:00 PM, The Merchants took the opening game 7-5 and the Reds rebounded with a 16-3 win on Friday night.

The Albrandis-Lexington Blue Sox series continues tonight in Lexington at 8:00 PM. Alibrandis took game one in Lexington 5-2 and the Blue Sox took a 6-0 shutout win in game two.

Game four of both series will be played on Monday night at 8:00 PM. The Lexington-Albrandis game will be at Maplewood/Malden Catholic while Wakefield and Watertown will meet at Morelli Field in Melrose.

If a game five is needed in either series it will be played on Tuesday night.

Reds Take 16-3 Win to Even Series with Merchants

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The Watertown Reds evened their series with the Wakefield Merchants in convincing fashion, scoring 10 times in the bottom of the fourth inning and going on to a 16-3 win at Victory Field.

Will Breenan led the way at the plate with a homer, triple, four hits, and four RBI’s. Jake Miller, Dan Chaisson and Logan Gillis all hit home runs for Watertown who broke out with a 17 hit attack.

Nate Espelin went five innings to pick up his second win of the postseason.

Game three of the series will be played at Walsh Field in Wakefield on Sunday at 3:00 PM.

Lexington Blue Sox

Lexington evens series at 1-1 with 6-0 win Friday night

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Malden – Dan Graham scored from third on Dorian Rojas’ infield out in the top of the sixth with the only run Lexington would need as the Blue Sox blanked Alibrandis 6-0 to knot their semifinal series at 1-1.

Through five innings the game was 0-0 as both teams had opportunities, but could not deliver. The teams combined for seven hits, seven walks and stranded 15 base runners through the first five innings.

Lexington starter, Drew Leenhouts, left bases loaded with two outs in the third, a runner at second in the fourth and came out in the fifth with two outs and runners on first and second. Manny Delcarmen came in out of the pen to shut down the threat. He gave up an infield single to load the bases then got the final out on a fielder’s choice.

Brian Tanguy, who started for Alibrandis, walked two batters in the first and stranded them and then did the same thing in the fifth. He gave up one hit, a Thomas Russo single in the second, through the first four innings. In the fifth singles by Jeff Vigurs and Taylor Ferguson placed Blue Sox on the corners with two out, but again Tanguy left them on base.

Graham started the sixth with a sharp single to left, that prompted Alibrandis to remove Tanguy after throwing a 109 pitches. Julian Alvarez greeted relief pitcher James Cramphin with a single up the middle and the Sox had runners at first and second. Pinch-hitter Morgan Brown delivered a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Graham broke for home on contact and scored what turned out to be the winning run on Rojas chopper to the right side. Dom Zaher followed with his second straight RBI single (he had one in his only at bat on Friday) to make it 2-0.

In the top of the seventh the Blue Sox loaded the bases on a double by Ferguson, a fielders choice and a walk. Alibrandis again went to the bullpen bringing in Bryan Safelle to face Brown. On an 1-0 pitch Brown drove the ball down the left field line and clanged it off the flagpole well above the fence for a grand slam home run and a 6-0 lead.

Alibrandis had at least one base runner in every inning but the first, but was unable to get the big hit as Leenhouts, Delcarmen and Nick Godfroy combined on the five hit shutout. The trio of Sox hurlers combined for eight strike outs and left nine runners stranded, included six in scoring position.

The series returns to Lexington on Sunday night with an 8:00 pm start at Lexington High School’s Center One field.

 

 

Barry’s 6th Inning Double Lifts Merchants to 7-5 Win in Game One

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Joe Barry’s bases clearing double in the bottom of the sixth inning propelled the Wakefield Merchants to a come from behind 7-5 win over the Watertown Reds in game one of their semi-final series at Morelli Field.

Joseph Maguire went the first 6.1 innings for the Merchants to get the win before Evan Chrispitopolus came on to curtail a Reds rally and got the last two outs of the game to record the save. Josh Miller’s solo home gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Mike Sorrentino had two hits, including a fourth inning RBI single, that gave the Merchants a 2-1 lead. Will Breenan picked up two RBI’s and double for the Reds. Lefty Worth Walrod worked the first 5.1 innings and was tagged with loss.

Game two of this series will be played at Victory Field in Watertown on Friday at 7:30 PM. Game three is scheduled for Walsh Field in Wakefield on Sunday at 3:00 PM.

 

 

Alibrandis win game one, 5-2

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Lexington – The Alibrandis Baseball Club won game one of its semifinal series against Lexington 5-2 to take a 1-0 series lead.

Teddy Dziuba drove in three runs, two with a double in the three-run fifth, and the final run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh.  His double in the fifth gave the Alibrandis a 3-0 lead.

Anthony Delprete (1-0) started and pitched four shutout innings for the Alibrandis. He pitched three 1-2-3 innings only allowing baserunners in the second inning. The veteran right hander gave up two singles in the second, but also struck out the side. Delprete finished with six strikeouts, four of them looking.

In the fourth the Alibrandis loaded the bases with no outs on two singles and an error. Bobby Barrett singled through the left side to drive in Mike Maguire with the first run. That was all the Alibrandis would get that inning as Lexington starter Alsis Herrera struck out Gordie Gronkowski and Matt Henriksen and then retired Jamill Moquette on an infield popup to end the threat.

Lexington mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, but came up short only scoring twice.

Dan Graham started the rally with a double to left. After an out, Jeff Vigurs reached on a two-base error, but Graham could only go to third. Dom Zaher followed with an RBI single to center scoring Graham and putting Blue Sox on first and third with one out. Ross Curley drove a ball deep to right center, but Maguire made the catch for the second out, it was deep enough for Vigurs to come home to make the score 5-2.

Herrera pitched four plus innings for the Sox. The lefty gave up six hits, walked none and struck out five in taking the loss.d

Game two of the series is Friday night at Malden Catholic’s Maplewood Field with first pitch scheduled at 8:00 PM.

 

 

 

 

Reds & Alibrandis Move on to Semi-Finals with Sunday Wins

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The #3 Watertown Reds and #4 Alibrandis took series ending Sunday night wins and will now move on to the ICL’s final four.

The Reds beat the #6 Andre Chiefs 10-3 and will now meet the #2 Wakefield Merchants with game one of that series scheduled for Trum Field in Somerville on Tuesday night at 8:15 PM. Alibrandis took the rubber game of their series with the #5 Reading Bulldogs 7-3. They will meet the #1 Blue Sox in game one in Lexington on Tuesday at 8:00 PM.

At Maplewood, the Reds came back from a 3-1 fourth inning deficit to eliminate the Chiefs in two games. Will Brennan had a homer and three RBI’s and Ben Johnston a double and three RBI’s to lead the way. Dan Chaisson, Sean Callahan-Montague and Josh Miller all added doubles, and Kyle LaVigne had two hits for the Reds. Nate Espelin tossed four scoreless innings in relief of Nate Beck to record the win. Evan Walsh took the loss for the Chiefs. Matt Nuzzo’s first inning solo homer gave the Chiefs the early lead.

Alibrandis got a complete game five-hitter from Sean Sullivan to lead them to the 7-3 win in a game played at Victory Field in Watertown. Dave Lightbody and Bobby Barrett both launched two-run doubles, and Teddt Dziuba had a two RBI single, for Alibrandis. Zac Talis drove in two of the three Reading runs with a double. Sullivan struck out two and walked just one. Cam Lanzilli took the loss for the Bulldogs.