Bobby Barrett (pictured) hit a grand slam in the top of the eighth inning, to break a 1-1 tie, and then Alibrandis held on to beat the Reading Bulldogs 5-2 at Morelli Field. With the win, Alibrandis tied the series up at one game each.

Tyler Cedeno drove in Mason Campbell in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game up for the Bulldogs. Lew Jensen and James Cramphin combined to get the win for Alibrandis.  Jack Theriault took the loss in the eighth inning in relief of Ben Gottesman. Gottesman allowed only four hits in his seven innings.

The deciding game three of the Reading-Alibrandis series will be now played at Victory Field in Watertown on Sunday at 7:00 PM. It was originally scheduled at Morelli Field but has been moved to the artificial surface at Victory due to wet grounds in Melrose.

Game two of the Andre Chiefs-Watertown Reds series will also be played on Sunday at Maplewood/Malden Catholic at 8:00 PM. If a third game is needed, it would be played in Watertown on Monday night. The Reds lead that series 1-0.

The #1 seeded Lexington Blue Sox and #2 seeded Wakefield Merchants await their opponents in the best of five semi-finals which are scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The Blue Sox will host game one at Lexington High at 8:00 PM while the Merchants will play at Trum Field in Somerville at 8:15 PM.

The Andre Chiefs spotted the Melrose Americans a 3-0 first inning lead, then scored 12 unanswered runs, on the way to a 12-3 play-in game win at soggy Maplewood Park on Wednesday night.

With the win the Chiefs advance to the first round of the ICL’s playoffs against the Watertown Reds. Game one of that best of three series will be played on Thursday night at Victory Field at 7:30 PM.

The Reading Bulldogs-Albrandis series will also begin on Thursday night. The first game will be played at Morelli Field in Melrose at 8:00 PM.

The Americans-Chiefs game was twice delayed by rain and lightning. The game started on time at 8:00 PM, was halted twice in the top of the first inning, and finally resumed at 9:50 PM.

The Chiefs got a three-run first inning homer and seven RBI’s from Ben Waldrip, who went 4-4, to lead the win. Tim Dunphy took over for Jared Freni after the the second rain delay and proceeded to throw 6.1 innings of shutout ball. Tony Serino and Matt Nuzzo had two hits each for the Chiefs while Johnny Welch (single, sac fly) and Leivi Ventura (double) each had two RBI’s.

The Americans took a 3-0 lead in the extended first inning on singles from Malcolm Nachmanoff, John Jennings, Dave Center and Charlie Huegi.

2018 INTERCITY LEAGUE PLAYOFF SEEDS
1-Lexington Blue Sox
2-Wakefield Merchants
3-Watertown Reds
4-Alibrandis
5-Reading Bulldogs
6-Andre Chiefs

The Watertown Reds scored an unearned run in bottom of the sixth inning and went on to edge the Andre Chiefs 4-3 at Victory Field. Nate Esplin (1-0) got the win in relief and Tim Dunphy (2-2) took the loss after Chiefs’ starter Evan Walsh worked into the fifth, striking out seven. Justin Forman had two hits and scored the winning run for the Reds.

The Reading Bulldogs and Alibrandis fought to a nine inning 4-4 tie at Morton Field. Reading got a homer and two RBI’s from Zac Tallis and a double and a couple of RBI’s from Joey Hodapp. Chuck Erickson hit his first homer of the year for Alibrandis.

The Somerville Royals took both ends of a doubleheader, 5-2 and 10-9, from the Malden Maddogs at Trum Field. Rob Caggiano had three hits and three RBI’s in the opener as Soren Hanson (2-2) struck out nine to pick up the win. Nick Valdario led the way in the nightcap with a homer, three hits, and three RBI’s.

The Wakefield Merchants clinched second place and a first round playoff bye with a 2-0 win over the Americans on Thursday night in Melrose. Mike Andrews (4-1) got his fourth win of the year with a complete game five-hitter, striking out one. Dillon Koster and Joe Barry drove in the runs and Brendan Barry had three hits for the Merchants. Malcolm Nachmanoff had two of the Americans’ hits. Chris Mitchell (3-3) pitched well but took the loss.

Alibrandis utilized two big innings, picking up five runs in the first then adding six runs in the sixth, to go on and beat the Reading Bulldogs 13-12 at Maplewood. The Bulldogs scored in every inning but still came up a run shy. Mike Maguire (3-4, 2 RBI’s), Teddy Dziuba and Bobby Barrett led the way at the plate for Alibrndis as Sean Sullivan (1-1-1) picked up his first ICL win in relief. Joey Hodapp had three hits and Tyler Cedeno three RBI’s for the Bulldogs.

The Lexington Blue Sox clinched the regular season pennant and a first round bye with a 4-3 win over the Watertown Reds at Bentley University. (see separate story by Bruce Hack).

The Wakefield Merchants got a three run homer from Ryan Collins and five solid innings from Domenic Nardone (2-3) to beat the Andre Chiefs 8-2 at Pine Banks. Chris Butler had three hits, including a triple, and Bobby Losanno and Joe Barry each had two hits for the Merchants. Jared Freni (3-3) took the loss.

Derek Bauer drove in the winning run when the Malden Maddogs walked off with a 4-3 win over the Reading Bulldogs at Maplewood. Bauer had two hits and drove in all four of the Maddogs’ runs. Nick Berger (1-0) got the win. Dan Baker had a couple of the Bulldogs’ six hits. Mike Rainone (0-1) took the loss in relief of Alex Mandrus.