Melrose – The Blue Sox and Americans battled for nine innings before the Sox came away with a 6-4 win and advanced to the Intercity League finals.

For the 21^st time since the Blue Sox’s inception in 1995, the team will be playing for an Intercity League championship.

Scoring twice in the top of the ninth, Lexington swept the semifinal series with Melrose. The Sox will play their Lexington neighbors, the Bulldogs, in the first playoff meeting between the occupants of Lexington High School’s Center One Field.

Pat Casserly started the ninth reaching on an infield error. David VanderZouwen reached on a bunt single, and there were Sox on first and second with no outs. A sacrifice bunt by Brendan Jones moved both runners into scoring position. A drive by Erick Ramirez to right field was deep enough to score Casserly from third with the go-ahead run. Will Norris beat out a ground ball to third for an infield hit that scored VanderZouwen for the 6-4 lead.

Michael O’Brien was the fifth Blue Sox pitcher of the game, came in and threw a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Ian Libby to bring the game to a close.

Down 4-0 in the sixth, the Americans rallied for four runs to knot the score at 4-4. Sox reliever Luke Marshall, who threw a perfect fifth inning, walked the first two batters in the sixth. The call to the bullpen brought Josh Becker in to put out the fire. Pat Costigan singled to left to load the bases with no outs. Becker hit Alex Fernandes with his first pitch, and the Americans were on the scoreboard. John Jennings followed with a single to left, cutting the lead to 4-2. Becker struck out the next two Americans, but with two left-handed batters coming up, Lexington went to the bullpen again. This time, lefty veteran Ryan O’Rourke took the hill. On a 2-2 count, Aidan Barry hit a line drive into right that scored Costigan and Fernandes, tying the game at 4-4. O’Rourke struck out Libby to finally end the rally.

Lexington had taken a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth, scoring three times in the top half of the inning. Julian Alvarez singled to right to start the rally. He was pinch-run for by Norris. After a walk to Jake McElroy, Melrose went to the bullpen and brought in Luke Yorba. He promptly gave up a double to center by Luis Antiles that scored both runners for a 3-0 lead. Antiles scored on Luke Maltacea’s single for the 4-0 lead.

McElroy scored the Sox’s first run in the fourth. He doubled to lead off the frame. After a flyout moved him to third, he scored on Anderson Jimenez’ RBI single for the 1-0 lead.

Blue Sox starter Matt Draper pitched four innings, only giving up one hit, a game-leadoff double to Costigan. Draper got out of the first by catching a line drive off the bat of Jennings and turning to double off Costigan. He pitched a 1-2-3 second and then stranded two Melrose runners in the third and fourth innings. Draper walked one and struck out three.

The Americans started Brandon McMahon, who lasted three plus innings. He gave up three hits, one run, walked two, and struck out three.

The bullpens struggled for both teams. For Melrose, Jake Simpson, Yorba, and Nick Colucci all came in with runners on base, and all four of those runners scored. For Lexington, Becker and O’Rourke entered the game with five runners on between them, with four of them scoring.

O’Rourke settled down in the seventh and eighth innings, retiring the last four batters he faced, three by strikeout. He finished with four K’s and picked up his first win of the 2025 season. It was his third career playoff victory. For O’Brien, it was his first save of 2025 and his first in two seasons with the Blue Sox.

The teams combined to throw 301 pitches, 189 for strikes in the nine-inning contest.

This was the first extra-inning playoff game between Melrose and Lexington. This was the longest postseason game for Lexington since it played 10 innings against Reading in game three of the 2017 finals on August 24.

 

By Lexington Blue Sox Team Historian

Bruce Hack

Lexington – Chris Wanat and Dan Metzdorf combined on a five-hitter to lead Lexington to a 3-1 win over Melrose in the first game of their semifinal series.

Game Two is today at Melrose High School’s Morelli Field. First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 pm.

Wanat started and pitched five strong innings. He scattered five hits, struck out one, and walked none. He picked up his first playoff win for the Blue Sox.

Dan Metzdorf pitched the final two innings for the Sox and recorded his first save in either the regular season or playoffs. The lefty struck out three and gave up one hit.

Lexington scored first as leadoff hitter David VanderZouwen tripled to start the bottom of the first for the Sox. Brendan Jones singled to center, and VanderZouwen trotted home for the 1-0 lead.

The Blue Sox added two more runs in the fourth. Anderson Jimenez started the inning with a double to left. Will Norris dropped a bunt down the third base line, and Jimenez beat the throw to put runners on first and third. Owen McKiernan hit a grounder to short, and the Americans forced Norris at second, but McKiernan beat the relay throw, and Jimenez scored for a 2-0 lead. McKiernan moved to third on a stolen base and an infield out before scoring on a wild pitch for the 3-0 lead.

The Americans got on the board against Wanat in the fifth. In an eight-pitch at bat, Aidan Barry singled to begin the inning. Barry stole second and moved to third on a flyout to center. He scored on Tad Giardina’s infield out to cut the lead to 3-1.

Alex Parisi started for Melrose. He pitched four innings, gave up six hits, three runs, walked, and struck out 2. Ben Cassavoy tossed the final two innings, allowing 2 hits, no runs, and walking two.

This is the third postseason series between the Blue Sox and Melrose. Lexington won the previous two series and is 5-1 in games. The 3-1 score equals the lowest score in a playoff game between the Sox and Americans. Lexington won 3-1 on August 17, 2009 in the first playoff series between the two teams.

The ICL’s 2025 playoff field is set after the regular season concluded on Wednesday night.

The post season will begin on Friday at Morelli Field when the the #4 Melrose Americans host the #5 Middlesex Expos in a one game play-in starting at 8:00 PM.

The winner of the Expos-Americans game will move on to a best of three semi-final series against the #1 Lexington Blue Sox at LHS starting on Monday.

In the other semi-final series, which also begins on Monday, the #2 Malden Maddogs will host the #3 Lexington Bulldogs at Maplewood.

The winners of both semi-final series will meet in a best of five championship series.

A new ICL champion will crowned this summer as the two-time defending champs Andre Chiefs suffered through a nine game winless streak to close out their season and did not qualify for the playoffs.

In Wednesday’s action, the Americans crushed the McKay Club 13-0, the Bulldogs shutout the East Boston Knights 12-0, and the Expos beat the Boston A’s by forfeit, 7-0.

All ICL playoff games will start at 8:00 PM.

 

 

The Lexington Blue Sox opened up a 5-0 first inning lead then coasted to a 9-2 win over the Melrose Americans on Monday night at Morelli Field. Nick Andersen homered and drove on three runs for the Blue Sox……Coley Schaefer (5-0) stayed perfect on the year to lead the Lexington Bulldogs to a 2-0 shutout win over the Andre Chiefs at Maplewood. Matt Favazzo had an RBI single. Jack Sadowski (2 innings) and Greg Gentile (7th inning save) combined to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard over the last three frames……Kevin Matos raced home on a passed ball in the top of the eighth inning to give the Middlesex Expos a 1-0 win over the Malden Maddogs in Lexington. Zack Kirby and Zach Gitschier (win) combined on the shutout. Zak Whitney, with nine K’s, took the tough loss…..