(Melrose, MA)– The Andre Chiefs edged the Melrose Americans 4-3 on Tuesday night to take game three of their semi-final series at Morelli Field. With the win the Chiefs advance to the Intercity League Championship Series vs. the Lexington Bulldogs which will begin on Thursday.

The Chiefs jumped up to a 1-0 first inning lead against Americans’ starter Mike Nestor on singles from Ryan Petrone and Byron Woodman.

Melrose countered and took the lead with a three run second inning on RBI singles from Laz Giardina, Jake Bartlett, and Devin Ferris.

The Chiefs came back and took the lead for good when they put up a three-spot of their own in the top of the fourth on RBI’s from Petrone, Miles Reid, and Rowan Oostman.

Righty Cameron Berault went the first five innings to pick up the win allowing eight hits, three runs, and striking out three. A.J. Rourke closed things out and picked up the save going the last two innings including working out of a second and third nobody out situation in the bottom of the sixth.

ICL Notebook…….Game one of the best of five series will be played at Morelli Field on Thursday and game two will follow at Lexington High on Friday. Both games will start at 7:45 PM. Game three is scheduled back at Morelli on Monday evening with games four and five if needed on Tuesday and Wednesday…….For the Chiefs it will be their third trip to finals in the last four years after taking the crown in 2023 & 2024……The Bulldogs will be appearing in their second straight final after losing to the Blue Sox last season…..

 

(Melrose, MA)- Tonight’s game three between the #3 Andre Chiefs and the #2 Melrose Americans will be broadcast live from  Morelli Field.

Coverage will begin on Local Sports Productions (LSP) at 7:40 PM with Sam Feeley calling the game.

To watch click on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M3wgkmj8h0

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the ICL’s Championship Series against the Lexington Bulldogs.

 

By Bruce Hack, Lexington Correspondent

Lexington – For the second straight season, the Lexington Bulldogs are headed to the Intercity League finals. The Bulldogs defeated the Lexington Blue Sox 11-4 to win their semifinal series 2-1.

Now the Bulldogs await the winner of the Andre versus Melrose series, which is tied at 1-1 with the Chiefs’ 7-2 win Monday night.

It was a combination of timely hitting, good pitching, and good defense for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs took advantage of some uncharacteristic wildness by Blue Sox starter Dan Metzdorf, who walked two, loading the bases with two outs. Reuben Siegel singled to bring in the first run. Peyton Heisner followed with a 2-run single, and it was 3-0 Bulldogs in the top of the first.

The Blue Sox responded in the bottom of the second, also scoring three runs. Erick Ramirez and Luis Atiles hit back-to-back doubles to cut the lead to 3-1. Atiles moved to third on a wild pitch and came home on a sacrifice fly by Pat Casserly, whose bid for a home run was robbed at the fence. Craig Corliss walked and moved to third on Jake McElroy’s ground rule double to right. Corliss scored the tying run when Bulldogs starter Brady MacCuthchen was called for a balk.

The tie didn’t last long as the Bulldogs took the lead for good in the top of the third. Caleb Cormier walked, Ian Born singled, and Siegel walked, loading the bases with one out. Aidan Murphy took a four-pitch walk to bring in Cormier with the Bulldogs’ fourth run.

Matt Marini entered the game in the third and pitched four one-hit, shutout innings for the Bulldogs to earn the win. He faced one batter over the minimum thanks to his defense, which turned two double plays behind him, and also threw out a Blue Sox runner attempting to steal second.

Brett Stone doubled in two runs in the fourth, giving the Bulldogs a 6-3 lead. They added two more in the sixth and three in the seventh to score their most runs in a playoff game.

Blue Sox bench scored a run in the seventh to account for the final score. Pinch-hitters Max Dushney and Luke Ward walked. Harry Tucker was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases with no outs. Brendan Doyle walked on four pitches, and Dushney trotted home with the fourth Sox run.

The 11 runs, 13 hits, 5 doubles, and 8 walks are all playoff highs for the Bulldogs.

The teams combined to throw 326 pitches, walk 16 batters, and strike out 15.

 

Lexington – On Friday night, the Lexington Bulldogs evened their semifinal series with the neighboring Blue Sox, 3-0, at Center 1 Field.

Ian Born got the call for the Bulldogs and responded with six shutout innings. He scattered 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 3. Matt Marini closed out the game with the only 1-2-3 inning for Bulldogs pitching.

The Bulldogs broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth. With one out,  Seamus Condon went the opposite way and doubled down the left field line. This brought runners to the corners on Matthew Favazzo’s infield single. Following that, Caleb Cormier delivered a single to right, and Condon scored with the only run the Bulldogs would need. After a walk to Aidan Murphy loaded the bases, the Blue Sox got out of trouble with an inning-ending double play. Jack Lee lofted a fly ball into foul territory on the first base side. Sox first baseman Frank Landeiro went after the ball and made the catch, lunging back towards the field. Favazzo tagged up and headed home; Landeiro made a perfect throw to catcher Max Dushney, and Favazzo was easily out, ending the inning.

Shane Costello delivered the final two Bulldogs runs in the fifth, hitting a two-run home run to left that scored Peyton Heisner (single) with no outs. It was Costello’s first playoff home run.

Michael O’Brien started for the Blue Sox, pitching 5.1 innings. He allowed 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 4. The lefty retired eight straight from the first through fourth innings before Condon snapped the streak with a single.

With each team starting a southpaw, the game began as a battle of lefties.  Through the first three innings, the two starters faced a combined 21 batters, three over the minimum.

The Blue Sox had at least a runner on base in every inning but the seventh. But ran themselves out of possible scoring opportunities. The Bulldogs threw out two Sox runners attempting to steal. The Sox had a runner thrown out at home, and another one picked off at second.

Moreover, the shutout was the second playoff blanking for the Bulldogs. Earlier, the first was on August 11, 2025, in a 7-0 win over Malden in their initial playoff game.

Game three will be Monday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:45 at Lexington High School.

 

Ian Born had a double and triple and drove in five runs to lead the Lexington Bulldogs to a 10-4 win over the Melrose Americans at Pine Banks on Friday night. Max Berberian (2-1) went two innings in relief to get the win…….Jake McElroy had three RBI’s and Erick Ramirez added three hits when the Blue Sox beat the Malden Maddogs 13-6 in Lexington. Chris Wanat (2-1) picked up the win……The Middlesex Expos edged Triple D’s 2-1 at West Roxbury High School….