On to Game Five
1:30 PM UPDATE- MONDAY’S DECIDING GAME 5 WILL NOW BE PLAYED AT PINE BANKS STARTING AT 7:45 PM. PINE BANKS IS LOCATED ON THE MALDEN/MELROSE LINE. ENTER 100 MAIN ST, MELROSE MA 02176, INTO YOUR GPS. PLEASE NOTE THERE IS NO BLEACHER SEATING AT PINE BANKS. FANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING THEIR OWN CHAIRS.
Malden – Lexington extended the 2024 Intercity League Finals to a fifth game winning 7-3 Sunday night at Maplewood Park at Malden Catholic High School.
The game was moved to Maplewood as Morelli Field was unplayable due to rain. The site of game five is scheduled for Morelli, but the weather may cause the game to be played at Maplewood.
Lexington broke open a 3-3 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh. A walk Justin Bosland started the rally. Max Dushney dropped a bunt that Andre starter Evan Walsh fielded and threw over the head of first baseman Mitchell Schroeder and into right field. The errant throw allowed Bosland to come all the way around from first to score the go-ahead run. An infield out moved Dushney to third. The Chiefs went to the bullpen for the first time in the series and brought in A. J. Rourke. Jake McElroy greeted Rourke with a single to score Dushney for a 5-3 Blue Sox lead. Ben Leonard, a bases-loaded walk, and Josue Feliciano, single to left, drove in the final two Blue Sox runs for a 7-3 lead.
Jean Carlos Ramirez (1-0) stranded Chiefs runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh as he retired the last two Chiefs on outfield fly balls. Ramirez entered the game in the fourth with two runs scored and runners on second and third. He walked the first batter he faced to load the bases and then struck out Nick Valdario and Juan Parra on called third strikes. He finished his 3.2 innings outing walking six, striking out seven, and giving up three hits and a run.
The Blue Sox scored three runs in the first. McElroy started the game off with an eight-pitch walk. Anderson Jimenez singled to drive in McElroy with his sixth RBI of the playoffs. Julian Alvarez followed with his sixth RBI on a sacrifice fly that brought home Jeff Costello. Jimenez scored the third run on a wild pitch.
The Chiefs cut into the Sox lead in the fourth scoring two runs on Nate Witkowski’s double to make it 3-2. Though the Chiefs loaded the bases they could not do more damage in the fourth.
The Chiefs knotted the score at 3-3 in the sixth. A walk to Witkowski and a single by Joe Bova put Chiefs on first and second with no outs. After Valdario struck out looking for the second time, Parra reached on fielder’s choice with Witkowski being forced at third on a nice play by Sox shortstop Jimenez. With two outs Tyler Ferdinand delivered a single through the right side that scored Bova and the game was all tied up.
Yemer Pineda started for Lexington and went 3.1 innings before Witkowski’s double knocked him out of the game. He gave up just Witkowski’s hit but walked six Chiefs.
Walsh (1-1), in his second start of the playoffs, lasted 6.1 innings. The lefty allowed only two hits; but walked four and gave up five runs, four earned.
Chiefs’ veteran Teddy Dzuiba was held hitless for only the second time in these playoffs. He walked three times and has 11 hits and nine walks in the postseason.
Lexington is now 6-1 in playoff games on August 18, including 2-0 versus the Chiefs. The Sox are now 15-6 on Sunday games in the playoffs and 6-1 against the Chiefs. Andre is now 5-8 on Sundays in the postseason and 5-3 in games on August 18.
This will be the fifth time in eight finals meetings that the Blue Sox and Chiefs have gone to a game five. The last time was in 2014.
This is the 11th meeting between the #1 and #2 seed in the finals since 2006. The previous ten times have been split evenly with each seed winning the title five times. A team will break that tie tonight.
By Bruce Hack Lexington Team Historian
