2025 Intercity League Champions – Lexington Blue Sox
Blue Sox Sweep Bulldogs to Take 2025 Championship
INTERCITY LEAGUE NEWS & NOTES
ICL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE & RESULTS, Blue Sox Sweep Championship Series
PLAY-IN GAME Andre Chiefs 12, Melrose Americans 3 FIRST ROUND (Best of Three) #6 ANDRE CHIEFS VS. #3 WATERTOWN REDS G1-Watertown Reds 6, Andre Chiefs 3 G2-Watertown Reds 10, Andre Chiefs 3 (Watertown Reds Win Series 2-0) #5 READING BULLDOGS VS. #4 ALIBRANDIS G1-Reading Bulldogs 6, Alibrandis 0 G2-Alibrandis 5, Reading Bulldogs 2 G3-Alibrandis 7, Reading Bulldogs 3 (Alibrandis Win Series 2-1) SEMI-FINALS (Best of Five) #4 ALIBRANDIS VS. #1 LEXINGTON BLUE SOX G1- Alibrandis 5, Lexington Blue Sox 2 G2- Lexington Blue Sox 6, Alibrandis 0 G3- Alibrandis 2, Lexington Blue Sox 1 G4- Lexington Blue Sox 3, Alibrandis 2 G5- Lexington Blue Sox 1, Alibrandis 0 (Lexington Blue Sox Win Series, 3-2) #3 WATERTOWN REDS VS. #2 WAKEFIELD MERCHANTS G1- Wakefield Merchants 7, Watertown Reds 5 G2- Watertown Reds 16, Wakefield Merchants 3 G3- Watertown Reds 4, Wakefield Merchants 3 G4- Watertown Reds 13, Wakefield Merchants 0 (Watertown Reds Win Series, 3-1) ICL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Best of Five) #3 WATERTOWN REDS VS #1 LEXINGTON BLUE SOX G1- Lexington Blue Sox 4, Watertown Reds 3 G2- Lexington Blue Sox 6, Watertown Reds 1 G3- Lexington Blue Sox 8, Watertown Reds 0 (Lexington Blue Sox Win Series, 3-0)
Game 3 at Morelli on Sunday at 8, Watch Live on Local Sports Productions
Game three of the Intercity League’s Championship Series between the Watertown Reds and the Lexington Blue Sox, can be seen live on Sunday night from Morelli Field in Melrose starting at 7:55 PM. The Blue Sox hold a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. They won game one on Thursday night 4-3 on Dom Zaher’s walk off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning and followed that up with a 6-1 victory in game two on Friday night. The entire series will broadcast by Local Sports Productions with Sam Feeley behind the microphone. Visit LSP at http://www.localsportsproductions.com or copy and paste their You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWFpdTeb8v_PQMq8LTC9VUw
Lexington wins game 2, 6-1
Melrose – Lexington’s offense used timely hitting, productive at bats, and walks to put together a 6-1 win over Watertown in game two of the Intercity League finals Friday night. For the second straight game the Blue Sox scored in the first inning. This time they did it with out getting a hit. Reds starter Nate Beck walked Dom Zaher and Jeff Vigurs on nine pitches. Beck’s second wild pitch of the inning put Zaher and Vigurs on second and third with no outs. Taylor Ferguson grounded out to second, but Zaher, the hero of game one, came home with the Sox first run. Richie Burgos received the third walk of the inning to put runners on the corners with one out. Dorian Rojas followed with a fly ball to center that was deep enough to score Vigurs for the 2-0 lead. Lexington added two more runs in the third and this time had three hits in the inning, its first hits of the game. Zaher, walked for the second of his three walks on the night and Vigurs reached on a bunt single. Zaher saw third base uncovered as the third baseman, Dan Chaisson, had tried to field the bunt and was now on the first base side of the pitchers mound. Chaisson threw to third and shortstop Will Brennan, who had raced over to cover the bag, made the catch and tag to get Zaher for the first out. Ferguson singled through the left side to put runners on the corners. Burgos followed with an RBI single to left, scoring Vigurs with his second run of the game and Ferguson went to third. For the second time in the game Rojas made an out, but drives in a run. This one gives the Sox a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile Blue Sox starter Mike Geanellis had faced one batter over the limit through the first three innings and had not allowed a base hit. The Reds first hit came in the fourth when Ben Johnston reached on an infield single, his fourth hit of the finals. Geanellis retired the three, four, and five hitters for the Reds to strand Johnston. Watertown finally got on the board in the fifth. Jake Miller singled up the middle for the Reds second hit. Sean Callahan followed with a double to right and the Reds had runners at second and third with no outs. After the first out, Steve Tramontozzi grounded out to third scoring Miller with the Reds lone run. Callahan was the last Reds base runner as Geanellis set down the final nine batters to end the game. In his second postseason start Geanellis, 1-1, tossed a complete game three-hitter throwing only 82 pitches. He had three 1-2-3 innings and had command of all four of his pitches and was throwing everything for strikes. Lexington added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. In the fourth Ross Curley reached on an error. He moved to third on a walk and a wild pitch and scored on Zaher’s sacrifice fly. In the sixth Curley walked was sacrificed to second and scored on an RBI single by Vigurs, his second hit of the game and fifth in the first two games of the finals. Reds starter Beck, 0-1, pitched six innings, giving up four hits, six runs, five earned, walked seven and struck out three. Only three of the walks allowed scored. Game three will be Sunday evening at Morelli with an 8:00 p.m. start. By Bruce Hack, ICL correspondent
Lexington walks off 4-3 on Zaher home run to win game one of finals
Melrose – Dom Zaher blasted a walk-off home run to left and delivered a 4-3 victory to Lexington over Watertown in game one of the finals. Zaher hit Watertown starter Matt Horan’s 101st pitch of the night into the night for his first home run of the postseason. The Reds had their own heroics in the top of the seventh. Ben Johnston doubled off the fence in left to start off the inning. Will Brennan worked a five pitch walk off of Manny Delcarmen and the Reds had runners on first and second with not outs, down 3-2. Delcarmen fielded a come-backer off the bat of Logan Gillis, turned and threw to second, but the Sox could only get the one out, leaving Reds on the corners. Dan Chaisson hit a ground ball up the middle that second baseman Thomas Russo caught and tagged the base for the force out, but again the Sox were unable to get a double play. This allowed Johnston to come home with the tying run. Another ground ball fielder’s choice ended the inning. Lexington had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth on Julian Alvarez’ two-run home run to right center, his first of the postseason. He drove in CJ McKinnint who was pinch running for Richie Burgos, whose single started the inning. All of the scoring took place in the last two innings and the first two innings. The Blue Sox opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. Jeff Vigurs hit his first of two doubles (and three hits) to left with one out. After the second out and a walk to Burgos, Dorian Rojas singled to left to score Vigurs. The Reds answered in the second as they loaded the bases on walks to Chaisson and Sean Callahan that were sandwiched around Jake Miller being hit by pitch. Justin Forman was first pitch swinging and singled into left to drive in Chaisson and Miller for a 2-1 lead. After that the starting pitchers, Horan and the Sox Matt Karis, settled in and held the teams scoreless through the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings. The only 1-2-3 inning of the game was by Horan in the fourth. The Sox left a runner at third in the third and a runner at first in the fifth. For the Reds they stranded Miller at second (two-out double) and runners at first and second in the fifth. Horan (1-1) took his first loss of the season, regular or post, pitching six innings, giving up eight hits, walked one and struck out five. The last six batters he faced he gave up three hits, including two home runs. The Reds offense had been rolling through the playoffs averaging eight runs and 11 hits a game, was held to its lowest output of the postseason with three runs and six hits. Lexington starter, Karis, was making his first appearance of this postseason. The veteran right-hander pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up five hits, two walks, and struck out three. Drew Brzozowski relieved Karis in the fifth with one out and a runner on first and got out of the inning. He retired five of the seven batters he faced with two walks. For Delcarmen it was his second win of the playoffs and the first time he was scored upon all season. The teams return to Morelli Field on Friday night for game two at 8:00 p.m.