BULLDOGS WIN FIRST EVER ICL CHAMPIONSHIP
INTERCITY LEAGUE NEWS & NOTES
UPDATED 10:20 AM: Americans-Chiefs Play-In Tonight at Maplewood 8:00 PM, Other Seeds Set
2018 ICL PLAYOFF SEEDS: 1. Lexington Blue Sox 2. Wakefield Merchants 3. Watertown Reds 4. Alibrandis 5. Reading Bulldogs 6. Melrose Americans/Andre Chiefs (Winner of Wednesday’s Play-In Game) The Lexington Blue Sox, Wakefield Merchants, Watertown Reds, Alibrandis and the Reading Bulldogs have all secured playoff berths with Lexington and Wakefield earning first round byes. The Melrose Americans and Andre Chiefs, who both finished the regular season at 13-15 and split their season series 2-2, will meet in a one game play-in tonight (Wednesday) at 8:00 PM at Maplewood Park on the campus of Malden Catholic. The Chiefs won a coin toss on Monday that determined the home team. The winner of the Americans-Chiefs game will become the #6 seed and move on to play the #3 seeded Watertown Reds at Victory Field in game one of a best of three series on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. Game two of that series will be played on Sunday at a time and location TBA. The Alibrandis-Reading series will also begin on Thursday night at Morelli Field at 8:00 PM, with Alibrandis being the home team. Alibrandis took the #4 seed by virtue of their 10-1 win over Reading on Monday night. Game two of this series will be played on Friday at 8:00 PM at Morelli Field. The ICL’s best of five semi-final series are expected to begin early next week with Lexington and Wakefield hosting the opening games. In the final regular season game that was played on Tuesday night, the Malden Maddogs held off a late rally and edged the Reading Bulldogs 10-9.
Reds Edge Chiefs, Alibrandis-Bulldogs Tie, Royals Sweep Maddogs
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.
Americans, Bulldogs & Blue Sox Take Friday Night Wins
Dave Center had a triple and four RBI’s to lead the Americans to a 17-3 win over the Malden Maddogs in Melrose on Friday night. Kyle Cortese drove in three runs and Chris Hopkins had a double and three hits for the Americans. Mike Peters (2-1) chalked up with win, pitching two innings in relief of starter Jamie Weiss. Mike Taylor homered and Chris Bosco and Johnny Hayes had two hits each to lead the Reading Bulldogs to a 7-2 win over the Somerville Royals at Trum Field. Jack Theriault (3-1) struck out nine in 6.2 innings to grab the win. Nick Vadario, Adam Johnson and Rob Caggiano each had two hits for the Royals, who outhit the Bulldogs 10-7 but saw their pitching issue nine walks in the game. Joey Hodapp added a double and Shane Nowak had two RBI’s for the Bulldogs. In Lexington, the Blue Sox used the long ball to conclude their regular season with a nine game winning streak when they edged Alibrandis 5-4. Cam Meyer hit his first career homer, a two-run shot, that tied the score in the fourth inning. Justin Silvestro hit his second of the season to give Lexington a 5-2 lead in the fifth. Mike Maguire, Teddy Dziuba, and David Lightbody each drove in runs for Alibrandis. Tony Annino (4-0) earned his fourth win, pitching four innings, giving up four hits, and striking out four, while Nick Godfroy picked up the save.
Merchants Clinch Playoff Bye, Alibrandis Win Slugfest, 13-12
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.