2024 Intercity League Champions – Andre Chiefs
Blue Sox Blank TJO Sports, Maddogs Beat Boston A’s
INTERCITY LEAGUE NEWS & NOTES
Lexington wins its 15th Intercity League Title
By Bruce Hack Lexington Media Relations Director Melrose – John Puttress’ clutch two-out, two-run single in the top of the fourth gave Lexington a 3-2 lead. A lead the Blue Sox would hold on to and come home with their 15th Intercity League Championship. The title was the 11th in the past 13 seasons for Lexington and fifth straight. The final pitch of the game was a Manny Delcarmen breaking ball that was a called third strike on Juan Parra and the Blue Sox began the celebration. All of the scoring came within the span of the third and top of the fourth innings. The winning rally started with two outs and no Blue Sox on base. Richie Burgos received a four pitch walk to initiate the rally. Dom Zaher drove a line drive into center for a single and the Sox had two runners on. Morgan Brown then sent a pitch through the left side of the infield and the bases were loaded. Puttress wasted no time and lined the first pitch into left to drive in Burgos with the tying run and Zaher with the go-ahead run. This game started off differently than the first three games as neither team scored in the first inning. The Blue Sox had runners on the corners with one out, but a 4-6-3 double play got Alibrandis starter Ryan Corriveau out of trouble. Lexington starter Mike Geannelis pitched a 1-2-3 first inning with two strike outs. Geannelis had another 1-2-3 inning in the second. In his second inning, Corriveau was again bailed out by a double play, this one with one on and no outs. In the third the Sox finally got to Corriveau. Brown reached on a bunt single and took second on the throwing error. Puttress sacrificed him to third. A walk to Aaron Barbosa put Sox on the corners with one out. Taylor Ferguson beat out the throw to first as Alibrandis attempted to pull off their third double play and Brown came home with the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead for Lexington. The Alibrandis came right back in the bottom of the third with their own two-out rally. Number nine hitter Mark Addesa walked to be the first Alibrandis base runner and snap Geannelis’ streak at eight straight outs. Parra walked to put runners on first and second. Michael Maguire and Teddy Dziuba then delivered RBI singles and it was 2-1 Alibrandis. Corriveau, 1-1, pitched six innings for Alibrandis. After the Puttress single he retired five straight and seven of the last eight batters he faced. For the night he gave up seven hits, walked three, struck out five. For Geannelis, who improved to 3-0 in the playoffs, it was much of the same. He left a runner stranded at second in the fourth and sixth innings. A 6-4-3 double play ended the fifth inning. His night ended with six innings pitched, four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. The Alibrandis Baseball Club joined the Intercity League in 2018, coming over from the Yawkey League. The team had won eight consecutive YBL titles and 17 overall. Last season they reached the semifinals where they were knocked out by Lexington in five games. In 2019 they finished second and received a first-round bye. The team beat Wakefield two games to one in the semifinals to advance to the finals. Another Intercity League season has come to a close. It was a season in which ICL fans witnessed some outstanding amateur baseball. They saw young players beginning their ICL career and veteran players showing they were naught ready to hang up their cleats. So as the lights go off at Morelli Field for the final time the teams and players of the ICL thank the fans for their support and look forward to seeing everyone in the 2020 season.
Alibrandis wins game three 8-4, Finals go to game four on Friday.
By Bruce Hack Lexington Media Relations Director Melrose – Ryan Leung’s two-run double in the top of the seventh broke a 4-4 tie and propelled Alibrandis to an 8-4 win over Lexington Wednesday night. The victory cut the series lead to 2-1 and sent the finals to a fourth game for the first time since 2014. Game four will be at Morelli Field on Friday night at 7:45 P.M. as the Intercity League will take Thursday night off due to Steve Buckley’s Old Time Baseball Game played at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge. Leung’s heroics were set up when the Alibrandis loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a single off of Junior Pena, who started the seventh for Lexington. Manny Delcarmen entered the game at that point and battled Leung for eight pitches, six of them foul balls off Leung’s bat, a college rising sophomore at UMass-Boston, before he drove the ninth pitch into center for the tie-breaking double. The final two runs came on a Texas looper down the left field line by JP Songin that drove in a run and a wild pitch. Game three was a tale of three different games. It started like the first two games as again both teams scored in the first inning. Alibrandis scored three times in the top of the first. Bobby Barrett doubled to drive in Juan Parra (walk) with the first run. Jake Miller also doubled to center driving in Teddy Dziuba (single) and Barrett and it was quickly 3-0 five batters into the game. Lexington responded with its own crooked number tying the game at three in the bottom of the first. Aaron Barbosa and Kyle Adie walked and Barbosa scored on Ross Curley’s RBI single. Julian Alvarez singled to load the bases with no outs. After an infield popup, Ryan Beradino walked to force in Adie. Morgan Brown completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center for the 3-3 tie. Matt Henriksen singled to start the Alibrandis second. A sacrifice and a single put him on third where he scored from on Michael Maguire’s single for a 4-3 lead. After the second inning the game quieted down. Alibrandis starter Chris Costa set down 12 straight Blue Sox batters until Barbosa singled with one out in the fifth. Costa struck out the next two Sox to make it 14 out of 15 batters retired from the first through fifth innings. Meanwhile Borja Jones-Berasaluce had replaced Sox starter Matt Karis in the third and set down eight of the nine batters he faced. He stranded Leung at second, after his first double of the game, in the third. Jake Vesling pitched the sixth for Lexington and walked one batter, but did not allow a run. The Sox tied the game in the sixth and in the process knocked Costa from the game. Alvarez doubled to left for his second hit of the night. Anderson Jimenez entered the game as a pinch runner for Alvarez. After an infield out, Beradino doubled to center to scored Jimenez and knot the game at 4-4. It was Beradino’s second RBI of the game and fifth in the finals. James Cramphin came in for Costa and struck out the first batter he faced for the second out. Dom Zaher was intentionally walked and a wild pitch moved him and pinch runner John Barry to second and third. Nate Wolf popped out in foul territory to third and the Blue Sox could not take the lead. Lexington had runners on first and second with two outs against Cramphin in the seventh but he closed the door on the Sox for the win. In his 1.2 innings Cramphin he allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two as he earned his first win of the playoffs. Pena took the loss for the Blue Sox. He pitched a third of an inning, giving up a hit, two walks and three runs. There were no errors in the game, the first errorless game of the finals. The pitchers for each team combined to throw 252 pitches (126 by each team), 142 for strikes.
Lexington goes up 2-0 with game two win
By Bruce Hack Lexington Media Relations Director Melrose – Lexington moved to within a win of the Intercity League Championship with a 6-2 victory over Alibrandis Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best of five finals. For the second straight night both teams scored in the first inning, but this time it was Lexington that struck first as the teams switched home and visitor roles. Aaron Barbosa started off the first for Lexington by reaching on an infield error. After two outs, Richie Burgos doubled to the fence in center and Barbosa came all the way around to score for a 1-0 lead. Alibrandis quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first. Juan Parra singled through the left side to start the inning. After a strikeout by Blue Sox starter Drew Leenhouts, a walk to Teddy Dziuba and David Lightbody reached on an error to load the bases. Bobby Barrett hit a high chopper that Leenhouts fielded behind the mound. His throw to second was not in time and Parra come home on the fielder’s choice. The home squad took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second, but it could have been more. With one out Ryan Leung reached on an error. He stole second and when Parra singled down the leftfield line Leung tried to score, but was thrown out by Blue Sox left fielder Dom Zaher on a perfect strike to catcher Nico Frelick. Parra took second on the throw to home. Michael Maguire reached on an infield single, but when second baseman Anderson Jimenez made a throwing error attempting to get Maguire, Parra was able to come home for the 2-1 lead. The lead did not last long as for the second consecutive night Ryan Beradino gave Lexington the lead for good. Beradino drove a pitch from starter Anthony DelPrete well over the right field fence for a two-run home run, his first in a Blue Sox uniform. Kyle Adie scored ahead of Beradino after reaching on a one-out walk. After the second Alibrandis run, Leenhouts retired the last seven batters he faced, including 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth. He pitched four innings and earned his first win of the 2019 playoffs. The veteran southpaw gave up three hits, two uneared runs and struck out five. The Blue Sox bullpen took over in the fifth and shutout Alibrandis over the final three innings. Dawy Lebron pitched the fifth and sixth innings. He got out of a bases-loaded two-outs jam in the fifth by getting Jake Miller on a called third strike. Lebron pitched a 1-2-3 sixth for the third such inning for the Blue Sox. Bill Christopher started off the seventh and retired the first batter, Parra, on a ground out. A walk, single and hit batter loaded the bases for the Alibrandis. Christopher struck out Barrett for the second out, but was relieved by Sox skipper Rick DeAngelis who brought in closer Manny Delcarmen. Three pitches later Delcarmen got a ground ball by Miller for the final out to secure the win. Taylor Ferguson and Morgan Brown drove in the last three Lexington runs, Brown with a two-run single through the left side to make it 6-3 in the top of the fifth. Game three is scheduled for Wednesday night with first pitch coming at 7:45 at Morelli Field.
Lexington wins game one of the Finals, 5-2
By Bruce Hack Lexington Media Relations Director Melrose – Lexington grinded out a 5-2 win over Alibrandis Monday night at Morelli Field to take a 1-0 lead in the best of five finals. Game two of the finals is Tuesday night at Morelli Field in Melrose. Game time is scheduled for 7:45. The Blue Sox knocked out 14 hits, 13 of them singles. The Sox had a hit in every inning, including two four-hit innings. Despite all that offense it was Alibrandis who struck first. In the top of the first, with two outs Teddy Dziuba homered to right, his first of the playoffs, to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Lexington wasted no time and came right back in the bottom half of the first. Aaron Barbosa, Kyle Adie and Ross Curley hit three straight singles, with Curley driving in Barbosa to knot the game at 1-1. After a strikeout, Richie Burgos knocked out the fourth single of the frame to load the bases. Ryan Beradino grounded out to second driving in Adie and Lexington took the lead for good at 2-1. Dom Zaher had a leadoff double to start the second inning. John Puttress dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Matt Horan came off the mound to field it, his throw to first was high and sailed into foul territory allowing Zaher to come home and give the Sox a 3-1 lead after two. A Juan Parra solo home run, also his first, to left in the third cut the lead to 3-2, but Alibrandis would not cross home plate again. Lexington added on two insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the sixth Zaher singled to drive in Beradino. In the sixth it was Burgos who singled to drive in Adie with his second run of the game. Mike Geannelis pitched five innings to improve to 2-0 in postseason play. He scattered four hits, walked three and struck out five. Zaher and Burgos each had a three hit night. They also each drove in a run and Zaher scored once. Matt Horan, 1-1, pitched a complete game for the Alibrandis. He gave up 14 hits, five runs, four earned, struck out eight, and walked two. .