Andre Chiefs Stay Alive in Playoffs

Chiefs Pinch Runner Andy Cavanaugh (44) scores the winning run. Courtesy photo.

Chiefs Overcome 4-1 Deficit to Force Game 4

– Mike Mills and Mark Cavanaugh for www.intercityleaguebaseball.com

In one of the most dramatic ICL playoff games in decades, the Chiefs somehow picked themselves up off the canvas with a heart fluttering four run seventh inning rally, with Mike Barbati providing the walk-off game winning single, to live another day and take Game Three of the Championship Series 5-4 under the lights before a large crowd at Pine Banks.

Make no mistake about it, the fat lady was most definitely in the building, the pulse was fading away, the family was bedside, and the trio was striking up the opening stanza of Londonderry Air on the deck of the Titanic. Any of the above scenarios seemed fitting and proper after the Blue Sox scored three times to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the seventh to take a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead.

Not so fast. At least not with this rag tag band of Chiefs who have gutted out rubber game wins over the Watertown Reds and Wakefield Merchants this playoff season to earn the right to play the four time defending champion Blue Sox.

This was one for the ages. To go along with an old fashioned pitcher’s duel between Lexington’s Steve Bodnar and the Chiefs’ Rob Machado, the game featured some truly outstanding defense, three Houdini like escapes, and 22 strikeouts and 22 hits for good measure. Both right-handers landed solidly on their feet enough times to somehow keep the game a 1-1 tie into the seventh when the tone of the game changed course and the two teams combined for seven runs.

The night started quietly enough when Machado set the Sox down in order in the top of first inning.

Former Oakland A’s farmhand Jeff Bercume got the Chiefs off to the start they desperately needed, after being dominated in the first two games of the series, when he led off and deposited a Bodnar fastball over the center-field wall for a quick 1-0 lead. After Bodnar struck out Mike Baillargeon and Mike Andre in succession, Justin Crisafulli drilled a long double off the fence in right-center. Blue Sox third baseman Ross Curley then made the first of his two outstanding defensive plays in the game when he saved a run and snagged Mike DiCato’s liner earmarked for the left field corner to end the inning.

A Matt McEvoy two out single was all the Blue Sox could generate against Machado in the top of the second and Curley was at it again defensively in the bottom of the inning to keep it a 1-0 game. Barbati led off with a double down the leftfield line and Matt Boleski sacrificed him to third. With the infield playing halfway, Bodnar got Nick Leva to ground out to Steve Gath at shortstop, with Barbati being forced to hold at third for the second out. Paul Yanakopulos was next and he drilled a Bodnar pitch to the left of Curley who made a diving stop and recovered quickly enough to throw out the speedy Yanakopulos out at first by a half step.

The Blue Sox had a mixed bag in top of the third inning as singles from Tom Haugh and Justin Wright alternated with three Machado strikeouts (Dan Capra, Pete Frates & Dan Graham) as the Chiefs and their big UMass-Amherst righty clung to their 1-0 lead.

Bodnar had his best inning of the night in the third as he struck out the top of the Chiefs order (Bercume, Baillargeon & Andre) in succession.

The Blue Sox tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth. Gath and Vigurs got it started with consecutive singles. McEvoy followed and he sacrificed the runners up to second and third. Curley then lofted a long fly to right-center they appeared to be heading for extra base territory. Enter Boleski who made the Chiefs’s web gem of the night, with a diving grab to rob Curley as Gath tagged from third and scored the tying run. Haugh then drew a walk but Machado struck out Dan Capra on a blistering fastball to end the frame.

Bodnar cruised through a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth and Machado pulled another big escape in the top of the fifth. Frates grounded out to Barbati for the first out before Wright singled. Machado then struck out Graham for the second out and the Chiefs caught a huge break when Gath unloaded a ground rule bomb double to left-center with Wright, who easily would have scored, being sent back to third. Machado came up big once again when he struck out Vigurs with runners on second and third to end the inning.

The Chiefs appeared poised to take the lead and then some in the bottom of the fifth but Bodnar pitched out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam. Boleski and Leva led off with singles and Yanakopulos dropped a perfect bunt to fill the bases with no outs. Bodnar got tough and got Bercume on a grounder to Gath with Boleski being forced at the plate for the first out, struck out Baillargeon, and got Andre to fly to McEvoy in left to end the inning.

McEvoy led off the Lexington sixth with a single and Curley struck out after attempting to bunt a two strike pitch. Machado seemingly got stronger and struck out Haugh and Capra stranding McEvoy.

Bodnar got the Chiefs in order for the third time in four innings in the bottom of the sixth (Crisafulli and DiCato fly outs and Barbati ground out) to send the game to the eventful seventh.

Frates led off the seventh and was hit on the elbow by a Machado pitch. Wright followed with a sharp single to center. Graham then bunted and Machado fielded the ball but threw low to third with Frates being called safe on a very close and disputed call. With the bases loaded and no outs, Gath hit a deep sacrifice fly to the warning track in left-center easily scoring Frates to give Lexington the lead at 2-1. Vigurs then hit a grounder up the middle to Baillargeon at shortstop that forced Graham at second but allowed Wright to score to make it a 3-1 game. McEvoy then singled sending Vigurs to third and Curley followed with another single, scoring Vigurs, with the McEvoy being thrown out at third on a close play to end the inning.

Trailing 4-1, Boleski gave the Chiefs a ray of hope when he led off and drilled a Bodnar pitch deep over the right-field fence. Leva was next and he cracked a double to right-center. Yanakopulos then put the comeback into a high gear mode when he lined a triple off the fence in right, scoring Leva, to put the Chiefs back in business at 4-3, with the tying run at third and nobody out. Sam Finn was summoned from the bullpen and, with the infield drawn in, got Bercume to ground to Gath at short, with Yanakopulos holding at third. Finn got the second out when Baillargeon hit a check swing grounder to Haugh at first. Andre was next and he worked a walk with Andy Cavanaugh coming on to pinch run for him. Crisafulli came up big and he lined a 2-1 Finn pitch down the left-field line, scoring Yanakopulos, to tie things up at 4-4. Finn then hit DiCato with a pitch to load the bases and set the stage for Barbati. The second baseman took Finn’s first pitch back up the middle, scoring Cavanaugh, to complete the dramatic comeback and propel the Chiefs back into the series.

Machado went the distance with a Herculean 121 pitch effort. Eleven was his number for the night as he allowed a career high eleven hits but also struck out a career high eleven batters.

Bodnar worked 6+ innings and surrendered nine hits and struck out seven. Finn took the loss in relief going 0.2 innings.

Game 4 of the playoff series is scheduled for Monday, August 29 at 8:15PM at Pine Banks.