Blue Sox Boasts Ace High

Not much offense was not much of a problem for the Lexington Blue Sox and their ace. Three runs to match just three hits were more than enough to beat the Wakefield Merchants with Matt Karis on the mound Thursday night.

The big right-hander tossed a complete-game gem, helping the Blue Sox beat the Merchants 3-1 in the Intercity League matchup at Lexington High School.

Though Lexington's attack was lacking, its ace's dominance was anything but.

Karis started slow (for him, at least), allowing a run in the first inning on a double steal, but quickly settled down. His performance more than made up for a quieted offense from a Blue Sox lineup that put up 14 hits and 12 runs just one night before.

"Stuff happens," Karis said of allowing the first-inning run. "I try not to let stupid little stuff like that bother me."

He certainly didn't on this night.

Karis bounced back to strike out the side (all swinging) in the second inning. That helped him retire seven of the next eight Merchants. His final line: seven innings, one run allowed on four hits with nine strikeouts. He didn't walk a batter.

That puts the ace's season totals at a tidy three runs allowed in 42 innings. He's now 6-0 and lowered his already miniscule 0.40 ERA with the latest victory.

As the game wore on, Karis proved even more unhittable. Ten of the final 11 Merchants batters failed to reach base. Five were forced to retreat to the dugout after a strikeout.

"For me, ever since I was in Little League, it's been the first and second innings have been tough for me," Karis said. "Then I start to settle in. I get better as I get loose, get warm and as the game goes on I'm feeling out the hitters and feeling out my pitchers."

Slow starts or not, Karis has all the confidence of Blue Sox Manager Rick DeAngelis.

"He's the ace of our staff," DeAngelis said. "And I suspect if you polled the other managers, they'd tell you he's the ace of the league. He was a year ago and has picked up right where he left off and hasn't looked back."

Karis will be a senior at Gettysburg (Pa.) College in the fall. In the spring, he was 4-4 with a 5.22 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts), while also batting .295 as a designated hitter for the Bullets.

Good thing he was on the mound this night. Still, the Blue Sox batters had little need for hits in order to score runs.

The Blue Sox erased the first-inning, one-run deficit with a pair of runs in the second inning. And without the help of a base hit.

Nick Martinho and Sean McElroy were walked by Wakefield starter Kevin Flight (six innings, two earned runs allowed, three walks, four strikeouts) to start things. The bases were loaded when Flight plunked Chas Agrillo, one of three batters he hit.

Martinho came home on Eric Poling's grounder and McElroy scored when Jim Hughes reached on an error. The inning's line: six men to the plate, two runs, no hits and one error with two stranded.

"We've been pretty good of late of capitalizing on the other team's mistakes," DeAngelis said. "And that's the mark of a good team too."

Lexington didn't get its first hit until Hughes roped a single down the left-field line in the fourth inning.

The Blue Sox added their final run when Dan Graham and Martinho hit back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning.

Wakefield opened the game with Matt Russo's double. He moved to third on Mike Sorrentino's single and scored when Sorrentino stole first. Russo dashed home as soon as Lexington's catcher Poling fired down to second.

Lexington rounds out its regular-season road schedule with games this weekend at the Mooney Dental Tanners today and at the Medford Americans on Sunday. The Blue Sox, currently second to the Andre Chiefs, will enter the playoffs riding a five-game homestand.