Blue Sox Win Game 1 of ICL Championship Series

In a series where offense will be at a premium, the Blue Sox’s Dan Graham and Justin Wright made sure to take full advantage of the only hits they picked up in Game 1 of the Intercity League championship series against the Andre Chiefs.

Graham smacked a two-run double and Wright hit his first home run of the postseason to give the Blue Sox a 3-0 victory on Thursday night and put the team one step closer to its fifth straight league title.

“They’ve got, like us, multiple good pitchers,” Lexington manager Rick DeAngelis said. “They’re all first line, first rate pitchers, like us.”

Prior to the start of the series, much of the talk was centered on the great pitching staffs of each club. During the regular season, the Blue Sox were first (1.81) and Andre was third (2.55) team ERA, as well as first (233) and second (203), respectively, in strikeouts.

The opening game certainly lived up to expectations with a total of just nine hits – six for Lexington and three for the Chiefs.

“Give (Lexington) credit,” longtime Andre manager Chuck Andre said. “They played well and they played well defensively. We hit some balls right at people, but I think it’s going to be a good series.”

With ace Matt Karis unavailable after pitching the Blue Sox to victory in Game 5 of the semifinals on Monday night, DeAngelis decided to go with left-hander Michael O’Brien to open the championship series.

He stepped up and pitched well, with five shutout innings. O’Brien allowed all three Andre hits, but none after the third inning. He walked three batters and hit another two, but picked up five strikeouts to earn the victory.

“Mike O’Brien stepped into the fold, into the void, and threw a great game,” DeAngelis said.

Tim Lahey picked up the two-inning save with a strikeout and no hits or walks allowed.

The Chiefs’ Jared Freni certainly pitched well enough to win, but was burned badly by his few mistakes. In the complete-game loss, the UMass-Amherst product struck out nine Blue Sox and walked just one.

His most costly mistake came in the third inning, when Graham’s two-run double to straightaway center field broke a scoreless tie. Blue Sox first baseman Tommy Haugh walked, advanced to second on a Dan Capra sacrifice bunt and third on leadoff man Peter Frates’ single to right field.

Graham came to the plate following a lineout with two on and two out. Andre decided to pitch to the former two-time league MVP despite having first base open (Frates took second on a throw to third on his single).

The move proved costly as Graham drove a breaking ball that Freni left up in the strike zone.

“You have to get timely hits,” Andre said, “and Danny Graham has been one of the best hitters in this league for a long time.”

Added DeAngelis, who has seen Graham come through in the clutch more than once, “What can you say about him? He’s a great player.”

Wright made the lead stick just two innings later when he deposited a Freni pitch into the trees beyond the right-field fence. Wright led the Blue Sox with four home runs during the regular season.

The combination of O’Brien’s pitching and stellar defense behind him didn’t allow Andre to get the same timely hitting. Lexington turned two double plays and Frates made a nifty diving catch in the fifth inning on his only putout of the night.

Andre’s three hits were a double by left fielder Vinny Pennell in the first inning and singles by second baseman Mike Barbati and center fielder Jeff Bercume in the second and third innings, respectively.

The championship series resumes back at LHS on Thursday night. It will shift to Malden’s Pine Banks Park for Game 3 on Friday night. If necessary, Game 4 will be played in Malden and Game 5 will be hosted at LHS.