2023 ARCHIVE
2022 ARCHIVE
2021 ARCHIVE
2020 ARCHIVE
2019 ARCHIVE
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L-R, top row- Gretchen Bunovsky, Kaitlyn Flood, Gigi Speer, Emma Larke, Sarah Lawton, Rebecca Findley, Kiana Robinson, Claire McCann
bottom row- Katie Sciglimpaglia, Maura Keary, Maggie Britt, Jenna Geffert, Tiffany Diao
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| L-R- Katie Sciglimpaglia, Sydney Senerchia, Kiana Robinson, Rebecca Findley, Emma Larke, Gillian Kane, Rebecca Johnson, Alexa Milius, Tiffany Diao, Kaitlyn Flood, Gretchen Bunovsky |
Juniors End Inaugural Season with Solid WMS Tournament Run
 Aug 6 – by Jeff Glazer – In their first season as a club, the Junior Brakettes advanced to the final six of the 2019 WMS Tournament, losing in double elimination to the CT Eliminators 23U squad and the Lyons Spirit. Their inaugural season has to be seen as a success, announcing themselves as real contenders going forward.
To open up bracket play, the Juniors took on the CT Eliminators 18U Gold team Friday night. Their opening game was extremely impressive, getting off to an early lead in the first after driving in four runs. A wild pitch allowed Becca Johnson to begin the scoring but the big blow was delivered by Becca Findley whose three-run home run gave the Juniors a lead they wouldn't look back from.
Findley would add another RBI later in the game while Johnson, Alexa Milius, and Katie Sciglimpaglia would finish the game with three hits each. Gretchen Bunovsky drove in two runs on her own.
Sarah Lawton and Claire McCann did more than enough on the mound to keep this one in the favor of the Brakettes. Their six innings of one-run, four-hit softball allowed the Juniors to take this one, 10-1. (Boxscore)
 Up next, the Juniors would take on the CT Eliminators 23U in one of the most memorable games of the tournament. With the game deadlocked, 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth, neither team would be able to scratch the scoreboard for quite a while.
Morgan Perry and Sarah Lawton went toe-to-toe in what was probably the best pitcher's duel of the tournament. Both pitchers hurled nine (yes, nine) innings of relief work after their teams' respective starters went two innings apiece.
In the top of the eleventh (yes, eleventh) inning, it would be the Eliminators who made the decisive blow. Tiff Maginelli and Sarah Ratcliffe drove in runs to make it a 4-2 game. The Brakettes would try and mount a comeback, scoring a run in the home half of the inning and putting the tying run on third. However, they would come up just short, taking their first loss in elimination play. (Boxscore)
Their task would be no easier as they dropped into the loser's bracket to face the Lyons Spirit in what would end up being another incredibly close game.
 Gillian Kane took the mound for the Juniors and was flawless for most of the day. Kane allowed just four hits in her six innings of work. However, Jen Shellhammer would get the call for the Spirit, going 6.1 and matching Kane step-for-step.
It would take until the bottom of the sixth inning to see a change in the run column. With an error putting Karen Bauer on second, an errant throw allowed her to score, giving the Spirit the first run of the ballgame. Lauren Conroy would follow-up on the Juniors' mistakes, punishing them with a two-run home run that would prove to be the difference in this one.
 The Juniors would manage to pull a couple back in the top half of the inning with their backs against the wall. A bases loaded walk issued to Gigi Speer made it a 3-1 ballgame. A fielder's choice led to a throwing error, plating another. But, unfortunately for the Juniors, they would strand the tying run on third once again and they would be eliminated from contention, dropping this game 3-2. (Boxscore)
The Junior Brakettes fought hard but just came up short. They have a lot to be proud of, finishing as a strong contender in the tournament in their inaugural season. They also managed to be the only team to take a game from their parent club, the Stratford Brakettes, this year, certainly no small feat.
The Juniors will be back next year and look to improve on an already impressive start to their history.
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Junior Brakettes Sweep Pool C, Advance to Bracket Play Undefeated
Aug 2 – by Jeff Glazer – The Juniors got their very first WMS Tournament under their belt in their inaugural season and they couldn't have asked for a better day. Two straight wins over the Ridgefield Rebels and the CT Eliminators 23U squad on Thursday allowed them to top the group and move into bracket play with a spotless 2-0 record.
In their very first WMS matchup, the Junior Brakettes met up with the Ridgefield Rebels. A two-run error underneath the glove of the shortstop in the top of the first inning gave the Juniors a solid start for starting pitcher Sarah Lawton to build off of.
Lawton would dominate on the mound, retiring six of the first seven batters that stepped into the box to face her.
In the top of the third, the Juniors would add on to their lead. An RBI double from Alexa Milius got things going. Katie Sciglimpaglia knocked in a run with a single as well, setting up Rebecca Findley to hit a two-run home run and make this a 6-0 ballgame.
The Rebels would get one back in the bottom half of the inning but the Brakettes would push 5 more across in the next frame. Abby Ota knocked in a run with a single and would eventually come around to score for the third time in the game. Claire McCann allowed a run to cross the plate with a groundout and with two outs in the inning, a two-RBI double for Kaitlyn Flood and another RBI single for Sciglimpaglia made this an 11-1 game.
Lawton would close the game out in the bottom of the fourth and the Junior Brakettes took this one via the Mercy Rule, 11-1 in four innings.
The CT Eliminators 23U would be the next opponents for the Juniors in a much closer game this time. Gillian Kane would step into the circle for this one and she was electric. The first three innings of the game were fruitless for the Eliminators against Kane.
However, the Brakettes would not fare much better. It would take them until the top of the fourth to push a run across. Kaitlyn Flood squeezed Ota across with an RBI single, giving the Juniors a 1-0 lead.
It wouldn't last too long. In the bottom of the inning, the Eliminators leveled things up. Maria Moccio launched an RBI double to the gap and things were all square after four.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Gillian Kane tried to help her own cause with a double. In a big spot, Maggie Britt delivered with a double of her own, making it 2-1. The Juniors would get another in the sixth from an Alexa Milius RBI single.
Kane would find herself in a bad spot as she tried to close it out in the seventh. The first three batters of the inning singled, loading the bases with the tying run on second and the winning run on first. However, Kane bunkered down and delivered a gutsy finish to this one, getting the next three batters without allowing any of the runners to score. The Juniors won 3-1.
With that win, the Junior Brakettes topped Pool C and will move onto bracket play with a 2-0 record and plenty of confidence.
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Junior Brakettes Eliminated in Quarterfinals of Caroline Farley Tournament
 July 29 – by Jeff Glazer – The Junior Brakettes traveled to Concord, New Hampshire to participate in the Caroline Farley Memorial Invitational Tournament this past weekend. After three strong performances on Saturday in pool play, the Juniors took a 3-0 record into the quarterfinals where they would be knocked out by the Southern Maine Flame, who would go on to win it all.
In Game One on Saturday, the Juniors sent Sydney Senerchia to the circle to take on the South County Sea Devils. Senerchia was electric on the mound, allowing only one hit through her five innings of work and holding the Sea Devils to one run, giving the Juniors a great chance to win.
The bats would get hot early. An RBI double from Kaitlyn Flood in the bottom of the first put the Juniors up early and they wouldn't look back. Consecutive singles from Kiana Robinson and Tiffany Diao in the second drove in one and two runs respectively, making it a 4-0 game.
 Alexa Milius knocked in a run of her own with a single (photo) and would come around to score after being pinch-run for by Maggie Britt who would smartly swipe home after a dropped third strike throw down to first. Robinson would lead off the fifth with her third hit of the day and would come across to score along with Becca Johnson and Maggie Britt in the inning. Milius capped off the game with her second RBI single of the game. She finished 3-4 on the day and the Juniors took their first game by a score of 9-1 after the Mercy Rule.
In their second match-up, the Juniors went toe-to-toe with the New England Fusion Showcase. They would attack the Fusion with a two-headed pitching attack. Jenna Geffert took the bump for the first four innings and Diao would close the remaining two innings out. Geffert held the Fusion to just one run and Diao kept it at that.
The Brakettes would do all of their damage in the fourth inning of this one. After a two-base error put Becca Findley on, Katie Sciglimpaglia worked a walk and Gretchen Bunovsky singled to load the bases. Diao singled in a run and a throwing error would bring home another. The Fusion had trouble finding the zone, walking two more in the inning, eventually forcing a run in. Milius and Flood would blow it open after that with back-to-back two-run hits, driving in four more runs and that would be more than enough.
The Juniors took this one by a score of 7-1 after the time limit was met.
To close out Saturday's action, the Brakettes met the Lady Mavericks Gold squad. This game was a bit more closely contested. Gillian Kane would receive the ball, working herself into a bit of trouble in the first. One run would score in the inning, but after that, Kane settled into the game and pitched quite well.
The Juniors trailed 1-0 in the second but it wouldn't last long. Katie Sciglimpaglia's RBI single leveled things up.
In the third. Becca Johnson doubled, driving in Kane after she walked. An error on a ground ball by Maggie Britt got Johnson home and she would waste no time in stealing second and third, setting up a sacrifice fly from Milius.
The Lady Mavs would get one more in the fifth but it would be too little, too late as the game was called in the sixth due to time, the final score being 4-2.
After winning their opening three games on Saturday, the Juniors were in a good spot heading into Sunday's elimination play. However, they would match up with a very tough Southern Maine Flame team. Geffert would get things underway for the Junior Brakettes, working a scoreless first.
Kaitlyn Flood put the Brakettes ahead with a two-run single in the home half of the first and Becca Findley would knock her in too with a double. The score would remain 3-0 in favor of the Juniors until the top of the third.
Six runs would cross the plate in the inning for the Flame. The first five batters all reached base and through some well-placed singles and a couple of sacrifice flies, the Flame were able to accumulate a substantial 6-3 lead.
With their backs to the wall, Flood would drive in her third run of the game with a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh cutting the Flame lead to just two. With two away, Findley would hit her third double of the game, bringing the tying run to the plate in Sciglimpaglia. Once again, the Brakettes had life as her ground ball took an awkward hop, allowing her to reach. With the tying run on base, Gretchen Bunovsky stepped into the box, representing the go-ahead run.
With two strikes, Bunovsky took a big hack at the pitch, sending it into deep center field, but it just came up short. The fly ball landed in the glove of the center fielder, Kiara McLeod, about 10-15 feet in front of the fence. The Juniors gave it all they had but just about came up short, this one finishing 6-4 and they were eliminated.
All in all, a tough weekend for the Juniors but they played admirably in some new, tough surroundings. They will be back in action next Thursday as the 11th annual Women's Major Softball National Championship back home in Stratford at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. All games will be covered on Brakettes.com via live webcast.
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JUNIOR BRAKETTES SET TRYOUTS FOR 2020 SEASON
July 16 - The Stratford Brakettes have announced tryouts for their 18U Junior Brakettes team for the 2020 season. They will take place on Monday, July 29th at 6:30 p.m. at Stratford’s Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. The team will consist of those high school underclassmen who have already committed to a college, or college freshmen softball players who still meet the age qualifications.
This is the first year the Brakettes organization has had a feeder system since 1974. The current team sports a 17-9-1 record, playing virtually the same schedule as the 36-time national champion Stratford Brakettes with three tournaments remaining. The team concludes its inaugural campaign August 1-4 in the 11th annual Women’s Major Softball National Championship tournament at DeLuca and Short Beach Fields. Interested candidates should contact Junior Brakettes Head Coach Mary Sciglimpaglia at (203) 505-4907 and arrive at DeLuca Field by 6 p.m. on July 29.
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Sunday Morning
Juniors Keep Cool Heads, Beat Maryland Chill 3-2
 July 1 –by Jeff Glazer – The Junior Brakettes snuck by the Maryland Chill in a back and forth affair on Sunday morning at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford. Kaitlyn Flood’s three-hit performance at the plate propelled the Juniors to their 14th win of the year.
It was a revolving door on the bump for the Juniors as three pitchers took the mound on the day. Syd Synerchia started the game off hot with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings without surrendering a hit. Jenna Geffert took over in the third, allowing two runs (one earned) in her two and a third innings of work. Sarah Lawton shut the door with two and two-thirds innings of hitless softball, closing out a nail-biter for the Juniors.
The Chill put the first run on the board in the fourth with back-to-back doubles from Delaney Ridgel and Lindsay Wilson. With runners on the corners, the Chill could have extended their lead, had it not been for a great play by Geffert to get her glove on a screaming comebacker, deflecting it to Katie Sciglimpaglia at second who threw on to first base to record the third out of the inning.
The Brakettes would respond in the home fourth. A hustle infield single by Abby Ota led to her swiping second, allowing Flood to knock her in with an RBI single. She would eventually make her way to third where Sciglimpaglia brought her home on a sacrifice fly.
The Chill fought back in the fifth, however, as a one out double by Molly Nies sparked the inning, with a Reilly Vicendese sacrifice ground-out allowing her to score (photo). Sarah Lawton took the mound in relief of Geffert and with runners on second and third and only one away, tallied a huge K and fielded a comebacker well to escape the jam.
But it was the Juniors who would have the final say in things in this one. A leadoff double by Flood in the sixth got things started and Sciglimpaglia delivered in the clutch again with a perfectly placed bunt single on the safety squeeze, putting the Juniors up 3-2 with her second RBI of the game. Lawton would work a 1-2-3 top of the seventh and that was the ballgame.
The Juniors move to 14-6 on the year. Next up, they’ll take on the Stratford Brakettes at Frank DeLuca Field in Stratford, CT, in a double-header on July 5th starting at 7:00pm. Both games will be live video webcast on brakettes.com.
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JUNIOR BRAKETTES DEBUT
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May 31, 2019 - What was merely a thought early last August will become reality Saturday night June 1st at 7 p.m. at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field when the 18U Junior Brakettes make their debut against the defending national champion Stratford Brakettes in a doubleheader. The teams meet again Sunday at 10 a.m. in another twin-bill before the Junior Brakettes meet Team Ireland in a 4 p.m. single game.
“Mary Sciglimpaglia (former Brakettes catcher) and her father Rob presented the idea to me after last year's nationals,” said Bob Baird, now in his 32nd year as the general manager of Brakettes Softball. "I talked it over with John Stratton (Stratford Brakettes manager) and we called a meeting of our Board of Directors. It was unanimously approved.” Mary will manage the team and Rob and Mike Britt will be the coaches.
It will be the first time in 45 years that the Brakettes, who were formed in 1947, will have a feeder system. “I think it's great,” said Stratton. “They have some kids that could play for us now, but we have all our starters back except 15-year pitcher Brandice Balschmiter who retired.”
The Junior Brakettes will have New Canaan's Gillian Kane, who went 9-5 at Springfield College, North Branford's Sydney Senerchia of St. Peter's College, who went 23-1 in high school last year, Notre Dame's Tiffany Diao of Bridgeport and Delaware State and Princeton frosh Ali Blanchard, the 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year at Lincoln High School are also available this weekend. The status of Seymour's Jenna Geffert (38-3 in her career) and Claire McCann (25-11) of Joel Barlow depend upon how their teams fare in the CIAC tournament.
Other area high school players still active in states are Masuk outfielder Gretchen Bunovsky, Pomperaug catcher Kaitlyn Flood, Lauralton outfielder Maggie Britt, and Barlow shortstop Abby Ota, who led Connecticut in hitting during the regular season at .743. Mary Sciglimpaglia also will have Shelton's Emma Larke of Maine, Seymour's Rebecca Findley of Maine, 2018 Connecticut Gatorade Player Rebecca Johnson of Colgate and Seymour High, Torrington All-State catcher Alexa Milius of Central Connecticut, Trinity's Maura Keary of Trinity, Fordham's GiGi Speer of Bridgeport and Fordham, shortstop Katie Sciglimpaglia of New Canaan and St. Peter's, and Hamden infielder Kiana Robinson this weekend.
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BRAKETTES ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF 18-U TEAM; SET TRYOUT DATE AT DELUCA FIELD
Aug 22, 2018 - The Stratford Brakettes are expanding their program to include an elite junior competitive fastpitch softball team for the 2019 season, it was announced by Brakettes General Manager Bob Baird.
“We are not starting this as a showcase team, which has popularized the 18-under softball ranks for nearly two decades. Rather, we are looking for talented young players who are serious about playing competitive softball who may have already committed to play at a college or who will be completing their freshmen year in college and who are looking to play and are still within the age requirements,” added Baird.
The team will be known as the “Junior Brakettes” and play a 25-30 game schedule. They will participate in three or four invitational tournaments, including those at the 23U and Open levels. The Junior Brakettes will complete the 2019 season by playing in the 11th annual Women's Major Softball National Championship tournament at DeLuca Field, August 1-4.
Mary Sciglimpaglia, who was a catcher for the 2015-16 WMS champion Brakettes, will be the team's head coach. Sciglimpaglia was a standout player at Norwalk High School and St. Joseph's College in Hartford. She will be assisted by her father Rob Sciglimpaglia, who has been involved in girl's youth softball for many years.
The Junior Brakettes will conduct a tryout session on Saturday, September 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. Candidates are asked to contact Mary Sciglimpaglia at (203) 505-4907 or via email, maryscig22@yahoo.com for additional information. They may also contact Baird at brakettesgm@gmail.com.
“This will offer many talented young players the opportunity to continue playing. The majority of 18-under teams now are strictly showcase teams. For players who prefer not to go that route again, this will provide them with an alternative. It is not our goal to raid existing showcase teams to complete our roster, but to provide additional opportunities for players. Many players don't want to play showcase once they have made a college commitment,” said Stratford Brakettes Manager John Stratton, who recently guided the team to its eighth WMS championship in 10 years.
From 1961-74 the former Raybestos Brakettes had a farm team, the Raybestos Robins. Stratton and his wife Micki Stratton (formerly Rosemary Macchietto and the first Brakettes player inducted into the National ASA Hall of Fame), both took turns assisting ex-Brakettes standout and retired Foran High coaching legend Edna Fraser, the Robins 10-year head coach. The Robins produced 18 players who went on to play for the Brakettes, including National Hall of Fame catcher Peggy Kellers of Stratford.
In addition to playing the Brakettes in a pair of doubleheaders next June and July, the Junior Brakettes will also play several preliminary games to the Stratford Brakettes.
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