BRAKETTES FACE POLAR CRUSH IN BENEFIT THURSDAY NIGHT

August 2, 2007 - There will be no admission charge Thursday, August 2, but donations will be greatly appreciated, when the Stratford Brakettes complete their 2007 home schedule with a 6:30 o'clock benefit doubleheader against the Polar Crush of Worcester, MA at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. Gates to the field open at 5:30 p.m.

All Brakettes field staff and the umpires will donate their fees with all proceeds going to The Eddie Corcoran Fund. Eddie is the 2-year-old son of Kevin and Colleen Corcoran of Milford who is waging a battle against acute lymphoblastic leukemia. There will be a booth at the field, manned by family members, with pictures and stories of Eddie’s courageous fight.

There is a family connection with the Brakettes as Colleen Corcoran is the cousin of Brakettes General Manager Bob Baird and his wife Joy. Pitching in the first game for the Brakettes will be Leslie Malerich, who recently married Rob Baird, the assistant GM. Malerich has spent the entire summer abroad playing for the Italian National Team and she is making her debut in preparation for this weekend’s ASA nationals. She is 39-7 in her Brakettes career.

Early Friday morning the Brakettes depart for South Bend, IN, the site of the ASA Women's Major Championship. The defending champion Brakettes will be trying to win their fifth crown in six years and 28th since 1958. The team takes a 50-5 overall record into tonight’s action after a disappointing runner-up finish in the ASA 23-and-under tournament last weekend.

Shortstop Courney Bures, an All-America from Mississippi State, is bidding to become the Brakettes’ first triple-crown winner since Germaine Fairchild in 2001. Bures is leading the team with a .456 average (68-for-149), home runs (6) and RBI (54). She also leads in runs scored with 55, doubles (13) and triples (7).

Denise Denis, who has been red-hot lately, is second at .428, while second baseman Mandie Fishback is at .417 with 12 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 49 RBI. Other leading hitters are 2006 batting champion Killian Roessner (.407) and center fielder Sari-Jane Jenkins (.403).

The addition of Malerich gives Manager John Stratton four solid pitchers entering the 12-team ASA tournament at South Bend’s Belleville Softball Complex, which is also hosting the Men’s Major Fastpitch event. Candice Freel (22-1), Brandice Balschmiter (21-3) and Katie Burkhart (7-1) have been a formidable trio and all three have an ERA under one.

In the national meet the Brakettes begin Saturday with pool play as they face the Bloomington, IL, Lady Hearts at 4 p.m. and the Southern California Hurricanes, the 2005 ASA champions, at 7:30 p.m. Bracket play begins Sunday with seeding determined by pool play finish. Other participants include the California Sliders, last year’s runner-up, St. Louis Saints, Midland, MI, Explorers, Indiana Slammers, Carbondale Cougars, Topton VIPs, New York Freedom, Kam/Hooters of Missouri, and Impact Fastpitch of Illinois.

The Polar Crush is coached by ex-Brakettes pitcher Robyn King and assisted by Sara Jewett, a catcher/outfielder with the Brakettes for three years. King, Erica Sobel (2001-06), Jenna Macchi (2006) and Amanda Morin (2007) are all Polar Crush graduates to have played for the Brakettes. The Crush is New England’s premier 18-and-under Gold team and they leave Saturday for the national tournament in Oklahoma City, OK.