FICO SET TO MAKE DEBUT WITH BRAKETTES; MALERICH GOES FOR TWO PITCHING RECORDS

June 27, 2008 - Masuk High School junior Rachele Fico, Connecticut's 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year, will make her pitching debut for the Stratford Brakettes Sunday against the XTreme Chaos in a 6 p.m. doubleheader at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field.

Fico compiled a perfect 27-0 record for Masuk, which won its second straight CIAC Class LL championship with a 1-0 victory over Naugatuck at DeLuca Field on June 8. During the recently concluded season Fico fashioned 12 no-hitters, seven perfect games and she struck out 486 batters in 195 innings. She allowed only 21 hits and walked just seven batters and she had a 0.07 ERA.

Leslie Malerich (7-0) will pitch the opener of Saturday (June 28) night’s doubleheader with the Topton, PA, VIPs at DeLuca Field. Malerich has a string of 23 consecutive perfect innings, and three straight perfect games. She also has pitched four no-hitters in a row with 25 straight innings without allowing a hit at DeLuca Field. Another perfecto will put in her in the record books for most consecutive, while another gem ties Kathy Arendsen’s 1980 mark of five straight no-hitters.

The July 20th game between the unbeaten Brakettes and Team USA is a sellout.