Pitching Dominates, as Brakettes Blank Chaos Twice

June 29, 2008 - Rachele Fico made her much-anticipated Brakettes' debut Sunday night at DeLuca HOF Field, striking out 16 batters in the second game of a doubleheader against the Xtreme Chaos. Leslie Malerich struck out 18 in the first contest, as the Brakettes took two by 6-0 and 4-0 scores.

Malerich took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in the early game, before surrendering a two-out single to Chaos shortstop Deede Presser. Malerich struck out the last four batters after Presser, as the right-hander improved to 9-0 on the year.

Jill Cimminello scored Stratford's first run in the third inning, after walking with two outs. She moved to second when Jenna Lopez reached on an error. Denise Denis followed with a single up the middle, plating Cimminello, and giving the Brakettes a 1-0 lead.

Amber Radomski doubled in the fourth, sending Laura Trout home from first, and putting the Brakettes up 2-0.

Cimminello led off the fifth with a single to left, and then swiped second base. She moved up to third on a pitch in the dirt, and scored on a base hit by Denis. Cimminello's run stretched the lead to 3-0, and Mandie Fishback kept the rally going with a single.

Ashley Waters drilled a two-out double to score both base runners, and the Brakettes cruised to a 5-0 advantage. Waters came home for the final Stratford run on a single by Trout, giving the Brakettes a six-run cushion.

Fico struck out the first six batters she faced in the nightcap, allowing just two hits. She was on the mound with two outs in the top of the seventh, when the game was called due to lightning. The 2008 Gatorade CT High School Player of the Year recorded her first win as a Brakette, to go along with a slew of recent honors and post-season successes for the high school senior-to-be.

Denis put the Brakettes up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, belting her first homer of the year over the right field fence. She scored Stratford's next run in the third, scoring along with Fishback on a single by Jess Mouse. Mouse came racing home from second on a base hit by Trout, and the Brakettes' lead was 4-0.

The Brakettes put multiple runners on base in the next three innings, but would not be able to produce another run.

The Brakettes will be back in action on Saturday, July 5th, as they battle the Western NY Extreme in a 7:00 twin-bill at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford. The teams will match up again on Sunday for a matinee doubleheader. U.S. Gold Medalist Danielle Henderson will make her debut as she returns to the team for a third go-round, and Fico will make her second start of the season.

Both doubleheaders will be broadcast right here at www.brakettes.com