Former Brakettes' Stars Shine in Beijing, Help Lead Team USA Into Medal Round

August 20, 2008 - Team USA has stormed into the Medal Round at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, outscoring the best of the rest of the world 53-1 along the way.

The contributions of several former Brakettes should not be overlooked, as three top players and an assistant coach on Team USA have played their summer ball in Stratford, CT.

Starting Team USA rightfielder Kelly Kretschman last wore the red and white in 2006, when she was the NPF batting queen, playing for the Connecticut Brakettes. Kelly also played for the Stratford Brakettes in 2003, winning an ASA National Title, while making the ASA All-American First Team. She was a key member of the US National Team in 2004, winning a gold medal in Athens. Kelly goes into the semi-finals with a .471 batting average in Beijing, with one homer, and six RBI's.

Cat Osterman played for the Stratford Brakettes in 2001, 2002, and 2005; winning an ASA National Title in 2002. Osterman was named the 2002 Bertha Tickey Award winner, helping bring the Brakettes their first ASA Championship in 10 years, and winning it in front of the hometown fans in Stratford, CT. She has become an integral part of Team USA’s rotation, and won gold with the Americans in Athens, 2004. Osterman was also on Team USA’s 2006 ISF World Championship team. Cat is 3-0 in Beijing through the round-robin portion of the competition, with a 0.00 ERA in 14 IP. She has allowed just two hits, while striking out 24 batters.

Andrea Duran has started all but one game in Beijing, playing a mean third base for Team USA. She also played for the Connecticut Brakettes in 2006, facing the best NPF competition in action limited by her Team USA requirements. She made the US National Team in 2006, and won a gold at the 2006 ISF World Championships in Beijing. This is Andrea’s first Olympic competition. Andrea is batting .385 at the Summer Games with five RBI's heading to the medal round.

Team USA assistant coach Karen Johns (formerly Sanchelli) played four summers in Stratford. Johns starred for the Brakettes in 1989 and 1990, and again in 1993 and 1994. She was also a member of two ISF World Championship teams with the US National Team, in 1989 and 1994. Johns finally made it to back to the US National Team in 2005, when she first appeared as an assistant coach under Mike Candrea. Karen was also a member of the Brakettes’ 1990 ASA National Championship Team.

The Stratford Brakettes congratulate our former players now with Team USA, and wish them the best in Beijing and beyond. Good luck to the USA! Bring home the Gold…

You can follow all the action live from Beijing at NBCOlympics.com. There is a video stream from China, complimented with live text commentary provided by the Brakettes' own radio announcer, Rob Baird. The Gold Medal Game will be broadcast at NBCOlympics.com at 6:30 am ET on Thursday, August 21st.

If you can't check the games out live, they will be available on demand at NBCOlympics.com... your exclusive online broadcast home of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.