Brakettes Set New Unbeaten Mark at 72 Games

June 25, 2011 - The Stratford Brakettes captured two games Saturday night at DeLuca Field to extend their record winning streak to 72 games. The Brakettes defeated the Puerto Rican Junior National Team in the first game and the Stratford Seahawks in the nightcap, smashing 10 homers in the doubleheader.

The Brakettes’ previous record winning streak was 71 games over the 1971 and 1972 seasons. The latest streak dates back to June 4th, 2010, when the Brakettes lost the second game of an opening Night doubleheader, 7-3 to the Newtown (PA) Rock.

Rachele Fico struck out 10 in the first game to improve to 6-0 on the season. She allowed four singles and did not allow a walk.

Carly Normandin led off the bottom of first inning with a solo shot, her first of the year. Stephanie Call walked with two outs, as did Mandie Fishback and Kristyn Sandberg, loading the bases. A wild pitch sent Call home for a 2-0 lead.

Call hit two home runs in the first game, including a tape-measure shot in the second inning that bounced to the 285-foot slow pitch fence on one hop. Call is on pace to shatter the Brakettes’ single-season home run mark of 15 long balls, as she now has eight homers for the 2011 campaign with more than half of the regular season to go.

Call added a grand slam in the fourth inning, giving her six RBI’s for the game. The blast closed out the scoring at 10-0. Normandin also contributed a double and a walk, scoring three times.

The Brakettes defeated the Stratford Seahawks in the nightcap with a record-breaking performance. The team slammed seven first –inning homers en route to a 19-0 win in three innings.

Denise Denis smashed her first homer of the season in the first inning, a three-run shot to put the Brakettes up 3-0. Call followed with her third home run of the night for a 4-0 cushion. The Brakettes went back-to-back with long balls three times in the contest.

Jordan Paolucci launched two homers in the inning, giving her three on the season.

Melissa Mancuso hit her first homer as a Brakette in the inning, and Sandberg launched her first of the season. Normandin, Sandberg and Paolucci had three-hit games for the Brakettes in the late game.

Brandice Balschmiter struck out nine batters in three innings to pick up her sixth win of the season.

The Brakettes will take on the Puerto Rico Junior National Team Sunday at 1:00 in the first game of a round-robin, tripleheader. The Stratford Seahawks will provide the opposition in the second game, and the Seahawks and Puerto Rico will meet up in the last contest of the day.

Both of the Brakettes’ games on Sunday will be video webcast at brakettes.com.