Denis, Call Hit Home Run Milestones

July 17, 2011 - Denise Denis hit her 49th and 50th career home runs, and Stephanie Call hit her 20th of 2011, leading the Stratford Brakettes to a pair of victories over the Shoreline (CT) Sting on Saturday night at DeLuca Field.

Denis hit a homer in both games, with the late game blast making her just the second Brakette ever to reach the 50 home run milestone. Pat Dufficy is the only player ahead of Denis, with 91 career homers.

Call’s gargantuan blast came in the first game, making her the only Brakette ever to hit 20 homers in one season.

Brandice Balschmiter earned the victory in the early game, although she surrendered her first run of the year in the first inning. She struck out 12 and walked two, while giving up four singles.

Kate Sartory delivered a one-out, bunt single in the top of the first inning. Ariel Diaz drove her in with a line drive single which went to the fence in right-center. Diaz moved to second on the play, after the relay throw went home, but not in time to get Sartory.

The Sting owned a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the inning, the first time that the Brakettes stared at a deficit since June 5th against the Newtown (PA) Rock.

Ashley Waters helped the Brakettes quickly erase the 1-0 hole, drilling a double to right with one out in the home first. Denis and Call both worked walks to load the bases, bringing Mandie Fishback up to the plate. Fishback brought Waters home with a sac fly to tie the game up, 1-1, but the Sting escaped without further damage.

Becca Carden led off the bottom of the second with her fifth home run of the season, putting Stratford ahead for good. Kate Bowen followed with a walk and moved to third on a double by Waters. Denis emptied the bases with the first of her two long balls on the night, a three-run shot to put Stratford up 5-1.

Kristyn Sandberg was hit by a pitch at the start of the third, and moved to third base on a double by Carden. Bowen stretched the lead to 7-1 with a single to plate Sandberg and Carden.

Melissa Mancuso closed out the third-inning rally with her second homer of the year, a two-run shot to left-center. The Brakettes led 9-1 going into the fourth.

Fishback singled to begin the fourth inning, and scored on a triple by Carden for a 10-1 lead. Carden then scored on a grounder by Bowen, closing out the scoring at 11-1.

Balschmiter allowed a walk and two singles to load the bases with two outs in the fifth, but finished the Sting off with a clutch strikeout, ending the game in five innings. Maggie Maguire and Dominique Marcelino picked up the fifth-inning base hits for the Sting.

Rachele Fico pitched an abbreviated perfect game in the nightcap, retiring all 15 batters she faced. Fico struck out 10, while dominating the Sting lineup.

The Brakettes jumped up early in the late game, scoring three first-inning runs. Normandin led off with a single and went to second when Waters earned a walk.

With one out, Call launched her 20th shot of the season, putting Stratford up 3-0.

Stacey Lajoie reached on a single with one out in the second and went to third on a base hit by Normandin, who took second when the throw went to third. Waters brought both runners home with a single for a 5-0 advantage.

Denis sent Waters to third with a base hit to continue the rally, bringing Call back up to the plate.

Call scored Waters with a single, which also moved Denis to second, giving Sandberg a 6-0 lead as she came to the plate.

Sandberg provided a double to score Denis, and put Stratford up 7-0 after two innings of play.

Mancuso and Lajoie gave Stratford back-to-back singles to start the third, and both moved up a bag when Alisa Heronema walked.

Normandin clobbered a grand slam the opposite way to clear the bases, giving the Brakettes an 11-0 lead. It was her 11th homer of the year.

Denis followed with her career 50th, a towering shot to right field. The blast closed out the scoring at 12-0.

The Brakettes improved to 41-0 on the season, giving Stratford 97 straight wins.

The Brakettes will return to action with a doubleheader this Thursday night at 7:00 against the Connecticut Charmers. A previously scheduled doubleheader for Wednesday at the NY Raiders has been cancelled.