STREAKING BRAKETTES HOST TALENTED ST. LOUIS SAINTS TUESDAY NIGHT

August 1, 2011 - Tuesday night is the date that many softball fans have been waiting for as the unbeaten Stratford Brakettes (55-0) take on the dangerous St. Louis Saints in a pre-national tournament doubleheader at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford at 7 p.m. The Saints will be one of the top contenders in the third annual Women's Major Softball National Championships that gets under way Thursday at DeLuca Field and the Short Beach Rec Complex.

The Brakettes have extended their record win streak to 111 straight games. The team has not lost since June 4, 2010 to the Newtown, PA, Rock, which Sunday finished runner-up in the ASA 18-U Gold Nationals in Oklahoma City. The Saints also own a victory over the Brakettes in the inaugural WMS event by 6-2 in the winner’s bracket semi-finals.

This is fourth straight year the Saints have come to Stratford to face the Brakettes prior to national tournament action. “They always play us tough,” said Brakettes Manager John Stratton, who remembers last year’s 3-2 second-game win when Carly Normandin snared a line drive in the left center field gap for the third out in a tie game with two runners in scoring position. Normandin then drove in the gamer in the bottom of the frame with a double.

The Saints are riding high after capturing the National Softball Association’s championship Sunday in Peoria, IL, finishing with a 6-0 record in the nine-team field. They beat the Indiana Slammers 6-3 in the final. Midwest softball has evolved into the weekend tournament format, but poor weather and early-season floods resulted in three events being postponed this season as the Saints carry a 15-6 record. St. Louis has won 10 of its last 12 outings.

The Saints are under the tutelage of veteran Manager Ed Martz, now in his 57th year of women's fastpitch softball. He has coached in the youth division, Class A, and Women's Major, recording over 2,000 victories in his career in the St. Louis area. The highlight came in 1990 when the Saints captured the ASA Class A Nationals and finished with a 54-8 record. Leading them into action will be infielder Ashley Hall, a solid left-handed hitter, and pitcher Amanda Zust, who beat the Brakettes in 2009. Both players were WMS All-Tournament selections last year as the Saints finished runner-up to the Brakettes.

Back on June 19 the Brakettes defeated the Saints 4-0 and 6-0 in Manchester, MO, as Brandice Balschmiter (19-0, 0.07 ERA) and Rachele Fico (25-0, 0.09 ERA) picked up the wins. Balschmiter worked out of trouble in the first four innings when St. Louis had six runners in scoring position but failed to score. Stratton is expected to start them tonight as he will have a full compliment of pitchers available with slugger Stephanie Call (9-0, 0.38 ERA) and Sara Plourde (1-0) also ready to pitch.

Call continues to erase her own home run record as she now has 24, followed by Normandin (17) and Denise Denis (9). The Brakettes' 83 home runs is a new single-season mark. Call is the RBI leader with 75 and could become the all-time leader in that category as well, while Becca Carden (73-for-152) and Alisa Heronema (49-for-102) share the batting lead at .480. While the team has scored 469 runs, the record of 583 set in 2002 appears out of reach. The Brakettes are hitting .400 for the season.

BRAKETTES BRIEFS- In pre-game ceremonies Tuesday night the Brakettes will honor the 2011 CIAC Class L champion Foran softball team and head coach Jeff Bevino. . . Tickets for the WMS tournament will be on sale tonight. Tournament passes are $35 for box seats, $30 for reserved, and $25 for general admission (first and third bleachers). There are seven sessions in the tourney. . . Martz has worked for the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues for the last 46 years as a goal judge.