Brakettes Survive Late Rally, Win 10-0 and 6-4

June 28, 2013 - by Ilan Woll

On a day that looked like rain would be likely, the skies stayed clear, as deer and double plays were the talk of Stratford in a doubleheader tilt between the Brakettes and Mass Pride. On this Breast Cancer Awareness Night at DeLuca Field, Game 1 saw Steffi Call looking for win number 13 facing UConn's Lauren Duggan.

In the first game, as a deer was exploring the back fence, Steffi Call made short work of the Massachusetts Pride, retiring the first eight she faced before surrendering a third-inning single to Olivia Godin. Fortunately for the Stratford fans, after some difficulty getting through the fence, the doe found the exit down the right field line and bounded off to the cheers of fans.

Meanwhile the Brakettes' offense started early as Kate Bowen smashed a ball off of the third baseman, which was nicely backed up by Quianna Diaz-Patterson, but the throw was not in time to catch the speedy Bowen. After an Ashley Waters' bunt advanced her to second base, Steffi Call drove in the first run with a line drive up the middle to give Stratford the 1-0 lead

In the second, the bats erupted with one out, as Jess Mouse reached on an error by the Pride centerfielder. Amber Radomski then walked and Mariel Schlaefer singled up the middle, scoring Mouse. Kate Bowen laced a two-out single to left field, plating both runners. Ashley Waters finished the five-spot second with a two-run home run, clearing the center field fence and extending the Brakettes' advantage to 6-0.

Steffi Call smashed a solo home run, in the third inning, her seventh, to left-center for the only run of that frame. Stratford finished the mercy-rule game with a two-out rally, starting with a big double by Brittany Lampert. Successive singles by Bowen, Waters, and Denise Denis, followed by a bobbled fly ball off the bat of Call provided the needed runs to allow for the run-rule victory.

Call meanwhile completed her one hitter, striking out five, walking only one, and earning lucky win number thirteen. Kate Bowen had 3 singles as Waters and Call both had two-hit games.

Game 2 saw South Florida’s Sam Greiner challenging the Pride’s Erica County, out of Tufts University. Sam Greiner seemed to have terrific velocity in the first inning, but a pair of walks and wild pitches resulted in the first runs by a Brakettes' opponent at DeLuca Field since the NYC Havoc scored two in the 2012 WMS tournament. However, Greiner did strike out the side during the inning.

In this game, the Brakettes lineup featured twelve batters, who git things going in the first. Kate Bowen led off with a single and stole second. Denise Denis then drove her in on a strong single. Elise Fortier and Mandie Fishback added back-to-back singles to give the Brakettes a 3-1 lead.

With Greiner retiring the Pride in order in the second, Stratford took advantage of leadoff walks to Amber Radomski and Colgate’s Mariel Schlaefer as Brittany Lampert drove the ball into right field, scoring one. Bowen then drove in the other run on a two out single to extend the Brakettes lead to 5-1.

The Mass Pride lost an opportunity in the third as Hailey Mullen walked to start off the frame and was bunted to second by Olivia Hendricks. However, Greiner recovered quickly to finish the top of the inning without further damage. Meanwhile, Denis and Steffi Call led off the bottom half with back to back singles and a sacrifice fly scored the sixth run for Stratford.

The fourth inning started an interesting trend as for each of the next three innings, each team recorded a double play. In the top of the fourth, after Alyssa Zahka reached on an infield error, Cara Daly grounded to second baseman Ashley Waters. Waters then quickly tossed the ball to shortstop Elise Fortier who completed the double play to first baseman Amber Radomski. Amber returned the favor in the home inning as, after Jess Mouse walked, Radomski hit a strong line drive which was snagged by Quianna Diaz-Patterson, who then doubled Mouse off of first.

Starting the fifth, Anna Kelly reached on a defensive miscue, but the next hitter grounded to Radomski who stepped on the bag and then fired to second base for the tag on the runner to keep Massachusetts from scoring. The Brakettes answered by loading the bases with singles by Waters and Denis and a walk to Steffi Call. Fortier then hit a liner to Kelly, who threw to Daly for the second pride DP.

In the sixth inning, Olivia Godin hit a strong line drive to right field. However, Denise Denis was charging the ball and threw to first for a rare outfield assist. Hailey Mullen then singled, followed by a Waters to Fortier to Radomski double play. This was answered in the bottom half as successive walks to Fishback and Becca Carden went for naught as a hard grounder down the line was snagged by Anna Kelly who tagged the base then fired to first to end the Brakettes offense.

However, the Pride were determined to stay in the game and make Stratford fans sweat despite the chilly weather. Following a leadoff strike out, Quianna Diaz-Patterson singled to right field. Jenn Robillard then followed suit up the middle. Following a force play at second, Daly then singled in Diaz-Patterson. Maggie Quealy then slammed a double to left field, driving in two. With the tying run at the plate, Sam Greiner returned to form, forcing the last batter to ground to shortstop to end the game 6-4.

Greiner earned her tenth win, striking out seven, walking three and allowing five hits. Denis had three hits while Bowen added two. Each team recorded three double plays, a record in the modern Brakettes era. Meanwhile, the Brakettes extended their record to 26-0.

The Brakettes play this same Massachusetts Pride squad Saturday night June 29 at 7:00pm ET at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. There are no games on Sunday. Next week the Brakettes play the Stratford Seahawks, CT Diamonds, and CT Angels Friday-Sunday.