Brakettes Defeat Local Foes on Fireworks Night

July 5, 2014 - The Stratford Brakettes won the last two games of a three-team tripleheader on Saturday night at DeLuca Field, beating the CT Xplosion and Stratford Seahawks, 11-0 and 10-0, respectively. Fireworks displays were visible in every direction from the field, as locals celebrated over the Fourth of July weekend.

Tatum Buckley struck out six Xplosion batters in the Brakettes' first game of the night, scattering five hits over the run rule-shortened, five-inning contest. She improved to 4-0 on the season with the decision.

The Brakettes picked up nine runs on eight singles in the first frame of the opener, despite only two balls being hit out of the infield.

Quianna Diaz-Patterson and Denise Denis each had two hits in the inning for the Brakettes, who also capitalized on a pair of Xplosion errors.

Britt Lampert singled in the first to extend her streak of hits in consecutive at bats to 10. She was retired later in the frame, as the streak came to an end.

Diaz-Patterson added her third hit of the game in the second inning, as she lined an RBI double to score Amber Radomski, who reached on a two-out base hit.

Radomski added to the lead in the fourth inning, when she lofted her fourth home run of the year, closing out the scoring at 11-0.

Diaz-Patterson picked up another double in the fourth to finish the contest 4-for-4. Denis also had three hits in the matchup.

Allyson Fournier struck out eight in the late game victory over the Seahawks, giving up just an infield single to shortstop Kim Procida, who led off the fourth inning. Fournier moved to 12-0 in 2014 with the win.

Diaz-Patterson singled to start the first and scored on a double by Elena Bowman, who contributed three hits in the game.

The Brakettes scored four more runs in the second, as Buckley and Mariel Schlaefer reached on consecutive singles to start the rally. Diaz-Patterson drove in Buckley with a single, giving her hits in six straight at bats, and extending the margin to 2-0. Diaz-Patterson's streak would end in the third inning, when she grounded out to first base.

Denis clobbered her eighth homer of the year to right field, a three-run shot to push the lead to 5-0.

The first five Brakettes to come to the plate in the third also rounded the bases, as Bowman led off with a double. Mandie Fishback drove her in with a single and moved up to second on a walk by Buckley.

Schlaefer picked up her second hit to score Fishback for a 7-0 advantage. Cassie Ruscz scored Buckley with another base hit, putting the Brakettes up, 8-0.

After a walk to Denis loaded the bases, Elise Fortier earned a base on balls to plate Schlaefer. Bowman picked up her second hit of the inning to score Ruscz, ending the offensive fireworks with a commanding 10-0 lead.

Both teams agreed to call the game after four innings, given the score and the impending traffic from the nearby Stratford public fireworks, which were about to let out.

The Brakettes will return to action at 6 pm on Sunday at DeLuca Field, as they will again play the last two games in a three-team round-robin. The Xplosion and Seahawks will again take part in the tripleheader, and will play each other at 4:00 to kick off the festivities.

All 2014 Brakettes' games are live video webcast on www.brakettes.com.