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Friday night and Saturday at Lyons, PA
Brakettes Take Five Games in 20-Hour Stretch
 June 14, 2015 - The Brakettes battled their way through a grueling Pennsylvania road trip, taking five games from four different opponents on Friday night and Saturday at Lyons Ballfield. Stratford swept through a three-game slate on Saturday, defeating the Drillers, 5-0, the PA Assault, 12-0 in four innings, and the Black Widows, 10-7. Those contests followed an adventurous Friday night, double-header sweep of the Lyons Spirit, by 9-0 and 1-0 scores.
After finishing play at close to midnight on Friday, Stratford had an early Saturday morning start, beginning at 8:00 am with the game against the Drillers.
Brandice Balschmiter led the charge with a one-hitter, striking out 11 along the way. She improved to 5-0 on the season with victory.
Drillers starter Katie Erb held the Brakettes scoreless until the third inning, when Katie Petroski led off with a single. Val Suto followed and reached on a bunt single. Sarah Bencivenga then singled to load the bases with no outs. Elena Bowman lifted a sac fly to right-center to score Petroski for the game’s first run. A wild pitch allowed Suto to come home, and Bencivenga raced around to score from second as the ball kicked around behind the plate. The 3-0 lead held until to sixth, when the Brakettes posted two more runs.
 With two outs in the home sixth, Petroski reached on an error. She stole second and moved to third when Suto also reached on a defensive miscue. Suto pulled into second on the play, putting two runners in scoring position. Bencivenga and Denise Denis contributed back-to-back RBI singles to close out the scoring at 5-0.
Sydney Matzko pitched a four-inning no hitter in her Brakette debut against the PA Assault, striking out six. The only Assault baserunner reached after striking out on a wild pitch.
Elena Bowman blasted a three-run homer in the first inning to put the Brakettes up 3-0. The shot scored Suto, who led off with a single, and Bencivenga, who was hit by a pitch.
After leading off the second with a double, Cassie Ruscz came home on an error for a 4-0 lead. Mary Sciglimpaglia singled and later scored on a base hit by Bencivenga, stretching the margin to 5-0.
Stratford sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third, as Bowman led off with a triple. She scored on a sac fly by Emily Lochten to make it 6-0. Tatum Buckley singled and scored on another double by Ruscz. Taylor Moss sent Ruscz home with a double, giving the Brakettes an 8-0 lead. Sciglimpaglia and Suto walked to load the bases, and then a single by Bencivenga brought in two more runs. Bowman offered up her second extra-base hit of the inning with a two-run double, bringing the tally to 12-0.
 The game was called after four due to the run rule, as Matzko earned her first win as a Brakette.
Laura Ricciardone went four innings against the Black Widows in the last game, leaving the contest with a 7-3 lead, before giving way to Matzko. Ricciardone struck out four and improved to 6-0 on the season with the decision. The three runs she surrendered were unearned, as were the first two given up by Matzko in the fifth inning.
The Black Widows jumped ahead 3-0 in the first, as they started a rally with two outs. Gabby Ziller singled and Sam Pientack reached on an error, before Morgan Alisaukes drove in two with a triple. Alisaukes scored the third run on a wild pitch.
The Brakettes sensed the urgency of the moment, and responded with seven runs in the bottom of the frame.
Moss and Suto came through with clutch hits in the inning, both contributing two-run singles.
After Ricciardone held the Black Widows scoreless in the second, Denis gave the Brakettes more breathing room with a solo shot. The second-inning blast was her second home run of the year and 95th of her career.
The Black Widows again rallied with two outs in the fifth, pulling to within 7-5 with a pair of scores. Ziller reached on an error and Sam Pientack singled, before Sara Ross delivered a single to score two.
Moss was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fifth and later scored on a groundout by Bencivenga, extending the lead to 8-5.
After back-to-back, two-out singles by Buckley and Ruscz, Moss smacked a two-run triple, pushing the score to 10-5.
 The Black Widows refused to go down easily, though, as they plated two more in the top of the seventh. Alisaukes and Ross reached on base hits, and Vanessa Michael walked to load the bases. Hannah Rubansky grounded out to short, driving in Alisaukes to pull within 10-6. Lauren Flipkoski drove in Ross with a single to make it 10-7, but Matzko induced a popup to close out the hard-fought victory.
On Friday night, the Brakettes battled both the Lyons Spirit and the weather, as a freak thunderstorm flooded the field minutes before the 7:00 doubleheader was set to begin. After the rain stopped, the Lyons grounds crew did a masterful job to try to get the field playable, before deciding to move the game to the nearby Field 2 beyond the right-field fence. The secondary field was in better shape, so the crew furiously worked to get it ready for action.
The first game kicked off at 7:45 on Field 2, and the first four innings were played there. The grounds crew went back to work on Field 1 once the game started. After the sun started the go down, the game was moved back to Field 1, and the nightcap was also played there under the lights.
The Brakettes used small ball to score a single run in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings, before opening it up with two in the top of the sixth. Stratford put it out of reach in the seventh with four more runs.
Ricciardone went the distance to earn the win, scattering five singles and striking out three.
The late game proved to be an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel, as Balschmiter hurled seven shutout innings, even as the rain returned late in the game. She struck out eight and gave up only a leadoff single to Courtney Hughes in the bottom of the seventh.
Emily Lochten gave Balschmiter all the support she needed with a solo shot in the fourth inning. The home run was the first of the career.
Loughten and Petroski endured a painful lead-to-head collision in foul territory in the sixth inning, which sent both players to the emergency room. Thankfully, they both emerged feeling well enough to play on Saturday, each playing large roles in the Brakettes’ three wins. Loughten received a few stitches in her upper lip, but still started the early game at shortstop as Petroski manned left field.
The Brakettes improved to 12-0 on the season with the five-game sweep in Lyons, PA. They return to action on Sunday night in Bridgeport, CT at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in the second annual Battle of the Sexes. Their opponents, the Bridgeport Bluefish, are an independent minor league baseball team. The contest will be a single, nine-inning exhibition and will be played under fastpitch softball rules.
Saturday, June13th
at Cornfield Classic, Lyons, PA
Third Game, (1:00PM)
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Batteries: Black Widows- Sara Ross (L) and Gabby Ziller; Brakettes- Laura Ricciardone (W, 6-0), Sydney Matzko (5) and Elena Bowman
Homerun: Denise Denis (2) |
| Saturday, June 13th at Cornfield Classic, Lyons, PA |
| First Game, 8:00AM |
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Second Game, 9:45AM |
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Batteries: Drillers- Katie Erb (L), Sam Lichtner (4) and Gabby Willman, Holly Burkel (4); Brakettes- Brandice Balschmiter (W, 5-0) and Elena Bowman
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Batteries: Assault- Kim Walter (L), Amanda Johnson (3) and Kelli Valle; Brakettes- Sydney Matzko (W, 1-0) and Mary Sciglimpaglia
Homerun: Elena Bowman (2) |
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| Friday night, June 12th at Lyons (PA) Spirit |
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Second Game |
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| Batteries: Brakettes- Laura Ricciardone (W, 5-0) and Mary Sciglimpaglia; Spirit- Jenn Shellhammer (L), Liz Parker (4) and Sarah Maulorico, Denise Henderson (4) |
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Batteries: Brakettes- Brandice Balschmiter (W, 4-0) and Mary Sciglimpaglia; Spirit- Liz Gall, Morgan Lewis (4, L) and Denise Henderson
Homerun: Brakettes- Emily Lochten (1) |
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