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Denis Belts Career Home Run #100 in USSSA Invitational
 July 19, 2015 - Denise Denis smacked a home run in each of the Stratford Brakettes’ three wins on Saturday, the third of which was the 100th home run in her storied career. After her line drive cleared the centerfield fence in the sixth inning of an 11-0 win over the New York Swag, Denis celebrated another amazing milestone with a huge smile and a near-sprint around the bases.
The Brakettes swept through the round-robin portion of the USSSA Invitational at DeLuca Field in Stratford, defeating the CT Titans, 12-2, and the CT Eliminators, 12-0, before the nightcap victory over the Swag. Stratford crushed seven home runs in the three games, while Brakette pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts in just 14 innings of work.
Tatum Buckley earned the win against the Titans, fanning five batters in a four-inning appearance. She gave up three hits and walked one on the day. It was the first pitching action Buckley has seen for the Brakettes in 2015, after an 8-0 mark in 2014.
Britt Lampert got the Brakettes going early in the bottom of the first with a bunt single. Denis followed and pulled a shot over the fence in right for her 98th career home run and fifth of the season, giving Stratford a 2-0 edge. Emily Lochten came up next and drilled a solo shot, her third homer of the year, stretching the lead to 3-0. Elena Bowman then doubled and scored on a single by Sarah Bencivenga, giving the Brakettes a 4-0 advantage.
Taylor Moss led off the second with a single and moved up on a walk by Val Suto. Britt Lampert reached on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. After Titan starter Jamie Bridge retired the next two batters, Bowman blasted a grand slam to double the margin to 8-0. The blast was Bowman’s fourth long ball in 2015.
Cassie Ruscz singled to left to start the third and went to second on a groundout. Amber Radomski reached on a single, while Ruscz stayed put. Moss lined a double to plate Ruscz and push the lead to 9-0. Radomski went to third on the play, and then came home on an RBI single by Lampert.
Michaela Roche led off the top of the fourth for the Titans with a single to right. Melissa Perez followed and hit a two-run homer to center to pull Connecticut to within 10-2.
Lochten led off the fourth with a single and went to third on a double by Bowman. Bencivenga picked up a base hit to score Lochten, while sending Bowman to third. Ruscz lofted a sac fly to score Bowman, capping the scoring at 12-2. The game was called after four innings due to the USSSA run rule, which is 12 runs after three innings, 10 runs after four or eight run after five frames.
Sydney Matzko took the ball for the Brakettes in the win over the Eliminators, striking out three and giving up just one hit in four innings. She improved to 7-2 on the season with the win.
Suto led off the first in the win over the Eliminators with a bunt single and took second on the play when it was left unguarded. She then advanced to third on a groundout. With two outs, Lochten walked and also raced to second before the pitcher had the ball in the circle, drawing a throw and allowing Suto to score the game’s first run. Lochten was safe at second on the play, and scored on a double by Bowman for a 2-0 lead. Bencivenga lined a single to push Bowman to third, and an errant throw sent Bowman home for a 3-0 margin.
Buckley beat out an infield single in the second and went to second base on a bloop single by Ruscz. Mary Sciglimpaglia sacrificed both runners over a bag, putting two in scoring position. Suto then looped a double to left, plating Buckley and sending Moss to third. Denis followed with her second home run of the day, a three-run shot to make it 7-0. The blast was the sixth of the year for Denis and 99th of her career, setting the stage for her late-game heroics.
Stratford picked up another tally in the third inning, as Jordan Whitley led off with a single. She advanced to second on a wild pitch and went to third on a groundout, before a sac fly by Moss brought Whitley home for an 8-0 lead.
Lochten walked to start the fourth and went to second when Bowman was hit by a pitch. Bencivenga earned a base on balls to load the bases. A ground ball by Whitley to the right side prompted a throw home for the force of Lochten, but the bases remained loaded with just one out.
Buckley ended the game in dramatic fashion with a grand slam to left, invoking the run rule in four innings with a 12-0 win. The shot was her third home run of the year.
Brandice Balschmiter drew the start in the late game against the Swag, delivering an overpowering performance in the circle. She struck out 13 and gave up just two hits without a walk, improving to 9-2 on the season. Cassidy Wooten had a double for the Swag in the fourth inning, but was the only New York baserunner to get to second base off Balschmiter.
Swag pitcher Kim Ragazo matched Balschmiter early, as each pitcher threw three perfect innings to start the game. That scoreless patch for the Brakettes ended a streak that saw them score in every inning of the first two tournament victories.
The Brakettes finally broke through in the fourth inning, as Ruscz led off with a single. Suto sacrificed her to second, and Lampert reached on an infield single to push Ruscz to third. Denis lined a ground-rule double to left-center to score Ruscz for a 1-0 edge, while Lampert pulled into third. Lochten followed with an RBI single to plate Lampert, while an error on the play also allowed Denis to score for a 3-0 lead. Bowman moved Lochten over with a base hit of her own, and a single by Buckley plated Lochten for a 4-0 score.
Katie Petroski led off the fourth with an infield single and went to third on a double by Ruscz. Suto reached on a fielder’s choice, and Lampert reached on an infield single to score Petroski. Lochten drove in Ruscz with a base hit, extending the lead to 6-0.
Buckley singled to left to start the fifth and went to second on a wild pitch. Whitley walked to put two on, and an RBI double by Petroski made it 7-0. With runners at second and third, Ruscz smacked her fourth homer of the season to push the lead to 10-0. The next two batters were retired, bringing Denis up once more with a shot at history.
 Denis again delivered with the historic home run to center, which closed out the scoring at 11-0. “Sixer” was swarmed at the plate by her teammates after rounding the bases.
Balschmiter allowed a single to open the bottom of the sixth, but retired the next three Swag batters to close out the victory.
The Brakettes earned the #1 seed in the USSSA Tournament with the 3-0 day, and will play the CT Eliminators at 10:30 on Sunday morning in double-elimination bracket play. The Titans and Swag will pair up against each other in the opener, a 9:00 start.
All games from the 2015 USSSA Brakettes Invitational are being live video webcast at brakettes.com. |
Pool Play
Saturday, July18th
6PM vs. New York Swag
FINAL |
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Batteries: Brakettes- Brandice Balschmiter (W, 10-2) and Elena Bowman; Swag- Kim Ragazo, Katrina Buczkowski (6) and Christine Martinez
Homerun: Cassie Ruscz (4), Denise Denis (7, *100*) |
Saturday, July 18th
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3:00 PM vs. CT Eliminators |
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Batteries: Titans- Jamie Bridge (L), Emily Cintorino (2) and Jen Luba; Brakettes- Tatum Buckley (W, 1-0) and Elena Bowman
Homeruns: Titans- Melissa Perez; Brakettes- Denise Denis (5, 98), Emily Lochten (3), Elena Bowman (4, grand slam) |
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Batteries: Eliminators- Jess Bubbioso (L), Sam Rosetti (3) and Kristen Ryan; Brakettes- Sydney Matzko (W, 7-2) and Mary Sciglimpaglia
Homerun: Brakettes- Denise Denis (6, 99), Tatum Buckley (3) |
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