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Friday Night
Brakettes Outlast a Determined Mass Pride
 July 25, 2015 -The Stratford Brakettes earned two hard-fought victories against the Mass Pride on Friday night at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, taking the pair, 5-1 and 3-0.
Laura Ricciardone started in the circle for the Brakettes and led the way with 11 strikeouts. She improved to 10-2 on the year and gave up just one run in the top of the fourth.
Anna O’Neil pitched the first four innings for the Pride, and was relieved by Meg Colleran in the fifth.
Denise Denis provided some early firepower for Stratford in the home first of the early game, smacking the 8th homer of the year and 101st of her career. Val Suto also scored on the long ball, after leading off with a walk and stealing second.
Stratford added to the 2-0 lead with another run in the second inning. Dani Kemp led off with a base on balls and scrambled to third on a single by Sarah Bencivenga. Kemp came home on a passed ball, stretching the margin to 3-0 (photo below).
Alyssa Zahka reached on an error to start the fourth frame for the Pride, but was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice grounder by Tori Constantin. With two outs, Constantin went from first to third on a double to right-center by Patty Borges, putting two in scoring position.
Taylor Archer singled to center to score Constantin, but Borges was thrown out at home by Suto on a contested call as she tried to score from second. The run closed the gap to 3-1, but the Brakettes would again extend the lead.
The Brakettes picked up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, when Cassie Ruscz led off with a single. She reached second on a wild pitch, and stayed put when Katie Petroski beat out an infield single. Britt Lampert singled through the left side to load the bases with two outs, and Denis lined a base hit up the middle to score two for a 5-1 score.
Ricciardone retired six of the last seven batters she faced, while striking out the last three batters to close out the decision.
Brandice Balschmiter dominated in the late contest, as she struck out 12 and gave up just two hits. She upped her team-leading record to 12-2 in 2015.
Meg Colleran started for Massachusetts and was relieved in the third by Kayla Maloney.
Denis scored the Brakettes’ first run in the bottom of the first, after a double to right-center with two outs. Emily Lochten singled up the middle for a 1-0 edge, which proved to be all Balschmiter needed on the night.
Dani Kemp helped the Brakettes scratch another run together in the third, leading off with a walk and reaching second on a sac bunt by Suto. After Lampert drew a walk, Denis grounded into a fielder’s choice. Lampert was forced out at second, but Kemp cruised into third on the play. Kemp crossed the plate on a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 2-0.
Denis scored again in the sixth after a one-out single. She stole second, and went to third on a throw that sailed into shallow center. Lochten followed and singled to left, sending Denis home for a 3-0 margin.
Balschmiter allowed only one baserunner to reach second in the game, as Alyssa Zahka and Taylor Archer had the only base hits for the Pride.
The Brakettes and Pride will be pitted up against each other again on Saturday night, with a doubleheader starting at 7:00 at DeLuca Field in Stratford.
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| Friday night, July 24th |
| First Game, 7:00 PM |
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Second Game |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
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4 |
5 |
6 |
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7 |
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R |
H |
E |
| MASS PRIDE |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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1 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
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1 |
4 |
1 |
| BRAKETTES |
2 |
1 |
0 |
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0 |
2 |
0 |
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x |
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5 |
7 |
2 |
Batteries: Pride- Anna O'Neil (L), Meg Colleran (5) and Shelby Stracher; Brakettes- Laura Ricciardone (W, 10-2) and Elena Bowman
Homerun: Denise Denis (8, 101) |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
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4 |
5 |
6 |
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7 |
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R |
H |
E |
| MASS PRIDE |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
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0 |
2 |
2 |
| BRAKETTES |
1 |
0 |
1 |
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0 |
0 |
1 |
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x |
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3 |
5 |
0 |
Batteries: Pride- Meg Colleran (L), Kayla Maloney (3) and Taylor Archer; Brakettes- Brandice Balschmiter (W, 12-2) and Elena Bowman
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