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Saturday Night
Brakettes Sweep Wild Doubleheader in Preparation for Battle of the Sexes, 9-1 and 8-4
 July 15 - by Ilan Woll - With a trip to New Britain one day away for the Brakettes, two more games awaited as the 18 and older Polar Crush arrived at DeLuca Field. Stratford, meanwhile, coming off the heels of a split series with the CT Eliminators, had something to prove to themselves and the fans.
Raeanne Geffert started game 1 in the circle for the Brakettes. Cassie Graca began the game with a single to rightfield, reaching third due to a throwing error. Sky O'Connell then singled in Graca for the first run of the game.
Polar Crush pitcher Kellie Kennedy meanwhile saw the Brakettes quickly get off the blocks as Val Suto walked, advancing on an infield hit by Britt Lampert. Denise Denis then smashed a ball over the fence to center for a three run blast. Jolie Duffner followed this up with a double into the left center gap and scored on an Alex Heinen single for the early 4-1 lead.
Lampert displayed some power in the doubleheader as, following a push single to second base by Val Suto, Lampert clobbered a ball to rightfield, scoring Suto for an extra run.
Heinen started the third with a solo home run to right field. Gabby Laccona added an infield single. Casey Harding then added a ground rule double. A ground ball from Heather Holly then scored the Brakettes seventh run.
Following a walk to Duffner, Laccona singled her in, when Harding smashed a double under the fence in centerfield to score the final two runs.
Raeanne Geffert (4-0) meanwhile allowed only one more hit after the first inning, striking out seven in her three hitter. Britt Lampert, Alex Heinen, Gabby Laccona, and Casey Harding each contributed two hits.
For game two, Nicole Williams started for the Brakettes, facing Hailey Yabroudy for the Crush.
The Polar Crush game out of the gates strong with Cassue Graca singling and then stealing second. Bella Jankowski singled for an RBI, advancing on a throw and then scoring as Dakota Bilodeau doubled to the fence in right for an early lead. Another run may have scored, but a line drive to the left side was snagged by Sam Rodriguez to end the threat.
After a quiet first, the Brakettes tied things up in the second as Alex Heinen doubled and Casey Harding walked. Rodriguez then bunted them into scoring position. Megan Hodgdon then walked when one of the strangest plays in team history occurred as Heather Holly hit a long fly to deep centerfield. The centerfielder seemed to catch it, but then dropped the ball. Alex Heinen and Casey Harding both scored on the play, with Hodgdon ultimately called out at second base and Holly reaching first base on the error. Ultimately, this tied the game at two.
Following Cassie Graca being hit by a pitch to start the third, Bella Jankowski had her second RBI of the game on a single, and Neysa Ouellette plated Jankowski for the lead.
Stratford came back for six in the third as Jolie Duffner and Heinen singled. A hard ground ball from Harding was booted to score Duffner, and a Rodriguez single brought in the second run. Hodgdon bunted the ball to advance the runners, but the second baseman covering tagged Hodgdon, then lost the ball. As a result, Harding scored on the error. Holly smashed a ground rule double over the fence in center to plate Rodriguez. Val Suto added a slap single with a Britt Lampert double plating the final two runs for an 8-4 lead.
Nicole Williams finished strong with an uneventful fourth and was replaced by Brandice Balschmiter out of the bullpen. Meanwhile, Maddie Labrie came in relief in the third and was equally effective as both relievers kept their opponents off the boards as the Brakettes ultimately prevailed 8-4.
Williams (3-0) struck out six in her four innings as Balschmiter also struck out six in her three innings. Bella Jankowski had two hits for the Polar Crush, along with two runs and two RBIs, while Val Suto and Alex Heinen added three hits each for the Brakettes, and Britt Lampert adding one.
The Brakettes travel to New Britain Sunday to play the Bees of the Atlantic League in the latest installment of the Battle of the Sexes, starting at 7:05pm at New Britain Stadium . Next week, DeLuca field host the Connecticut Seahawks on Thursday, followed by the Eliminators return on Friday and the Stratford Firefighters returning for their second annual charity game Saturday at 6pm for a single nine inning game. Next Sunday, the Planet Fastpitch All Stars come to DeLuca for a single game at 4pm. All games will be broadcast on Brakettes.com.
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| Saturday, July 14th vs. Polar Crush |
| First Game, 6:30 PM |
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Second Game |
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Batteries: Crush- Kellie Kennedy (L), Sami Muller (4) and Sky O'Connell; Brakettes- Raeanne Geffert (W, 4-0) and Sam Rodriguez
Homerun: Brakettes- Denise Denis (7), Alex Heinen (11) |
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| Batteries: Crush- Hailey Yabroudy, Maddie Labrie (3) and Sky O'Connell; Brakettes- Nicole Williams (W, 3-0), Brandice Balschmiter (5) and Megan Hodgdon |
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