|
|
Sunday Morning
Brakettes Finish off Sweep of the Diamond Gems
 July 7 –by Jeff Glazer – The Stratford Brakettes finished off their series vs the New England Diamond Gems with wins by scores of 4-1 and 8-0 at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field on Sunday. Julia Handfield and Kaycee Talcik were unhittable for large portions of their respective days and Alex Heinen led the way at the plate with two home runs.
The Diamond Gems jumped out to an early lead in Game One with a leadoff home run by Olivia Crowley on just the second pitch of the ball game. However, that was all the offense they would muster against Julia Handfield. Handfield pitched the remainder of the game, striking out 10 and only allowing one additional hit.
Handfield did more than enough to give the Brakettes a chance to win and they would respond with a run in the second. Alex Heinen would cross the plate on a throwing error following a Gillian Birk single. The Brakettes would threaten in the inning, loading the bases with no one out against Diamond Gems pitcher Erin Barry, but were sat down without doing any more damage.
An RBI single from Birk plated Heinen again however, in the third, putting the Brakettes in the lead. Heinen would cross the plate for the third time in the game in the fifth after a solo shot (6) (photo), extending the lead to 3-1. Then, to cap the scoring off, Val Suto placed a bloop double down the left field line, just about keeping it fair, driving in Lauren Pitney, to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Handfield was near perfect after the leadoff homerun and had no trouble shutting things down in the seventh. She moves to 5-0 on the year.
In Game Two, Kaycee Talcik was tasked with the challenge of following up Handfield’s performance. In a Mercy-Rule shortened five-inning game, Talcik racked up 10 strikeouts of her own, and allowing only two hits while keeping the Diamond Gems off the scoreboard. Talcik was hyper aggressive on the mound, getting nine of her 10 K’s swinging.
 The Brakettes bats would come alive in Game Two. In the second, a Jolie Duffner double led things off and set the table for Alex Heinen to launch her second homer of the day (7). Gillian Birk would follow up with a solo shot of her own, just keeping it fair and sneaking it over the left field fence.
They would end the game in the fifth, scoring five in the inning, to win the game via Mercy Rule, 8-0. A double for Duffner and a single for Heinen both drove in two with an RBI single from Birk capping things off on a solid performance from the Brakettes.
Talcik moves to 9-0 on the year with her fantastic start. Alex Heinen takes over the sole lead in homers with seven. Trailing behind her are Denise Denis, Lauren Pitney, and Briana Marcelino, all with five. Between the two games, Heinen hit two home runs, had four hits, drove in five, and crossed the plate herself five time.
The Brakettes will return to action on Thursday where they’ll take on the Chesire Wildcats in a doubleheader at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame field starting at 7:00pm. The games will be broadcast on Brakettes.com via live webcast.
|
| Sunday morning, July 7th vs. New England Diamond Gems |
| First Game, 10:00 AM |
|
Second Game |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
7 |
|
|
R |
H |
E |
| DIAMOND GEMS |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
2 |
| BRAKETTES |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
x |
|
|
4 |
9 |
1 |
Batteries: Diamond Gems- Erin Barry (L) and Paige Delier; Brakettes- Julia Handfield (W, 5-0) and Alex Heinen
Homerun: Diamond Gems- Olivia Crowley; Brakettes- Alex Heinen (6) |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
7 |
|
|
R |
H |
E |
| DIAMOND GEMS |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
2 |
1 |
| BRAKETTES |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
0 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
10 |
0 |
Batteries: Diamond Gems- Lia Nocella (L), Morgan Hartranft (5) and Jacqueline Dumont; Brakettes- Kaysee Talcik (W, 9-0) and Alex Heinen
Homerun: Brakettes- Alex Heinen (7), Gillian Birk (2) |
|
|
