|
|
Battle of the Sexes Too Close to Call, Brakettes and Bees Deadlocked After Nine Innings
 July 22 – by Jeff Glazer – In a game that those in and around the Stratford Brakettes organization look forward to each and every year, this iteration of the Battle of the Sexes surely did not disappoint. A back-and-forth affair filled with great plays and laughs finished tied up, 8-8 at the end of the night at New Britain Stadium.
The Brakettes entered the game 1-4 in the Battle of the Sexes games, with one of those losses coming last year against this New Britain Bees team with a heartbreaking defeat at the last second.
The Bees would strike first in the bottom of the first. After former Mariner and Red Sox first baseman, Mike Carp, worked a walk, current Bees standout Jonathan Galvez moved him over with a single. Jason Rogers, who currently sits in second for the Atlantic League lead in RBIs, drove in Carp with a single of his own. A sacrifice fly from Rando Moreno gave the Bees a 2-0 lead early on.
Their lead would not last long, Many of the Bees players played out of position for this exhibition game with Sam Gervacio, a pitcher, manning the hot corner in the second inning. A little nonchalance from Gervacio allowed Briana Marcelino to reach, but she wouldn't stick around long. A long triple off the bat of Lauren Pitney drove her in to make it 2-1 (photo, no short fence). Then, Alexa Milius brought Pitney home with a double down the third base line that just about hopped over the glove of Gervacio.
Galvez would lead things off with a double in the home third and would get brought right back in with a triple by Logan Moore. Moreno walked, and proceeded to steal second, putting the Brakettes in a tough spot. A sac fly by Joe Poletsky and a double from big Darren Ford had the Bees back out in front, 5-2.
The Brakettes would not let this one get away from them so easy. A leadoff single by the ever-reliable Jolie Duffner put Briana Marcelino at the plate. She launched a triple, allowing Duffner to score with ease. Pitney would line out to first, but Gervacio, who switched positions a few times throughout the game, threw the ball into the Brakettes dugout trying to double off Marcelino.
 Holding a 5-4 lead now, the Bees needed to keep their offensive explosion going with the Brakettes right on their heels. With a double from Carp, Jonathan Galvez continued to be a thorn in the sides of Brakettes' pitching, driving in the runner with an RBI single. The Bees would add another in the bottom of the fifth and with that, the three run deficit was restored, the Brakettes trailing 7-4.
They would get one back in the away seventh, another RBI double from Milius scored Gabby Laccona. Trailing by two in the eighth, it was beginning to get late. With two away in the inning, back-to-back singles brought Briana Marcelino back to the plate. Marcelino, who hit a two-run home run in last year's matchup between these two teams, stayed hot. Her second triple of the game would bring two more home, giving her three RBIs on the day and more importantly, tying things up at 7.
Just when things seemed to be swinging in the Brakettes favor, the Bees would push across one more. A leadoff double by Rando Moreno put him in scoring position for Brandon Fry, a pitcher. Before Fry had a chance to swing, Moreno would steal third, the go-ahead run now just 60 feet away. Fry bounced it to third and Moreno took off just as Duffner threw across the diamond. With a bang-bang play at the plate, the umpire called the runner safe.
And so, the Brakettes had their backs against the wall in the top of the ninth, score or go home. Laccona slapped a single right back up the middle, advancing to second after a wild pitch by Bees pitcher, Nick French. With one away, Brit Lampert tapped one back to the mound. French would field and throw on to first for the easy out…but the ball was dropped! Laccona would read this right away and get on her horse, scoring the tying run.
Raeanne Geffert held the Bees down in the bottom of the ninth and that would be that, 8-8 the final score after high drama in New Britain.
The Brakettes move to 1-4-1 in the annual Battle of the Sexes game, this one certainly one to remember.
|
Sunday night, July 21st, 7:05pm
at New Britain Bees
New Britain Stadium (CT) (exhibition)
TIE
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
|
R |
H |
E |
| BRAKETTES |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
8 |
13 |
2 |
| NEW BRITAIN BEES |
2 |
0 |
3 |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
8 |
13 |
2 |
Batteries: Brakettes- Julia Handfield, Abby Abramson (3), Kaysee Talcik (4), Ali DuBois (6), Raeanne Geffert (8) and Alexa Milius; Bees- Nick French, Mike Bantle (6), Nick French (7) and Brian Scheid
|
|
