CONNECTICUT BRAKETTES MAKE PROFESSIONAL DEBUT; HOST NEW ENGLAND RIPTIDE JUNE 1 AT DELUCA FIELD

May 29, 2006 - The stage is set for professional softball to make its debut in Stratford as the Connecticut Brakettes host the New England Riptide Thursday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. The teams meet in a four-game series that continues through Sunday.

After 59-years and 3,196 victories at the amateur level, the Connecticut Brakettes kick off play as the newest member of the National Pro Fastpitch league. The Brakettes will play 32 of their 54 NPF games at DeLuca Field this summer.

Manager John Stratton, who is entering his 29th year with the ballclub, will send 6-foot-3 Sarah Pauly (24-8) to the mound Thursday to face the Riptide, who boast two former Brakettes in the lineup. One of them, Danielle Henderson, will be on the hill for the Riptide. Henderson is sixth all-time in career strikeouts for the Brakettes. The other is utility player Kristine Botto.

Stratton will have 14 players at his disposal for the opening series. Pauly, who struck out 315 hitters last year, will also make the start on Saturday night, while 6-foot-1 Leslie Malerich, the former Florida State All-America, gets the nod on Friday and Sunday evenings. The game on Sunday will start at 5:05 p.m.

Gates to DeLuca Field will open at 5 p.m. for the opener with pre-game ceremonies expected to get under way at 6:45 p.m. Stratford Mayor Jim Miron will be on hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon and throw out one of the "first" pitches. Catcher Germaine Fairchild will receive the 2005 batting title trophy for her .389 average last year, which also featured a record-tying 15 home runs and 81 RBI.

There are plenty of tickets available for all the games in the series with box seats selling for $10, reserved seats with back rests (behind home plate) priced at $8 and bleacher seats (first and third base) going for $6. General admission tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children in the three sections down the first base line.

The Riptide series signals the return of five former Brakettes, all of whom have previous NPF experience. First baseman Kellie Wilkerson, who hit .539 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI, in 2003, and centerfielder Kelly Kretschman (.636 with six home runs, 24 RBI and 35 runs scored in 22 games in 2003) are members of Team USA. Kretschman was a starter on the 2004 USA Olympic Team, while Wilkerson played on last year’s National squad.

Also back are pitcher/DH Nikki Myers (.416, 33 RBI, 15-0, 0.08 ERA in 2002) of Florida Atlantic University, and infielders Stephanie Best (.367, 10 home runs, 51 RBI) and Jessica Merchant (.333, five home runs, 33 RBI) from the 2004 championship club. Wilkerson, Best and Merchant all played with the Riptide last year, while Kretschman was a standout for the league champion Akron Racers. Myers also played for the Racers in 2004.

Those five players will give Stratton plenty of offensive firepower and they effectively take the pressure off Fairchild, who was the club’s top run-producer last year. "With the lineup we have, you won’t be able to pitch around anyone," said Stratton, now in his 13th year at the helm. "Can you imagine having a hitter like Germaine, who ranks sixth in career RBI with 279 in just five seasons possibly batting sixth in the order?"

Malerich compiled a 15-3 record with a 0.57 ERA last year. She also won three games against NPF teams, including the first victory last June 16 in a 1-0 win over the defending champion New York Juggernaut. She also defeated the Texas Thunder and Riptide. Malerich’s availability for 2006 will be limited as she heads to Italy to play for the Italian National team as it hopes to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Myers, an assistant coach at Michigan State, will be available for relief duty this weekend, while Stratton also plans to use her as an outfielder or designated hitter.

Also on hand for the opening series will be infielder Erica Sobel (.352, 24 RBI last year) of Worcester, MA, catcher Callie Piper (.282, 23 RBI) of Florida Atlantic and Wichita, KS, outfielder Julie Brooks (.306, 20 RBI) of Rutgers and Thornhill, Canada, who played for the Thunder in 2004, third baseman Jennifer Owens (.298) of Florida International and Miami, outfielder Denise Denis (.328, 37 RBI) of UMass and Saratoga Springs, NY, and fourth-round draft pick, Stephanie Hill of Louisiana State University. Hill batted .325 with six home runs and 36 RBI for the 11th-rated Lady Tigers, who lost to Arizona in a best-of-three series Sunday in the Super Regionals.

Three of the Brakettes’ draft choices are involved in the NCAA College World Series, which starts Thursday in Oklahoma City. They include No. 1 pick Cat Osterman of Texas, the odds-on-favorite for her third straight College Player of the Year award. UCLA third baseman Andrea Duran, another first-round pick, and second round selection Adrienne Alo of Oregon State also are in the CWS. Once their collegiate careers end the Brakettes management plans to sign all three of them to contracts.

Veteran pitcher Kaci Clark (60-7) will make her 2006 Connecticut Brakettes debut June 12 against Chinese Taipei in a doubleheader. Clark is finishing her season in the Japan Pro League.

Riptide Manager Sharon Drysdale, the Hall of Fame coach from Northwestern, has Henderson (9-10, 1.99 ERA) and Jocelyn Forest (8-2, 1.12 ERA) to handle the pitching for the weekend series. Outfielder Lyndsey Angus (.357) is the team’s top returning hitter.

The teams last played June 15-17, 2005 with the Riptide winning the first two games, 7-2 and 1-0, before the Brakettes rebounded with 3-2 and 2-1 (10 inning) wins.

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