Merchant's League-Leading Blast Keys Brakettes' Win

July 21, 2006 - by Phil Soto-Ortiz

TUCSON, ARIZ. – Jessica Merchant’s National Pro Fastpitch league-leading seventh home run of the season keyed a four-run fifth inning for the Brakettes, who came back from a pair of one-run deficits to defeat the Arizona Heat 5-3 at Hi Corbett Field Thursday night in the first of a four-game series, the first meeting ever for the teams.

Nikki Myers scattered seven hits over seven innings, striking out three while walking one to improve her record to 5-2 this season. The complete-game effort was her seventh.

Myers surrendered a solo home run to Heat cleanup batter Catalina Morris leading off the bottom of the second inning, but the Brakettes pulled even in the third. Kelly Kretschman led off with a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Andrea Duran and a passed ball charged to Arizona catcher Shana Easley. Merchant drove her home with a two-out single for the first of three RBIs on the evening for Merchant.

The Heat reclaimed the one-run lead in the bottom of the fourth. Nichole Thompson hit a triple with one out. The next batter, Toni Mascarenas, pushed a squeeze bunt up the first-base line. First baseman Kelly Wilkerson fielded it and tossed to catcher Germain Fairchild, who blocked the plate and applied the tag. The home-plate umpire, however, ruled that Fairchild committed interference by blocking the plate before catching the throw from Wilkerson. Thompson’s run counted and Mascarenas was credited with an RBI single to put Arizona ahead 2-1.

The lead would be short-lived. Wilkerson singled with one out in the fifth, and Merchant crushed a pitch on the outer half of the plate well over the centerfield wall for a two-run home run that gave the Brakettes a 3-2 lead. It also broke Merchant’s tie with Crystl Bustos of Akron for the league’s lead in home runs.

Fairchild kept the rally going with a hard single that was misplayed in right centerfield, allowing the ball to roll to the wall and Fairchild to continue on to third. That ended the night for Arizona starting pitcher Desiree Serrano, as Leslie Wolfe came in to relieve. Fairchild stayed put on Stephanie Best’s hard grounder to third but came home on Stephanie Hill’s two-out triple. Heat shortstop April Valdez relayed a throw to third in an attempt to throw out Hill, but her throw sailed high and wide for her third error of the contest, and Hill came home easily to increase the Brakettes’ lead to 5-2.

Arizona tried to start a rally in the bottom of the fifth. LaDonia Hughes led off with a single and stole second. Autumn Champion then lined a shot up the middle in a bid for an RBI single, but Best ranged to her right, dove and caught the line drive just inches above the infield grass.

The Heat got a run back in the sixth as Mascarenas’ sacrifice fly plated Morris, but Myers retired the side in order in the seventh on three ground balls, the last of which caromed off her glove but right to Best, who threw to first to end the game.

The Brakettes improved to 17-7 in their first season in the NPF. They remained in second place, four games behind the league-leading Chicago Bandits. Arizona fell to 11-18 and stayed half a game ahead of the last-place Philadelphia Force.

The teams play again Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:05 p.m. Eastern Time.

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