Brakettes Top Canada 4-1 in International Friendly

August 16, 2006 - The Brakettes rode Sarah Pauly's right arm to a 4-1 decision over the Canadian National Softball Team Wednesday night at Frank DeLuca HOF Field in Stratford, CT. Connecticut got two hits and an RBI from Stephanie Best, and big contributions from a couple of their rookie draft picks, in beating one of the top international teams in the world. Best hit a bases-loaded single to score Kelly Kretschman from third base with two outs in the first inning. Kretschman led off the game with a bunt single, then advanced to second on a fielding error. While the Brakettes were the first to score, they failed to put it out of reach early. The bases remained loaded after Best's RBI single, but first-year third baseman Stephanie Hill struck out swinging to end the inning. Hill would have a chance to erase the memory of that at-bat later in the game, and would come through for the hometown favorites.

Pauly seemed strong throughout the game, and appeared to have the game in hand with a 1-0 lead. Recent Washington graduate Aimee Minor decided to give her pitcher some breathing room, and smashed a two-run single in the fifth inning. With a 3-0 lead, the Brakettes' bats wouldn't rest. Hill came up and sliced a liner down the right-field line to score the Brakettes' fourth run.

Angela Lichtey's sixth-inning triple would lead to Canada's lone run off Pauly, as Cindy Eadie singled her home. Canada had ample opportunities against Pauly and the Brakettes, but couldn't get the big hit with runners in scoring position. Pauly, who scattered six hits and gave up one run, struck out eight Canadian batters. Two of those strikeouts helped set the tone for the evening. In both the first and second innings, Canada had runners at second base with two outs. Each time, Pauly recorded big strikeouts to get out of trouble. Canada then had runners at second and third with one out in the fourth. Again, Pauly wiggled out of danger, stranding both runners in scoring position.

The Brakettes stand at 25-14 in NPF play, in second place behind the Chicago Bandits. While the games against Canada will not count in NPF standings, Wednesday served as a good test for the Brakettes, who have already qualified for the NPF Championship Series, August 26-27 at DeLuca HOF Field. Canada will head to Beijing after Thursday's contest for the ISF World Championships, where they could gain an automatic berth to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The teams will meet again Thursday at 7:05 EDT.

Thursday night's game

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