Brakettes Enjoy Successful Pro Debut; Fall Just Short of Championship

September 6, 2006 - The Connecticut Brakettes managed to meet many of their goals for the 2006 NPF season, but fell shy in their pursuit of the greatest of NPF honors, the Cowles Cup. The 2006 Championship went to the New England Riptide, who earned the award with a 2-0 victory over the Brakettes on August 28th at Frank DeLuca HOF Field in Stratford, CT.

As the Brakettes’ faithful fans have come to expect so much from their team throughout the years, it seems as if anything shy of a national championship is a disappointment. However, when looking at the 2006 NPF season in review, the professional premiere of the hometown favorites was more than successful. The season was filled with a pennant race, a playoff berth, exciting victories, and brilliant individual performances; capped off with the Brakettes playing host to the NPF’s greatest teams at the Championship Series, and a runner-up finish to the Riptide.

Scheduled Opening Day was June 1st at home, versus New England. Sarah Pauly took the mound for the locals, in a matchup that foreshadowed both the championship contenders and weather to come at season’s end. Due to torrential downpours, the game was called after four innings, with the Brakettes leading 1-0. As it did not reach the five-inning minimum, the game would not count, and Connecticut waited until June 10th to finally make a splash in the big leagues. Playing against their fellow expansion franchise, the Philadelphia Force, the Brakettes prevailed 3-1 in eight innings. Pauly earned the first of her 15 wins, which would tie her for the NPF league lead for wins in the regular season. She also led the league in ERA, with a 1.22 mark, and was second in the NPF with 138 strikeouts. She was named the NPF’s most outstanding pitcher in her professional rookie season.

The Brakettes then went on to sweep the Chinese Taipei National Team in a four-game set, as Nikki Myers and Pauly each won two decisions. In the series finale, Pauly struck out 13 in an 11-inning 4-3 victory. Myers followed Pauly’s gem with another victory in the first game of a four-game home series with the defending NPF Champion Akron Racers. With the win, the Brakettes moved to 6-0 to start the season, as they jumped to the top of the NPF standings, and saw both starters begin the campaign with 3-0 records. Myers started the year with 21+ innings without an earned run, and with Pauly, formed the base of one of the league’s top pitching rotations. Nikki finished in the top ten among NPF leaders in wins, strikeouts, and ERA.

During the Racers series, the Brakettes welcomed back Kaci Clark for one last season in Brakette red. Clark returned from an injury-plagued 2005 season to provide a lift in some tough spots. After ligament damage to a finger on her pitching hand, Kaci put the finishing touches on an impressive career, while showing flashes of her not-so-old self along the way. Her two-hit, eight-strikeout performance led the Brakettes to a 1-0 victory over the Texas Thunder and star pitcher Christa Williams, July 5th in League City, Texas. Clark and fellow ageless wonder Germaine Fairchild arrived just minutes before the game, as storms caused many flight delays around the country. It was fortunate for Connecticut that they made it in time, as Fairchild’s fifth inning solo shot provided all the offense the Brakettes needed, and Clark did the rest. Williams was a perfect 8-0 before taking the loss. Clark earned another win at the tail end of the series, salvaging a 2-2 split over the four games. Clark would ride off into the softball sunset on August 6th, when she struck out 11 Force batters en route to a 6-1 Brakette win, leaving her cleats perched on the mound after the game was over. She finished her career with a stellar 64-12 record with the Brakettes, a 0.59 ERA, and two ASA National Championships.

Connecticut also got a chance to appear in their first-ever nationally televised pro game, playing at home against the Texas Thunder, and they did not disappoint the viewers. With an 8-0 drubbing of the Thunder, the Brakettes put forth one of their most complete performances of the year. The game was played on July 15th and shown on tape delay on Thursday night, July 20th, on ESPN2. Approximately 175,000 households tuned in to see Pauly deliver a one-hitter, while NPF home run champion Jessica Merchant cranked a home run and a triple. Merchant’s 12 homers were just the tip of the iceberg, as she also batted .354, good for third in the league, and finished with a second-best league wide total of 31 RBI’s. Merchant was named the NPF offensive player of the year. Kelly Kretschman went 3-4 on the afternoon, blasting a three-run shot in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Kretschman, who played outfield for the USA in Athens 2004, earning a gold medal, brought a champion’s toughness to the team, while capturing the NPF batting title with a .410 average. Having played on the 2005 champion Akron Racers, Kelly proved to be the toughest out in the league. She also led the NPF with a .566 on-base percentage, 35 walks, and nine doubles. Second baseman Stephanie Best also had three hits in the game.

Just when things seemed to be predictable in their first pro go-round, the Brakettes found a way to mix it up. Perhaps the NPF managerial move of the year was orchestrated by Brakettes’ skipper John Stratton in the most unlikely of spots. The setting was Benedictine University in Lisle, IL, home of the Chicago Bandits. Connecticut went into Chicago within striking distance of the league-leaders, and looked to secure a win in the first game of the series. The score showed the Brakettes up 4-2 in the last inning, but the bases were loaded. With league-leading RBI producer Jaime Clark batting for the Bandits, Stratton pondered how Pauly should pitch to the slugger. Instead, he showed the ultimate of confidence in his star pitcher, ordering her to walk Clark intentionally to force in a run. With the Brakettes leading 4-3, bases still loaded, and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Pauly struck out Gina Oaks, proving Stratton’s move to be genius. The Brakettes dropped the next two, but captured the last game of the grouping, becoming the first NPF team to win two games in Chicago.

The Brakettes also had a strong showing against the showcased international teams that traveled to DeLuca Field, going a combined 8-3 against some of the top talent in the world. With the four-game sweep of Taipei already in the bag, Connecticut took three of four from China, besting a team that recently finished fourth at the ISF World Championships in Beijing. They also split two games with the ISF fifth-place Canadian National Softball Team, and dropped an exhibition to the Dominican Republic.

The last regular season game for the Brakettes gave the team a chance to showcase their powerful lineup for the home fans of the Force. Playing in Allentown, PA, Connecticut smacked 16 hits in a 14-1 romp over Philadelphia. Both runs and hits totals were high marks for the season, as the Brakettes primed for the playoffs. With a 27-15 record, the Brakettes finished the regular season in second-place, having been in contention throughout the year. The second seed for the post-season matched them up against the third-seeded 2005 NPF Champion Akron Racers.

Another high point to the 2006 NPF season was the season-ending NPF Championship Series, which was hosted by the Brakettes at DeLuca HOF Field in Stratford, CT. On
Saturday, August 26th, the playoffs began with two semi-final matchups. The Brakettes and Racers engaged in a pitcher’s duel between Pauly and Radara McHugh. For seven innings, they battled back and forth, not allowing either team’s lineup to break through. In the eighth, however, McHugh was lifted by Akron in favor of Brandee McArthur. While Pauly set the Racers down in the top of the eighth, Fairchild came through once more for Connecticut, delivering an RBI single to score Kellie Wilkerson from second base. As Wilkerson touched home safely, the Brakettes streamed out of their dugout in celebration, as the coveted Cowles Cup Championship was just one win away.

Earlier that afternoon, the New England Riptide beat the Chicago Bandits 1-0 in nine innings, and the nightcap served to set up an all-New England National Championship.
Mother Nature once again intervened, and the final was pushed back a day, as rains fell all Sunday. With a clutch job done by the DeLuca Field ground crew, the game was played on Monday, August 28th. Pauly threw well again, but series MVP Jocelyn Forest was that much better. She scattered five Brakette hits in a complete-game 2-0 win. The atmosphere at DeLuca HOF Field was a mixed bag, as the disappointment seemed to hang in the air, yet the tried and true fans gave the home team one last standing ovation to close out the 2006 season. Looking forward to 2007, however, there seems to be great reason for encouragement in Brakettes’ camp.

"We were obviously disappointed, as we were one of the best hitting teams in the league, but we couldn’t find the big sticks against Forest", said Stratton, when asked about the recent runner-up finish. "She was super, and the team that wanted it more took it. This league is tough. On any given day, any one of the NPF teams can beat any other". When asked about the upcoming season, Stratton changed his tone dramatically. "We are going to be back next year with an even stronger team. We have a better idea of what works, and after one NPF season in the books, we have something strong to build on. The nucleus is strong, and we hope to keep it intact. Obviously, there will be some changes, but at the moment, I’m just proud to have spent the whole summer with these players. They are classy women, all of them, and represent the Brakette colors with pride and confidence around the league".

Brakettes General Manager Bob Baird agreed on the outlook for next year. "We will be better than before. The great history of the Brakettes allowed us to make a smooth transition to the professional level. Now, however, we have to make even more progress. Winning a championship will not be easy, but we are ready to take the necessary steps to become a championship team in the NPF".

As the Brakettes made the move to the pro ranks in 2006, many followers worried about the ASA Women’s Major Fastpitch amateur division. It had been said that the departure of the most prolific softball team in ASA’s history could mean the demise of the circuit. But when Dave and Dotty Carpenter made the vow to continue the Brakettes’ amateur tradition in addition to their commitment to the professional team, softball lovers breathed a sigh of relief, and the Stratford Brakettes picked up right where they left off. Under the tutelage of Jay Stratton and Rich Roessner, the Baby Brakes won an unprecedented 27th ASA National Championship, with a sweep of the nation’s best amateur squads in Amherst, NY, August 10-14. With a 7-3 triumph over the Southern California Sliders in the Championship game, the Stratford Brakettes proved that there would be no letdown, despite playing the year as the junior team in the Brakettes family. They finished with a 46-4 record, with two of their losses being well-contested decisions to the Connecticut Brakettes. The Baby Brakes also took two out of three games from the Dominican Republic National Team, and only lost one game to an amateur club team all summer. The title was their fourth in five years.

The Brakettes benefited from a strong lineup throughout the season, and once again, Fairchild was a vital piece of the puzzle. She drilled five homers, which tied for fifth in the league, and her 22 RBI’s were eighth among NPF leaders. Wilkerson also showed power, finishing with four homers and 21 RBI’s. Both numbers put her in the top ten in the league. Best contributed to the offense with 33 hits of her own, and Stephanie Hill added 26 to lead all Brakette rookies. Callie Piper, who showed one of the best arms in the league behind the plate, also demonstrated a patient eye in the batter’s box. Her 20 walks put her in ninth place in the league in that category.

With a runner-up finish to the 2006 NPF season, the Brakettes nearly put a storybook ending on their meteoric rise through the National Pro Fastpitch League. But perhaps the shortcoming will fuel the fire. "The loyal fans of the Brakettes haven’t seen anything yet. This will motivate our players, coaches, and staff to push them even harder next year," said Baird. "We are so incredibly proud of all that was accomplished, while we look forward to trying to improve on the product as a whole. Brakettes’ softball is here to stay".

Both the pro and amateur teams showed the throngs at DeLuca that the Brakettes’ tradition continues to grow. The Brakette family has expanded to include two teams, twice as many players, many more fans, and to offer up the possibility of what once would have seemed impossible…winning national titles in both the NPF and ASA in the same year. The Connecticut Brakettes may have to wait until next year, but watch out. They are already looking forward to 2007, where they hope to have another Brake-out season.

The Connecticut Brakettes would like to thank our loyal fans, sponsors, staff, volunteers, the Connecticut Post, Cablevision News 12, WICC-600 AM, Softball360, Stratford Star, and all other local media who made this season a success. Special thanks to Bob Baird and John Stratton, without whom there would be no Brakettes to speak of today; Dave and Dotty Carpenter, for their continued support and true passion for the game-we wouldn’t be here without you; Riverside Management Group, for taking the organization to the next level; Julie Brzezinski and Patty Fernandes, for their guidance and instruction; Jay Stratton and Rich Roessner, for continuing the Stratford Brakettes' winning tradition; Harlan and Kathy Gage, for running our website and providing great photos, endless hours of professionalism, and oodles of encouragement; and of course the players themselves, who provided the summer magic once more. Thank you and see you next year!

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