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2007 in Review | |||
| It didn't rain - it poured - at the Belleville Softball Complex, but the Brakettes still managed to win another championship. You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out! That's the perfect way to describe the 2007 Stratford Brakettes' season. However, sometimes you still may win even though you don't get to play. Brakettes fans may have thought they had seen their team capture championships in every conceivable way. That was until last year's first-ever tournament at the Belleville Softball Complex in South Bend, IN, where the Brakettes found a new way to win. You might say the Brakettes took a page right out of the ASA Rules Book to win their 28th National Championship when heavy rain, wet fields, and opposing team's premature travel arrangements all prevented the tournament from reaching a conclusion on the five-field complex. For the first time since the Women's Major tournament debuted in 1933, the Brakettes were declared the tournament champion based upon the fewest average runs allowed per game. "We had prepared ourselves all season long for this moment, and then suddenly you have no control," said Manager John Stratton. "Fortunately for us, we did take advantage of the things we could control and that put us in an advantageous position." When heavy thunderstorms and steady rain inundated the Belleville Complex on Monday, August 6, putting the tournament hours behind schedule, the decision was made to push the last few games to Tuesday morning, August 7. The fourth-place Southern California Hurricanes had already departed for home with several players booked on late-night flights. That left the Carbondale, IL, Cougars alone in the loser's bracket and waiting for the loser of the Brakettes-California Sliders game. When play had been suspended the Brakettes were ahead 2-0 in the third inning. The Cougars also opted to take the third place trophy rather than stick around another night, leaving the two teams who met in the 2006 finals in Amherst, NY, to battle it out, or at least that's what the Brakettes thought when they retired for the evening. Arriving at the ballpark early Tuesday morning, the Brakettes were greeted by tournament officials who had been informed by the Sliders that they would not be playing because too many of their players had to make flights home. Even had the Sliders stayed, it would have been hours before the complex would be deemed playable. For fans familiar with Stratford's Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, the Belleville Sports Complex didn't come close to DeLuca on its worst day! So how exactly did the Brakettes capture the title? The answer was found on page 270 of the 2007 ASA Rules Book, Article 510-h-02-3 which states, "The teams shall be ranked accordingly to the fewest runs allowed per game played." Both the Brakettes and Sliders were 4-0 overall in the tournament. The Brakettes had allowed only one run, while the Sliders had given up four. "You hate to win a championship this way. We always want to settle things on the playing field," added Stratton. "We beat all the top teams and we had the game (winner's bracket final) against the Sliders under control. That's why we play every game like it's the national title game. This was a perfect example of why you have to have that mindset." Five Brakettes players were named to the ASA All-America team: second baseman Mandy Fishback, shortstop Courtney Bures, center fielder Sari-Jane Jenkins, and pitchers Brandice Balschmiter and Leslie Malerich. Balschmiter was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Pitcher and she received the Bertha Tickey Award, while Bures was selected the tournament MVP. The Brakettes finished the season with a 56-5 overall record, which improved their career mark to 3,298 wins against 370 losses. The 28 national titles are the most by any sports team in history. It was the Brakettes' fifth championship in the past six years. Before play was suspended, the Brakettes had used three bunt singles to score two runs in the top of the first inning against the Sliders and UCLA pitcher Anjelica Selden. Jenkins led with a single before Denise Denis struck out. Fishback dropped a bunt putting runners at the corners. Fishback advanced on a ball in the dirt before Bures' suicide bunt scored Jenkins. When the throw home eluded the catcher, Fishback came around to score. Katie Burkhart, the Arizona State All-America, had a two-hitter with five strikeouts through three innings for the Brakettes. The Brakettes began the tournament with a 10-0 win over the Bloomington, IL, Lady Hearts in pool play as Balschmiter pitched a one-hitter with eight strikeouts. Seven runs in the top of the sixth inning brought the game to a close. Denis led the attack with a 4-for-4 effort, including two triples and two RBI. Fishback added two hits, while Whitney Mollica, Killian Roessner, and Stephanie Hill all had two RBI. A 5-0 win over the Hurricanes enabled the Brakettes to capture Pool A as Burkhart scattered six hits and struck out 12 batters. Three errors, Roessner's sacrifice bunt, Hill's triple, and Joanna Gail's sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the top of the second inning. The Brakettes added two runs in the fifth with Bures collecting an RBI, while Denis singled in Jenkins, who had tripled, in the seventh. Denis, Bures and Hill all had two hits. Malerich allowed only two hits and struck out seven as the Brakettes beat Impact Fastpitch 9-1 in their first game of bracket play. Beth Boden's RBI single in the second and Bures' double in the third staked Malerich to a 2-0 lead before she surrendered a home run to Alexia Clay in the fourth inning. A seven-run seventh inning enabled the Brakettes to break the game open. Sending 11 players to the plate, the Brakettes reached loser Ali Pettit for six hits with Fishback, Boden, Hill, Gail, and Bures (two) driving in runs. Jenkins had three hits, while Bures and Boden both had a pair. Balschmiter took the mound in the winner's bracket semi-final against the Cougars and ace pitcher Megan Denny of the University of Texas. She tossed a no-hitter and struck out eight, allowing only two Cougars to reach base. Hill walked to lead off the top of the third and Stratton inserted Allison Twarowski as a pinch-runner. Gail's sac bunt was bobbled and both runners were safe. Jenkins then put down a perfect bunt to load the bases. After Denny fanned Denis, Fishback singled to left for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Mollica drew a bases-loaded walk for a 2-0 lead. Gail led off the seventh with a walk and Jenkins homered over the center field fence for a 4-0 advantage. Fishback had half of the Brakettes' four hits. The Sliders surrendered a run to the Midland Lady Explorers in pool play before the Hurricanes scored three times in a 4-3 loss in the semi-finals. BRAKETTES SWEEP TOPTON TOURNAMENT WITH PERFECT 5-0 MARK The Brakettes made their sixth appearance in the Topton, PA, July 4th tournament and left town with five wins and a 31-0 overall record. Balschmiter pitched a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts to earn the Outstanding Pitcher Award. She didn't allow a run in posting three victories as the Brakettes outscored their five opponents 55-4. The Brakettes had also won the tournament in 1991, 1998, 2002, and 2004, while they finished runner-up in 2001 when the finals were rained out. Five Brakettes were named to the all-tournament team: pitcher Candice Freel, catcher/DH Killian Roessner, Fishback, Jenkins, and Bures. In the charnpionship game, the Brakettes unleashed a 22-hit attack to mercy the New York Freedom 18-0. Bures had two triples, Hill one, and Roessner a double. Mollica drove in four runs, while Fishback, Denis, Bures and Hill all had three hits. In the winner's bracket final earlier that day, the Brakettes jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Freedom tallied three unearned runs off Freel. The Brakettes finished with an 8-3 win with Bures and Denis collecting triples and Roessner a three-run double. Jenkins added two hits and drove in two runs. Balschmiter pitched a one-hitter in a 10-0 win over the Rebelz to open the tourney. Jenkins went 4-for-4 with five RBI and a triple, while Chelsea Bramlett had two hits and Fishback a triple and RBI. Freel stopped the Spirit 7-1 as she scattered three hits and struck out seven. Two errors accounted for an unearned run. Jenkins, Hill and Mollica all had two hits. The New York Raiders were the opponent in the quarter-finals and Balschmiter stopped them on two hits as she fanned five. Bramlett and Fishback both had two hits, while Denis had a bases-loaded triple and Boden a 265-foot triple off the left center field fence. |
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