2014 Women's Major Softball
National Championship
August 7-10, Stratford, CT
• Welcome |
| • Event Schedule |
| • Tickets |
| • Teams / Rosters |
| • Team Pix |
| • Pools / Scores |
| • Brackets / Scores |
| • Linescores |
| • WMS Photos |
| • Awards |
• Brakettes' site |
| • WMS Tourneys |
Welcome to the 6th Annual
WMS Championship Tournament
| Once again Stratford, CT will become the destination for women's fastpitch softball teams August 7-10 as the 6th annual Women's Major Softball National Championship tournament is staged at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field and the Short Beach Recreation Complex. Ten teams will compete for top honors in the four-day event. Leading the field of contenders will be the St. Louis Saints, who return to the tournament after a one-year hiatus. It marks the 60th year of softball managing for the Saints' Ed Martz. His team finished third in the 2009 inaugural tourney and was runner-up to the Brakettes in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The other participants include the Lyons, PA, Spirit, the Massachusetts Pride, the Queens, NY, Lady Rangers, Stratford Seahawks, Stratford Breakers, Team Connecticut, Eliminators, and XPlosion. All teams will play two pool games on Thursday, August 7 before bracket play starts on Friday, August 8. The finals are set for Sunday, August 10 at 1 p.m. with the “if” game to follow. Stratford has been recognized as the “Softball Capital” of the World, and for good reasons. The Brakettes have captured 28 National ASA championships, three World Championships, the 2012 Fastpitch Championship Invitational in Henderson, NV, and the 2013 USSSA World Series in Rockford, IL in addition to four straight WMS crowns. Last season the Brakettes beat the Charmers in the WMS title game. This is the 68th season of competition for the Brakettes and their 27th year at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. During their history the Brakettes have won over 3,705 games and lost but 383. Entering the final week of the season Manager John Stratton's club took a 43-0 record and 129-game winning streak to Toronto, Canada, for a four-game series with Team Canada. The Brakettes also own a 240-game unbeaten streak at DeLuca Field, dating back to June, 2010. The idea for the WMS tournament evolved in the fall of 2008 when the Brakettes management decided it was time for a change. They opted out of the long-standing Amateur Softball Association tournament to start what they hoped would become a season-ending tournament reminiscent of those staged during the heyday of women's fastpitch softball. It was their desire to run a national tournament the way it always has been run in this town, one that players, teams, and fans would remember as being softball friendly. That goal was realized in the inaugural Women's Major Softball National Championship tournament in 2009 that was played at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field and the Short Beach Recreation Complex with 10 teams participating. “There is no better place to stage this tournament,” said General Manager Bob Baird, who has been affiliated with the ballclub for 47 years, twenty of those as the beat sports writer for the former Bridgeport Post-Telegram. The tournament was the brainchild of team manager John Stratton and Baird. “It was our goal to do more for the teams, something that had been missing at ASA tournaments in recent years,” said Stratton. Tournament headquarters is the Quality Suites, located one mile from DeLuca. PLAY BALL! Bob Baird, General Manager, Stratford Brakettes |