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2024 Stratford Brakettes
| Central New Jersey Lightning Captures 2024 WMS Title; Unbeaten in WMS Championship and Declared the Champions. |
by Curt Gowdy, Stratford Patch, Community Contributor
Aug 5 - The Central Jersey Lightning were declared the National Women's Major Softball Champions for 2024, thereby successfully defending their 2023 WMS Title. They went unbeaten in three games in bracket play after going unbeaten in pool-play to advance to the championship.
Unfortunately the tournament had to be stopped and ended, after once again for the third straight evening, heavy rains returned to DeLuca Hall of Fame Field making the field unplayable.
This after the Stratford Public Works Department, led by Crew Chief Rob Cronk, made it possible to have the field ready for the finals, which no one thought was possible because a torrential thunderstorm forced play to be halted Saturday evening.
Cronk also led the cleanup efforts on Saturday morning after heavy rains forced the stoppage on Friday evening.
Sunday's Championship game between the Lightning and the Stratford Brakettes was going into the bottom of the third when the storm hit.
Earlier, in the second round of bracket play, the Lightning defeated the Stratford Brakettes 4-1 behind the pitching of Sam Gress who held the Brakettes to only two hits.
After that loss, the Stratford Brakettes went on to beat the Junior Brakettes 8-2 to advance to the loser bracket finals against the Stripes and Strikes.
The Stripes and Strikes had lost in the winners bracket finals to the Lightning by a score of 2-1 which set up the Brakettes and Stripes and Strikes matchup.
The Brakettes, in come from behind fashion, went on to beat the Stripes and Strikes by scoring 4 runs in the bottom of 6th to take a 5-2 lead. Winning pitcher Sophia DiCocco closed out the 7th and the Brakettes went on to the Championship game.
They would have to beat the Lightning twice to win the crown but mother nature had other ideas.
By virtue of being undefeated, winning the winners bracket final, head to head records, runs scored, and runs allowed, the Lightning were declared the champions.
When the announcement was made a jubilant bunch of Lightning celebrated just outside their dugout and they attained their quest of defending their title.
Click the WMS Tournament site link for the tournament progression and flow all the way to the title.
Several individual awards were handed out during the closing ceremonies and presented by Brakette General Manager Rob Baird.
These awards are in the name of numerous players to leave a mark in the pride and tradition of the Brakettes and their storied history.
Micki Stratton Most Valuable Player - Kelsey Carr of the Lightning
Pat Dufficy Home Run Champion - co-winners Kelsey Carr of the Lightning and Marissa Trivelpiece of the Stripes and Strikes
Diane Schumacher Batting Champion - Chelsea Villar of the Brakettes
Joan Joyce Oustanding Pitcher - Sam Gress of the Lightning
Allyson Rioux Defensive Player Award - Katie Sciglimpaglia of the Brakettes
Danni Kemp Sportsmanship Award - Jackie Pengel of the Brakettes
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Central Jersey Lightning
2024 WMS Repeat Champions |
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| Left to right: Linda Finelli, Donna Lopiano, Lou Gecewicz, Willie Roze, and John Stratton. At the 1974 World Tournament held in Stratford, Finelli and Stratton were Brakettes assistant coaches, former Brakette great Lopiano was head coach of the Italian team, and Gecewicz and Roze were players on the World Champion Raybestos Brakettes. Lopiano, Roze and Stratton are National Hall of Famers. |
Brakettes to Honor 50th Anniversary of 1974 World Title; Ceremony Saturday, July 20th, 7 pm at DeLuca Field
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see New Haven Register article
July 18 - Nearly 50 years have passed since the Raybestos Brakettes won the Third International Softball Federation World Tournament title on Friday night, August 16, 1974, before a reported 12,500 fans at Raybestos Memorial Field in Stratford, CT. The Brakettes represented their country in the tournament, by virtue of winning the previous year's 1973 ASA National Title, also held in the team's hometown of Stratford.
Late great Joan Joyce and teammates would celebrate the 3-0 Worlds final victory over Japan that night not just as Stratford's beloved Brakettes, but also as America's sweethearts, proudly wearing USA across their jerseys. The Brakettes would return to their familiar Raybestos uniforms just weeks later, as they battled out of the Loser's bracket to win their fourth consecutive National ASA title in Orlando, FL.
Fifty years later, the Stratford Brakettes continue to produce topnotch softball players and memories, and the club is delighted to welcome members of the 1974 ISF World Championship Raybestos Brakettes to DeLuca Field to celebrate their historic accomplishments.
Please join us in welcoming 1974 Raybestos Brakettes Barbara Clark, Lou Gecewicz and Willie Roze, 1974 Brakettes assistant coach Linda Finelli, former Brakettes manager and 1974 assistant coach John Stratton, and 1974 Italian National Softball Team Head Coach Donna Lopiano back to Stratford, CT.
The Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame and Youth Foundation, which recently inducted coach Stratton into their Stamford-based Hall, is proudly serving as the sponsor for this 50th Anniversary event. The Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame has inducted a total of 11 Brakettes since it opened in 2005.
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1974 World Champions
(click image to enlarge) |
Eventual ISF and ASA National Hall of Famer Joan Joyce was also enshrined by the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, and Donna Lopiano was inducted the following year.
The entire women's fastpitch softball world has changed much since that historic 1974 tournament in Stratford, with the dawning of Olympic softball competition in 1996 in Atlanta, the NCAA Women's College World Series soaring to new heights, and the coming-and-going of professional leagues. No matter which direction one looks in women's fastpitch softball to this day, it's impossible to escape the tremendous influence of the Brakettes.
Joan Joyce joined Billie Jean King to become a founder of the International Women's Professional Softball Association (IWPSA) after leading the Brakettes to the 1975 National ASA title, and led the Connecticut Falcons to all four IWPSA trophies before the league suspended operations in 1980.
| photo by Joani McCarthy |
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Joan Joyce warming up at 3rd Worlds
(click image to enlarge) |
Joyce, still considered by many to be the greatest softball player of all-time, later went on to play on the LPGA golf tour and coach college softball at Florida Atlantic University.
Peggy Kellers and Rosie Adams retired on top after the 1974 season, and both were eventually inducted into the ASA National Hall of Fame. Kellers was enshrined in Oklahoma City in 1986 and Adams followed in 1987.
Willie Roze and Sharon Backus both played another season with the Brakettes and joined Joyce on the Connecticut Falcons in 1976, playing key roles en route to winning IWPSA professional titles. Roze and Backus were both inducted to the National ASA Hall of Fame in 1985.
Brakettes great and ASA National Hall of Famer Donna Lopiano continued her pioneering work in women's sports after coaching the Italian National Softball Team at the 1974 Worlds, becoming the first Women's Sports Athletic Director at the University of Texas, and later serving as the CEO of the Women's Sports Foundation.
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| Ralph Raymond |
The Brakettes went on to win four more ASA National titles in a row after the 1974 crown (eight straight from 1971 to 1978), and a total of 12 more under Ralph Raymond, who served as the Raybestos/Hi-Ho Brakettes manager from 1968-1994.
Ralph Raymond enjoyed his first taste of success at the highest international level with the '74 world title, and would later serve as the first US Olympic manager in history for gold medal-winning teams in 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney).
Raymond and more than half of the Brakettes' top players left in the mid-90's for a chance to pursue their Olympic dreams. Seven of the original US Olympians played for the Brakettes prior to the 1996 Games.
1974 Raybestos Brakettes assistant coach John Stratton and fellow longtime Brakettes assistant coach Andy Van Etten served as co-managers in 1995, and then Stratton took over as the sole manager from 1996 onwards, rebuilding the franchise as the Brakettes captured five more ASA titles in the 2000's.
After the final ASA Women's Major National Tournament was played in 2008, and far removed from the Raybestos sponsorship days, late Brakettes General Manager Bob Baird created the independent Women's Major Softball National Championship in 2009, and the Brakettes have captured 12 of the 15 WMS titles since.
In 2024, the (on-again, off-again) Olympic softball dream remains in the hearts of young players everywhere, while the impact of Team USA's first ever Women's World Championship, won by Stratford's Raybestos Brakettes way back in 1974, is still felt today.
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Bob Baird Memorial Scholarship Games Sunday
 July 13 - The Stratford Brakettes will host a 4:00 doubleheader against the Concord (MA) Raiders on Sunday (July 14) afternoon at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, with the Bob Baird Memorial Scholarship Award presentation to take place just before the opening pitch.
Recent Stratford High School graduate and softball player Ellie Lubas is this year's scholarship recipient. Lubas was selected to the 2023 Connecticut Class L All-State Team and served as captain of the 2024 Lady Red Devils. She will continue her softball career at Suffolk University.
Beloved Brakettes General Manager (and former Stratford High School Athletic Director) Bob Baird left an indelible legacy when he passed away on December 31, 2022. A fearless and outspoken leader, Baird led the franchise through some of the club's darkest and leanest hours.
Bob got his start on the Brakettes beat in 1967 with the weekly Stratford News, and his connection with the team never left him. He led the Women's Major Hi-Ho/ Raybestos/Stratford Brakettes under numerous sponsors (and without) as GM since 1988, after 20 years of covering the Raybestos Brakettes for the Bridgeport Post and Telegram.
Baird also oversaw the franchise's one-year NPF Connecticut Brakettes squad, while also later creating the 18U Select Brakettes and Junior Brakettes. Although the Select Team folded after two successful seasons (2021 and 2022), the Junior Brakettes remain a pivotal piece in the Brakettes Softball family.
The Concord (MA) Raiders are perennially among the top women's teams around and battled with the Brakettes twice last year on the same July weekend, with Stratford narrowly capturing both contests in come-from-behind fashion, 4-3 and 3-2.
The Stratford Brakettes are 15-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming to Team Virginia Mizuno, 2-1, in Lyons, PA, in the Championship Game of the Arlan Schwoyer Honorary Tournament.
There will also be a Junior Brakettes twinbill on Sunday at 12:00 noon against the CT Rebels, prior to the scholarship presentation.
Ten different Brakettes and Junior Brakettes, plus coaches, just completed the first annual weeklong Brakettes/Stratford PAL softball camp at DeLuca Field to great reviews, and with tremendous support from the Stratford Recreation Department. A total of 73 aspiring softball players (ages 6-14) registered for the camp, which was well-attended every day despite high heat and humidity.
The Brakettes will not charge admission on Sunday but will ask for donations to keep the Bob Baird Memorial Scholarship Fund going strong into the future. The scholarship is given to a graduating student-athlete going to college to work in an athletic field or to continue their own playing career.
If you wish to donate to the Scholarship Fund, donations will be collected at the entrance on Sunday.
To donate with Venmo: @Brakettes-Inc (please mention the Bob Baird Scholarship Fund)
Checks can be made out to “Bob Baird Memorial Scholarship Fund” and sent to:
Brakettes Softball
185 Lordship Road
Stratford, CT 06615
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| Campers and staff at Day 3 of the Girls Softball Camp at DeLuca Field |
Brakettes Partner with Town of Stratford Recreation Department, The Sterling House Community Center, and the Stratford Police Activities League in Weeklong Girls Fastpitch Softball Camp
July 7 - As we continue to celebrate the 248th birthday of the Red, White, and Blue of America - the Red, White, and Blue of the Brakettes Organization in Stratford, CT is proud to announce that a girls fastpitch softball camp will take place starting on Monday July 8th.
Camp hours are daily from 0900 - 1200 Monday through Friday July 12th.
The softball camp is in partnership with the Town of Stratford Recreation Department, The Sterling House Community Center, and the Stratford Police Activities League.
The camp is at a capacity sellout of 70 girls. It was originally set at 40 but the signups of both the campers and the instructors continued to progressively march on since February.
The weeklong camp will provide a development of fast pitch softball skills from the beginner to the advanced level player.
DeLuca Hall of Fame Field will play host to the camp and also serves as Connecticut's premier fast pitch softball venue.
The instructors are from various college softball teams who spend their summers playing for the Brakettes.
The mission of the camp is to make each player better than they were the day before.
In addition, the on field sessions will be assisted by a few high school standout players as well as police officers from the Stratford Police Department.
A call to any retired Brakette is in order, for you to come down during the camp to provide your expertise on the field and to carry on the rich tradition of Brakette Softball here in Stratford that you helped start and maintain all of these years.
General Manager Rob Baird added: “The Brakettes are excited to host the first annual Brakettes-Stratford PAL softball camp. It gives our team a chance to pay it forward and teach the game to girls from Stratford and beyond. The Brakettes are committed to growing the sport of softball, and this camp will be a big part of those efforts here in Stratford.”
We're certain you know about the Brakettes and their storied history.
The Brakettes are in their 78th season and provide the Town of Stratford a big part of the Town's future in sports.
A week long of Brakettes events is scheduled in addition to the camp.
Tuesday evening July 9th a double header beginning at 7:00 pm at DeLuca Field will take place between the Stratford Brakettes and the Lady Nightmares.
Wednesday evening July 10th the Junior Brakettes will host the Connecticut Diamonds at 6:30 in a double header.
Thursday July 11th will be Stratford PAL night, as the Stratford Brakettes will take on the Junior Brakettes in a single game matchup at 7:00.
On Saturday July 13th it will be the Stratford Brakettes in a doubleheader against the Connecticut Rebels at 6:00.
On Sunday July 14th at 12:00 it will be the Junior Brakettes' turn to facing the Connecticut Rebels in a double header.
Later that day at 4:00 the Stratford Brakettes will conclude the exciting week with the Annual Bob Baird Scholarship Night in a double header against the Concord ( Massachusetts) Raiders.
Prior to the double header there will be a ceremony where a Stratford High School Softball player will be awarded the scholarship check.
And as always, if you cannot make it out to the park, you can tune into each game on Brakettes.com where the voice of the Brakettes Will Gallagher and his sidekick Moe Scioletti will provide all of the play by play action.
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| July 7, 2018 |
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