WHO SAYS THREE'S A CROWD? DEFINITELY NOT THE SELECT BRAKETTES

December 2020 - While the season opener is a few days shy of six months from now, the newly-formed Select (18U) Brakettes coaching staff is anxiously looking forward to that day. The team will open the 2021 season by appearing in the Summer Slam Invitational at Meriden, CT's Dunn Sports Complex June 18-20. It is one of six tournaments the newest member of the Brakettes Softball family - they join the Stratford and Junior Brakettes, will play in.

Head Coach Lauren Pitney and assistants Jaymie Sommers and Jack Pritchard are excited about the opportunity to join the Brakettes organization. “I am looking forward to opening day,” said Pitney, who recently retired from the Stratford Brakettes after four outstanding years as their all-star second baseman. “We've assembled a very competitive team and I think once we get to work our fans will be really surprised.”

The Select Brakettes also will be playing in the Spartan Classic in Meriden June 25-27, the Micki Stratton Round Robin July 17-18 at DeLuca Field, the Caroline Farley Tournament in Concord, NH, July 23-25, the Shoreline Stinger XV in Guilford, July 31-August 1, and the 13th annual Women's Major Softball National Championship at DeLuca Field August 5-8.

The team is comprised of six college freshmen and nine high school seniors. They possess solid pitching, a plethora of offensive weapons, and have the potential to be strong defensively. Leading the staff will be Bentley College frosh Payton Doiron of Beacon Falls, an All-Stater at Trumbull's St. Joseph High, and Notre Dame of Fairfield All-State pick Briana Brown of Shelton, who will be playing at North Carolina's Fayetteville State. Kelly Pritchard of Amity High, Stamford High's Jordan Rossi, and Ridgefield's Skylar Arent, the only southpaw, complete the pitching staff.

Joel Barlow grad Rebecca Mauro of Easton and Berlin High star Callie Gendron are freshmen at Clark University in Worcester, MA, and Springfield College, respectively, catch and play third base, while Danbury's Kendell McNamara catches and plays first base. Lea White, an All-State pick from Maloney High, is a scholarship freshman at UMass Lowell, where she will play for former Brakettes pitching standout Danielle Henderson. Westhill of Stamford's Maddy Bautista and Danbury High's Emily Stefanelli are other infielders who can also play the outfield.

The four primary outfielders will be Notre Dame of Fairfield's Mac Stone-Fulmer, Amity's Juliette Zito, Ardsley High, NY, All-Region pick Sarah Rende, and Shepaug High grad Lucy Puskas, another Springfield College recruit. Pitney is the graduate assistant at Springfield, which is under the tutelage of Katie Bowen, a former All-Star second baseman for the Brakettes. Rende is the younger sister of 2020 Junior Brakettes shortstop Lauren Rende, who was promoted to the Stratford Brakettes following Pitney's retirement.

Stone-Fulmer is the daughter of Western Connecticut State Coach Heather Stone and she led Connecticut with 19 home runs as a sophomore in 2019. She has committed to Barry University in Miami. Puskas played for Team Connecticut the past two years and she has developed a familiarity with the DeLuca Field home run fence, hitting four balls over it last summer. One of her booming blasts came against Brakettes ace Kaysee Talcik, who was perturbed at first, but when she learned Lucy was going to be a Select Brakettes player in 2021, she replied, “then that's okay.”

ADDING THIRD TEAM WAS A NO-BRAINER FOR BRAKETTES ORGANIZATION

November 2020 - In case you missed it, or were hiding out in your basement the past few months, the Brakettes Softball family has grown with the formation of a third team for the 2021 season. The newest member of the organization is the 18U Select Brakettes, joining the nation's longest consecutive running women's program in the Stratford Brakettes and the Junior Brakettes, who will be playing their third season.

The Select Brakettes will play half of their schedule in weekend tournaments, something all their players and parents have grown accustomed to during their travel/showcase softball careers. All but one will be played within Connecticut, the exception being the Caroline Farley Invitational in Concord, NH. All three teams will be playing in it with the Select combine in the 18U field and the Stratford and Junior teams in the 18+ field. The Select team will also play several mid-week doubleheaders at DeLuca Field.

Coaching the Select team, which currently lists 15 talented players on its roster, will be four-year Stratford Brakettes second baseman Lauren Pitney of Ansonia. Pitney is a graduate of St. Joseph High School and Manhattan College, winning post-season acclaim at both schools. She is currently completing a two-year graduate assistant's program at Springfield College, where she is assisting ex-Brakettes standout Kate Bowen of Newtown, CT, Springfield's head softball coach. Jaymie Sommers and Jack Pritchard, two knowledgeable coaches, will be assisting Pitney.

“We were caught off guard when Lauren said she was interested in applying for the position,” said Brakettes Softball General Manager Bob Baird. “She's at the peak of her playing career, but after speaking with her about her goals for the future it became clear that this is what she really wants to do.”

“Lauren's goal is to become a college head coach. And I think she'll make a very good one,” said Stratford Brakettes Manager John Stratton. “She's always been a leader on the field. She approaches the game from a coaches' perspective. She just needs some experience and this will provide her a great opportunity.” Pitney said she needed to get some head coaching experience on her resume. “There's no better place to do that than with the Brakettes,” said Pitney, who is enthusiastically looking forward to the 2021 season.

Despite playing only four years with the Brakettes, Pitney ranks ninth all-time in career home runs with 30 and she is 25th in runs-batted-in with 142. A two-time batting champion (2018 at .489 and 2019 at .524), she finished with a .353 batting average this year with four home runs and 35 RBI in an abbreviated season because of the Coronavirus. At St. Joseph High School she was a three-time All-State pick.

When asked why the organization decided to add a third team, both Baird and Stratton never hesitated. “There are so many talented young ladies who want to play softball at a higher level and to be part of the Brakettes family, it wasn't a difficult decision to make,” said Baird. “We've had so many players contact us about trying out for the Brakettes. It's really amazing when you look at their resumes and the college programs they will be attending. They all can play. Part of our mission statement is to provide women the opportunity to continue their softball dream after high school. It would be a shame not to see that happen,” added Stratton.

LAUREN PITNEY RETIRES FROM STRATFORD BRAKETTES AS A PLAYER; NAMED HEAD COACH OF NEW SELECT BRAKETTES 18 & UNDER TEAM

Aug 14, 2020 - Ansonia's Lauren Pitney has announced her retirement from the Stratford Brakettes after a superb four-year playing career. However, she is not leaving the game of softball she loves, nor the Stratford Brakettes organization.

Shortly after her decision to end her playing career, the former St. Joseph High and Manhattan College star was named head coach of the Select Brakettes, the organization's new 18 & Under program that will debut in 2021.

The Select Brakettes will join the softball family of the recently crowned national champion Stratford Brakettes and second-year Junior Brakettes. The Select Brakettes will be comprised of players in their freshmen year of college and senior year in high school and they will play half their 2021 schedule in weekend tournaments. They are not a showcase or travel program.

With nine players already chosen for the Select Brakettes, Pitney has scheduled a second tryout for interested candidates who won't turn 19 before January 1, 2021 Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field.

“We were caught off guard when Lauren said she was interested in applying for the position,” said Brakettes Softball General Manager Bob Baird. “She's at the peak of her career, but after speaking with her about her goals for the future it became clear that this is what she really wants to do.”

“Lauren's goal is to become a college head coach. And I think she'll make a very good one,” said Stratford Brakettes Manager John Stratton. “She's always been a leader on the field. She approaches the game from a coach's perspective. She just needs some experience and this will provide her a great opportunity.”

Since graduating from Manhattan College, where she was a four-year starting second baseman (2015-2019), Pitney has been thinking about her future. “Coaching softball is something I've always dreamed about. Playing for the Brakettes has prepared me to take the next step,” said Pitney who was selected the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.

Currently in her second and final year as a graduate assistant at Springfield College, working under Newtown's Katie Bowen, another former Brakettes second baseman, Pitney added, “I needed to get some head coaching experience on my resume. There's no better place to do that than with the Brakettes.”

Despite playing only four years Pitney ranks ninth all-time in career home runs with 30 and she is 25th in runs-batted-in with 142. A two-time batting champion (2018 at .489 and 2019 at .524), she finished with a .353 batting average this year with four home runs and 35 RBI in an abbreviated season because of the coronavirus. At St. Joseph High School she was a three-time All-State pick.

BRAKETTES SOFTBALL WILL SPONSOR THIRD TEAM FOR THE 2021 SEASON

July 22, 2020 - While plans for the Stratford Brakettes 75th consecutive season of play in 2021 will begin immediately following this season, the organization has announced that to help celebrate the occasion they will be adding a third team to their program.

“There are so many talented young ladies who want to play softball at a higher level and to be part of the Brakettes family, it wasn't a difficult decision to make,” said General Manager Bob Baird.

The new team will be 18 & Under and play primarily in weekend tournaments throughout Connecticut and the region, while joining the Stratford Brakettes and Junior Brakettes in doubleheaders at the newly refurbished Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. They will also participate in the annual Women's Major Softball National Championship next August.

“We've had so many players contact us this summer about tryouts for the Brakettes,” added veteran Manager John Stratton. “It's really amazing when you look at their resumes and the college programs they will be attending. They all can play.”

And so can the 38 players the Brakettes already have on their two rosters. The Stratford Brakettes, who have won 37 national championships, don't figure to have too many retirees, if any, from their 18-player roster, especially with the U.S. Olympic Team visiting DeLuca next June. The Junior Brakettes, only in their second year, have a star-studded array of talent, featuring 14 Division I players.

“Part of our mission statement is to provide women the opportunity to continue their softball dream after high school. It would be a shame not to see that happen,” added Stratton.

The Brakettes have scheduled a tryout session for August 3 at 6:30 p.m. at DeLuca Field for candidates interested in participating. Players should arrive by 6 p.m. to complete the necessary paperwork. “At the end of the current season we will evaluate everyone in our program and advance those players we think are ready to be on our big team. Last year we had nine retirees and moved up nine players from our Junior Brakettes. In a doubleheader last week we had six of them all starting,” added Stratton, who is nearing the 1,400 mark for career wins.

Players who try out that are too old for the newest Brakettes team will be evaluated as well for a possible spot on one of the other teams. The name of the new team and its coach will be announced at the tryout.

Thursday night the Stratford Brakettes, who are 21-2, return to action against a group of select high school seniors from several area high schools. They will play a nine-inning game and recognize those senior players who didn't have a spring season because of COVID-19.

Friday night the Stratford and Junior Brakettes renew their rivalry in a 7 p.m. doubleheader at DeLuca, while both teams play twin-bills Saturday. The Junior Brakettes meet TC Futures of Westchester, NY, at 10 a.m. and the Stratford Brakettes host Newton, MA, Panthers at 7 p.m. Stratford and Newton also play Sunday at 10 a.m.