Brakettes Capture First Game of Fourth of July Tourney

July 4, 2009 - The Stratford Brakettes got off to a good start at the Topton Fourth of July Tourney, as Jen Russell tossed a no-hitter over the Lehigh Valley Gators, en route to a 5-0 victory. The tournament is being held at Lyons Field in Lyons, PA, and features ten top fast-pitch teams from the northeast.

Russell struck out five and walked just one, as she picked up her first no-hitter as a Brakette.

Stratford got on the board in the second inning, when Lindsay Kay Bright sliced a double down the left field line. Amber Radomski and Stacey Lajoie had singled before Bright’s liner, and scored on the play, to give the Brakettes a 2-0 lead.

The Brakettes picked up another run in the third, after Jess Serio reached on a walk. Serio went from first to third on a wild pitch which hit off the plate, then scored on a sac fly by Jess Mouse.

The 3-0 lead stood until the fourth inning, when Ashley Waters lined an inside-the-park homer to left off Gators’ starter Casey McConville. The blast was the fourth of the season for Waters.

Bright doubled for the second time in the fifth inning, and then scored the Brakettes’ fifth run on a triple by Serio to left. The three-base hit fell just shy of the 265-foot fence. Serio also walked three times in the game.

The Brakettes improved to 17-2 with the win, and will play next against the New York Freedom at 5:15 Saturday. All Brakettes games from the tournament will be broadcast right here at brakettes.com.