Brakettes Capture Linden Invitational Title with Three-Game Sunday Sweep

June 27, 2010 - The Stratford Brakettes (20-1) defeated the New York Raiders 7-2 Sunday in the Linden (NJ) Invitational Championship Game, outlasting the competition on a sizzling afternoon with temperatures soaring up to 100 degrees.

Stratford defeated the Lyons (PA) Spirit 1-0 in the quarterfinals and the NYC Havoc 3-0 in the semifinals to advance to the title game.

Rachele Fico picked up two wins on the day, including the title matchup. Whitney Canion earned the victory against the Havoc to advance the Brakettes to the championship game.

The championship marks the first time the Brakettes have won a tournament on the field since the 2007 Topton Fourth of July Tournament. The Brakettes went on to win that year’s ASA National Title in South Bend, IN, but were awarded the trophy when torrential downpours washed out the Championship Game and the end of the winner’s bracket final, with the Brakettes leading the Southern California Sliders 2-0 in the fifth inning.

Stratford struggled early Sunday against the Lyons (PA) Spirit in the quarterfinals, managing just one run and two hits off Spirit starter Danielle Thacker.

Ashley Waters led off the top of the first and walked, eventually scoring on an RBI single by Denise Denis. Waters moved into scoring position after nearly getting caught up between bases, managing to beat a throw down to second. The only other hit the Brakettes had off Thacker was a single by Mandie Fishback in the fourth inning.

The Brakettes made the first inning run stand up, fighting off a third inning rally by the Spirit. Liz Gall singled and moved to second on a walk by Karen Bauer. Noisy Sommer also provided a base hit to load the bases with one out.

With the bases loaded, Rachele Fico came on in relief of Erin Gallagher and induced a grounder to third base. Jess Mouse fielded the grounder just over the foul line and tagged Gall on her way home, and then raced back to the bag to force out Bauer.

Fico retired the side in order in the next four innings to earn the victory for Stratford. She struck out five in 4 and 2/3 innings of work.

Thacker struck out two and walked three, while limiting the Brakettes to just two hits. Thacker equaled Stratford’s hit total by herself, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Karen Bauer walked twice and lined out, and has now reached base safely in 11 of her last 13 plate appearances against the Brakettes.

Whitney Canion delivered another dominating performance in the semifinal, striking out 12 Havoc batters and walking none. The only hit she allowed was an infield single by Shannon Skeggs in the fourth inning. Canion allowed just one more runner on base, as Nicole Adisano reached on an error in the first inning.

The Brakettes were unable to muster any offense against Havoc starter Nicole Broecker until the fifth inning. Stratford had multiple runners on base in the second, third and fourth innings, but could not score. The Brakettes wasted several outs on the base paths, cutting short potential rallies.  

Carly Normandin led off the fifth with a shot out to left field. The ball tailed toward the foul line and glanced off the glove of the left fielder, allowing Normandin to reach second. Waters followed with a single to right to score Normandin, but the throw home was off target, allowing Waters to move to second. Denis came up next and delivered a single, which was misplayed in center field. Waters came home on the error, giving the Brakettes a 2-0 lead. The inning ended when Serio flew out to right field and Denis tagged from third and raced home, but was out at the plate on a perfect throw from Jess Dima.

Lyndsay Mouse led off the sixth with a single and stole second. Lindsey Kay Bright reached on an infield single, and an errant throw allowed Mouse to score for a 3-0 advantage.

Canion pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to secure the victory, and improved to 7-0 on the season. She retired the last 12 batters she faced.

Waters was the only Brakette with two hits in the game. Jess Mouse reached twice on a single and a walk.

Fico was on the mound again for the Championship Game, starting against the New York Raiders. She struck out nine batters and allowed five singles to push her record to 9-0. The Raiders were held scoreless until the sixth inning, when they plated two runs, both of which were unearned.  

The Brakettes gave Fico an early cushion to work with, scoring four runs in the first inning.

Waters drilled a one-out double to right-center and moved to third on a single by Denis. Serio followed with a double to score both base runners, and the Brakettes led 2-0. Lyndsay Mouse also smacked a double, which scored Serio for a 3-0 lead. The score was pushed to 4-0 on an RBI single by Jess Mouse.

Bright reached on an infield single in the third and stole second base. She scored from second on an error to give Stratford a 5-0 edge.

The Brakettes added two more in the fourth, when Bright reached on a two-out single. Normandin doubled to send Bright home with the sixth run and then scored on a single by Waters.

The lead stood at 7-0 until the sixth, when the Raiders scored twice. Meghan McDevitt and Lauren Hertzberg singled, and Jess Rosin reached on an error, bringing cleanup hitter Jaci Rahey to the plate with the bases loaded. Rahey laced a single to right to score McDevitt and Hertzberg, bringing the Raiders back to within 7-2.

Fico retired the side in order in the seventh to secure the hardware for Stratford.

Bright led the way with three singles and two runs scored, while Waters had two hits.

The Brakettes return to action Thursday night against the XTreme Chaos. The single 9-inning game will start at 7:00 p.m. at DeLuca Field in Stratford. There will be no games Friday night. All home games are video webcast at brakettes.com.