Fico, Waters Shut Out Pride in Twin Bill Sweep 7-0, 4-0

July 8, 2010

by Ilan Woll

Rachele Fico and surprise starter Ashley Waters both shut out the New Jersey Pride allowing five hits each, with the offense spread out among the Brakettes. Jess Serio led the squad with three hits, two runs and 3 RBIs. The Pride's Nicole Haggerty and Steph Pasquale also each had three singles.

Game one saw Rachele Fico’s screwball in top form as she struck out the Pride in order in the first inning en route to 14 for the day. Meanwhile in the bottom of the first Carly Normandin singled to center field, advanced to second on a sharp grounder which Pride first baseman Steph Pasquale slowed down to allow Gianna Cafari to snag and get the second out. Jess Serio then singled to right field, scoring the UMass speedster for the first run of the game.

The second saw a strange trend as Fico allowed the first two runners on in each even inning. In this case Steph Pasquale singled and Erin Trippi walked. Fico then struck out the side, with two looking at the late movement on Fico’s curve. Pride starter Isabella Corrao, meanwhile, retired the Brakettes in order.

In the third, Fico allowed a single to Lexi Knief, but otherwise came away unscathed. Stratford added two runs as Ashley Waters reached first on an error by the first baseman and stole second on a low pitch by Corrao. Denise Denis lined a single to right field, scoring Waters as the ball went under the glove of Lexi Knief giving Denis an extra base. Serio then lined a double between left and center field, scoring Denis. Isabella Corrao then retired the next three hitters to keep the game at 3-0 after three innings.

The fourth saw more difficulties for Fico as Steph Pasquale singled to center. An error on Erin Trippi's grounder to short resulted in runners on first and second with no outs. Isabella Corrao then hit the ball to third baseman Jessica Mouse who tagged Pasquale trying to advance, and Rachele then completed the inning by inducing a ground ball to Fishback and striking out Kristin Mattia.

Rachele Fico returned to her odd-inning form in the fifth, striking out two of the last three batters as a combination of a wide strike zone and a strong curve and screwball kept the Pride guessing.

Similarly, Jess Serio hit a ground ball off the hands of Gianna Cafari to lead off the bottom half. Mandie Fishback slammed a deep drive to right field which went to the fence. With runners on second and third, Lyndsay Mouse hit a ground ball back to the pitcher, Isabella Corrao who looked at the runners, keeping them at the base, but failing to throw to first as Lyndsay reached on a fielder’s choice. With the bases loaded, Amber Radomski hit a sharp ground ball which took a Brakette hop and gave Amber the infield single. Jess Mouse then hit a deep fly to right field which scored Fishback. Lindsey Kay Bright then grounded to the pitcher who threw out Lyndsay Mouse at the plate. Normandin then hit a sharp grounder which was bobbled by Cafari at second as Radomski scored the third run as Stratford finished the fifth with a 6-0 lead.

Rachele Fico saw her biggest threat in the sixth as Sara Prezioso and Steph Pasquale both singled (Pasquale finished the game 3 for 3). Erin Trippi then popped out to first, and Isabella Corrao was walked to load the bases. Lisa Stacevicz hit a hard grounder to Fico who retired Prezioso at the plate, then struck out the final batter.

Denise Denis tripled to right center field and scored on a soft grounder to second by Jess Serio for the Brakettes last run of the game. Rachele Fico finished the game in the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two and ending the game with 14 strikeouts as she improved to 13-0 for the season.

Rather than have Fico pitch another game in the July heat, Coach John Stratton brought in Ashley Waters from her normal position at second base to command the circle. Ashley, who had never pitched as a Brakette, nor at the University of Maine, was nearly flawless in the first two innings, allowing Sara Preziosa to reach base on an error, and allowing a two-out single to Nicole Haggerty in the second.

Meanwhile, after Pride pitcher Jennifer Retzer retired the Brakettes in order in the first, the second worked against her. The St. John Vianney standout allowed five straight singles. The first of these was a grounder to Lexi Knief at third base which took a bad hop, hitting the fielder in the face and knocking the wind out of her (she did stay in the game afterwards). The offensive explosion included a two-RBI hit by Jess Mouse. Ashley Waters then singled to left field, but a perfect throw by Lauren Iradi retired Jess at the plate to end the inning, with Stratford leading 3-0.

Ashley, who had been successfully pitching to contact, took advantage of a controversial play as Gianna Cafari hit a ground ball which was bobbled by the third baseman who threw to Radomski at first. While it appeared to most fans that Cafari was safe by a step, the umpire ruled she was out. Lexi Knief then singled to center and Sara Prezioso walked. Both runners then advanced on a wild pitch. With two runners in scoring position Steph Pasquale popped out to Fishback and Erin Trippi struck out. Jennifer Retzer meanwhile, regained control of the game, retiring the side.

After a well-pitched fourth inning by both pitchers with Nicole Haggerty’s single as the only offense, Waters and Retzer also threw 1-2-3 fifth innings. Ashley continued the streak retiring the side in the sixth. The Brakettes got an insurance run as Denise Denis’ high fly to centerfield was misjudged and Jess Serio’s sharp single to centerfield advanced Denise to third. Mandie then grounded to shortstop Sara Prezioso who threw quickly to Nicole Haggerty at home, tagging out the sliding Denis. Amber Radomski then singled to right field, scoring Serio to get Stratford a fourth run.

Waters was tested in the top of the seventh as Maggy Fermo singled on a perfect slap, advancing to second on Nicole Haggerty’s third single of the game. Lauren Iradi then grounded to Jess Mouse at third base who stepped on the bag for the first out. After a pitch got away from Jess Serio, Haggerty tried to advance, but Serio threw her out at third. Isabella Corrao then struck out to end the game.

Ashley Waters gained her first win as a Brakette, scattering 5 singles, striking out three and walking one, and improving Stratford to 27-1 as they prepare to face a Connecticut Mirage 23U with longtime Brakette Brandice Balschmiter, and longtime pitching adversary Breanne Gleason (37-7 1.28 ERA with Univ. of New Haven) take the pitcher’s circle. The double header starts at 7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday sees the Lyons 4th of July runner-up Lyons Spirit coming to Stratford for twin bills at 7:00pm and 12 noon respectively.