Stacy Birk Pushes Brakettes to 10-0 Record

June 14, 2012 - Stacy Birk picked up both wins of a doubleheader Thursday night, as the Brakettes beat the Stratford Seahawks 11-1 and 9-0. The Brakettes won both games in five innings, and Birk struck out a combined 18 batters in the pair of victories.

Birk tossed a one-hitter in the first matchup, then came back with a two-hitter in the late game. She allowed just one walk on the night.

The Brakettes' lineup wasted no time in the early game, crossing home five times in the first inning.

Alisa Heronema singled up the middle to start the frame and advanced on a bunt single by Ashley Waters.

Heronema never stopped at second on the play, racing the shortstop to the bag at third. Waters moved to second behind Heronema, and the aggressive base running would pay off. Denise Denis was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.

Seahawks' starter Tina Boehn retired the next two batters and appeared ready to escape the inning without any damage, but the Brakettes broke through with two outs.

Becca Carden was hit by a pitch, sending Heronema home for the first run. Jess Mouse followed with a two-run single to extend the lead to 3-0. Kate Bowen took the next pitch and delivered another two-run base knock, stretching the margin to 5-0. Boehn retired the next batter to elude further damage.

Seahawk shortstop Sheri Paci led off the top of the second and made the most of the one mistake pitch offered up by Birk. The Seahawks' cleanup hitter clobbered a home run over the fence in left-center. The blast narrowed the Brakettes' lead to 5-1.

Denis started another two-out rally in the second inning when she reached on an infield single and went to second on a throwing error. Stephanie Call contributed a single to push Denis to third, bringing Mandie Fishback to the plate.

Fishback grounded to the left side, but reached safely on a throwing error by Paci. The miscue sent Denis home for a 6-1 advantage. Becca Carden came up next and also reached on an errant throw by Paci, which allowed Call and Fishback to score, putting the Brakettes up 8-1.

Birk struck out the next seven batters she faced after the second-inning homer by Paci, retiring the last 12 batters of the contest. Birk fanned eleven Seahawks in the game and walked none.

Denis went the opposite way in leading off the fourth inning, legging out a triple to put the potential decisive run just 60 feet away from home.

Call launched a towering shot to left-center, her second homer of the year, to give the Brakettes an 10-1 lead. After a single by Fishback, Carden reached on a fielder's choice and eventually scored on a bloop double by Kate Bowen, closing out the scoring at 11-1.

Birk retired the side on order in the top of the fifth to secure the run rule-shortened decision. Denis, Call and Bowen each had a pair of hits in the game.

The Brakettes scored nine of their eleven runs with two outs.

The nightcap began as an old-fashioned pitchers' duel, with Birk and Seahawk starter Cynthia Barata holding the bats at bay for the first three innings.

With two outs in the fourth, Seahawk first baseman Erin Dufficy earned a walk, the lone free pass on the night given up by Birk. Paci followed with a single, her second hit of the night. But Birk continued her ways, wiggling out of the two-out jam by retiring Barata.

The Brakettes exploded in the home fourth for nine runs, paving the way for another short game.

Heronema led off the inning with a hit and sprinted to second when the Seahawks failed to get the ball back to Barata in the circle fast enough. Tami Vermeulen reached on a walk to put two on with no outs. Waters advanced both runners a base with a sacrifice bunt, putting two in scoring position for Denise Denis.

Denis got another big hit to score Heronema for a 1-0 edge. After Denis stole second base, Call loaded the bases with a walk.

With Fishback at the plate, Vermeulen came home on a wild pitch to push the lead to 2-0, while Denis moved to third and Call to second. Fishback eventually walked to again load the bases for Carden.

Carden reached on an error at third, which sent Denis and Call home for a 4-0 margin.

Mouse roped a line drive up the middle, which almost hit Fishback off of second base. Fishback scored on the play, putting the Brakettes up 5-0. Carden went to third on the base hit.

Bowen nailed a double to right field, one-hopping the ball to the fence. Carden and Mouse would score, giving the Brakettes a 7-0 lead.

Mariel Schlaefer joined in the offensive onslaught with a single to score Bowen, then scored on a base hit by Amber Radomski to push the score to 9-0.

Birk worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, closing out the doubleheader sweep. The Brakettes improved to 10-0 on the season, as Birk moved her mark to 3-0.

The Brakettes have now won 129 straight games, dating back to June 3rd, 2010.

The Brakettes return to action Friday night at DeLuca Field for their annual matchup with the Connecticut High School All-Stars, featuring the top graduating seniors from around the state. It will be a single nine-inning contest.

CPTV Sports will record the game for broadcast next Tuesday night on their 24-hour, all-sports network.

The game will also be live video webcast at brakettes.com.