Denis Belts 60th Career Homer in Sweep

July 20, 2012 - Denis Denise became the second Brakette to reach 60 career home runs, launching a two-run blast against the R.I. Thunder Elite on Thursday night in Stratford. The Brakettes pounded out 21 hits on the night en route to a pair of shutouts, 6-0 and 8-0.

The opposite-field shot by Denis was her seventh homer on the year. The late game, first-inning blast inched her closer to the Brakettes' all-time home run champ, Pat Dufficy, who hit 91 in 19 seasons with the Brakettes.

Sam Greiner picked up her third win as a Brakette in the first contest, striking out eight and walking none. She allowed six hits over seven shutout innings.

The Brakettes got the ball rolling early with three runs in the first inning.

Alisa Heronema singled up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice by Ashley Waters. Denis followed with a single to drive in Heronema for a 1-0 edge. Denis moved up a bag on the throw and reached third on a single by Stephanie Call.

Mandie Fishback then drove in Denis with a sac fly, giving Stratford a 2-0 lead.

Becca Carden pushed Call over to second with a single, and Kate Bowen brought Call home with an RBI base hit of her own.

The Brakettes led 3-0 after the first, but Thunder Elite starter Anna O'Neill held them scoreless for the next four innings. O'Neill struck out three Brakettes in that stretch and at one point retired 11 of 13 batters.

Stratford cracked the scoreboard again in the sixth, with another three-run rally.

Carden led off with a double and scored on a single by Bowen to stretch the margin to 4-0.

Bowen went to second on wild pitch and Amber Radomski reached on a base on balls. Both runners advanced a base on a sac bunt by Mariel Schlaefer, putting two in scoring position.

Heronema lofted a sac fly to plate Bowen for a 5-0 lead, and Waters doubled to bring in Radomski and stretch it to a 6-0 game.

Anna Kelley led the Thunder Elite's offense in the first game with a pair of singles.

Rachele Fico showed off her full arsenal of pitches in the nightcap, as she threw a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Fico improved to 10-0 with the victory.

The Brakettes scored in all six innings of the late matchup, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first. After Heronema led off the frame with a walk, Waters sacrificed her over to second base.
Denis responded with her historic home run, punctuated by an emphatic jump on top of the plate.

Carden roped a triple down the line in left to start the second, and scored on a single by Bowen. The run extended the lead to 3-0.

Denis had her hand in another tally in the third, when she led off with a walk. Fishback contributed a double to push Denis across for a 4-0 advantage.

The Brakettes were on the board again in the fourth, as Heronema reached base with two outs on a single.

Waters followed and clobbered a shot to left field, her seventh home run of the year, for a 6-0 lead. The blast tied her with Denis for second on the team in that category, behind Call's 11 homers.

Stratford scored once more in the fifth, without the benefit of a hit.

With two outs, Radomski earned a base on balls. Schlaefer reached on an error, as did Heronema, to load the bases.

Waters picked up one more RBI with a walk, which brought Radomski in from third.

Fishback picked up a single with one out in the sixth, but was forced out at second on a fielder's choice by Carden.

Carden advanced to second on a single by Bowen, her fourth hit on the night. Radomski delivered a single to bring the speedy Carden around to score from second, closing out the game at 8-0.

The Brakettes will return to play the Rhode Island Thunder Gold at 7:00 on Friday night at DeLuca Field.

Both games will be video webcast at brakettes.com.