Brakettes Move into Winners Bracket Final

August 12, 2012 - The Stratford Brakettes won two games on Saturday in bracket play of the 2012 WMS Championship, defeating the NYC Havoc and Lyons Spirit, en route to the Winners Bracket Final. With the 10-2 and 11-0 wins, the Brakettes advance to face the St. Louis Saints on Sunday in Stratford.

Stratford gave the 2009 WMS National Champion New York City Havoc their first tourney loss in the Winners Bracket Quarterfinals, exploding for 10 late-inning runs after a slow start.

Rachele Fico earned the victory over the Havoc with a complete-game four-hitter, striking out eight batters along the way to improve to 21-1 on the season. Fico won the Joan Joyce Award, given to the WMS Most Outstanding Pitcher, in 2010 and shared the honors with teammate Brandice Balschmiter last year.

Alyson Chiaramonte, the 2009 Joan Joyce Award winner, matched Fico over the first four innings.

The Brakettes’ offensive prowess eventually proved too much for Chiaramonte, starting in the fifth inning, when they touched her up for three runs.

Kate Bowen started the rally with a leadoff double and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alisa Heronema. Bowen went to second as Ashley Waters reached base on a fielder's choice and scored the game’s first run on a single by Denise Denis.

Waters came home on a base hit by Steffi Call to make it a 2-0 game. Denis then scored on an RBI single by Mandie Fishback to push the lead to 3-0.

Stratford put the game out of reach in the sixth with three more runs, as Bowen started another big inning by reaching base on an error.

The defensive miscue put Bowen at first, and she reached second on a wild pitch. Heronema delivered a single to left-center, which held Bowen close to the bag until it cleared the shortstop’s reach.

Bowen moved to third on the play, and Heronema wheeled into second base on the throw. Waters followed and picked up a single to score Bowen for a 4-0 advantage.

After Denis worked a walk, Call launched a sac fly to score Heronema for a 5-0 lead. Waters also tagged on the fly ball by Call and scored on a sac fly by Fishback, extending the margin to 6-0.

Carly Normandin led off the top of the seventh and crushed a double, which hit the fence in left-center. Bowen earned a walk, which brought up Heronema.

Heronema picked up an RBI single to plate Normandin and push Bowen to third. Waters followed with a double to score both Bowen and Heronema, stretching the lead to 10-0.

The Havoc did not go down without a fight, scoring two late runs in the seventh inning.

Kaitlyn Flynn led off and was struck out by Fico, but a dropped third strike allowed her to reach first base. Danielle Marino followed and earned a walk, before Liz Strein’s sacrifice moved both runners over a base.

Chiaramonte helped her own cause with a grounder back to Fico, which allowed Flynn to score the Havoc’s first run. Kristin Havdoglous responded with a double to score Marino and pull the Havoc to within 10-2, but Fico retired the next batter to secure the win.

Nely Rosario, Flynn and Shannn Skeggs were the only other Havoc players to record hits against Fico.

The Brakettes would not need to wait nearly as long to crack the scoreboard against the Spirit in the Winners Bracket Semifinals.

Waters and Denis smacked back-to-back solo homers with one out in the top of the first to give the Brakettes a quick 2-0 edge on Lyons starter Heather Rush.

Jess Mouse and Carly Normandin kept up the hitting barrage with consecutive doubles to start the second inning. Normandin’s two-bagger scored Mouse for a 3-0 advantage.

Bowen reached on a bunt single, which also sent Normandin to third. Heronema sent Normandin home with an RBI groundout to second base, which moved Bowen to second. Denis then drove in Bowen with two outs with a single for a 5-0 lead.

Mandie Rush came on in relief of her sister during the second inning and worked a scoreless third, before the Brakettes went back to work in the fourth.

Bowen led off with a single and moved to second on a base hit by Heronema. Waters grounded out to first, which moved both runners up a bag. With runners at second and third, Denis roped a double to score two runs.

Steffi Call singled to bring up Fishback, who also picked up a base hit. Fishback’s single scored Denis for an 8-0 lead.

Stratford added to the tally in the fifth, after Heronema led off and picked up her second hit of the contest. Waters singled to reach base, sending Heronema to third. Heronema then scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-0.

Waters moved to second on the play, bringing Denis back to the plate.

Denis continued her torrid pace and crushed her second homer of the game, the 13th of her 2012 season. Denis finished the contest 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs and a double, plus six RBI’s.

The two-run shot put an exclamation point on the rout and closed out the scoring at 11-0.

Brandice Balschmiter struck out 11 in just five innings to take the decision, improving her mark in a dominant 2012 season to 35-2.

With the pair of wins on Saturday, the Brakettes move into Sunday in the driver’s seat. They will need to get past the two-time, National runner-up Saints to get to the Championship Game unscathed.

The Saints defeated the New York Raiders 9-0 on Saturday night to clinch their spot in Sunday’s Winners Bracket Final.