Greiner Perfect as Brakettes Blast Fusion

June 16, 2013 - Sam Greiner threw the Brakettes' first perfect game of the season on Sunday, as Stratford sprinted past the Jersey (NJ) Fusion at DeLuca Field by 19-0 and 8-0 tallies. Steffi Call hit her fifth homer of 2013 in the first contest and earned the win the late game.

A trio of Brakettes homered in the first matchup, as the team pounded out 18 hits.

The Brakettes scored early and never looked back, as Kate Bowen led off the first with a triple and scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 edge. Fusion starter Tiffany Irrera minimized the damage in the home first, but the Brakettes would put two more runs on the board the next frame.

Mandie Fishback started the second inning with a double and scored on an RBI base hit by Becca Carden, who moved up to second base on the cutoff throw. Jess Mouse followed and singled to plate Carden for a 3-0 lead, but the real offensive onslaught would begin in the third.

The Brakettes waited until there were two outs in the third inning before hitting another gear.

Elise Fortier smashed her third home run of the season with no one on base to stretch the lead to 4-0. Fishback and Carden followed with singles and advanced a bag on a walk by Mouse.

Britt Lampert then laced a double to right-center to score two more runs for a 6-0 lead. Mouse reached third on the double and scored along with Lampert on a two-run single by Bowen.

Ashley Waters pushed the lead to 10-0 with her first homer of 2013, a towering two-run shot to left.

The Brakettes followed the seven-run third inning with a nine-run fourth.

Call led off the long fourth stanza with a two-base hit and scored the team's eleventh run on a double by Fortier.

Fishback was then hit by a pitch in the leg and was replaced by pinch-runner Amber Radomski. Carden delivered a single, which scored Fortier from second for a 12-0 advantage.

Mouse reached on an infield single to load the bases, bringing Lampert back up with the bases juiced once more. This time, Lampert earned a walk to bring home another run for a 13-0 margin.

Bowen cleared the bases with a double, her third hit of the game. The three-run liner gave her 5 RBI's in the contest and pushed the lead to 16-0. Waters followed with a double to score Bowen for a 17-0 tally.

Call closed out the scoring with a two-run shot, her 57th career blast as a Brakette.

Greiner maintained pinpoint control throughout the game, striking out four in the five-inning perfecto. She improved to 5-0 on the season with the run-rule shortened victory, showing no signs of rust despite long layovers on the bench as the Brakettes batted.

Call rang up five strikeouts in the late game en route to a one-hit shutout. She improved to 7-0 on the season.

Stacie Borell picked up the lone hit by the Jersey Fusion, a third-inning single with one out. Sara Poole, Stephanie Zengel and Melissa Rustemeyer reached base on walks in the second game.

Fusion centerfielder Zengel also impressed with the glove, as she robbed Waters of an extra-base hit in the first inning. With Bowen at first base, Waters smacked a line drive slightly left of centerfield. Zengel read it off the bat and made a fully outstretched, diving shoestring grab of a would-be RBI double.

Fusion starting pitcher Briana Pichalski held the Brakettes off the board in the first two innings, but Stratford hit paydirt in the third.

Radomski led off with a single and moved to second on a bunt single by Lampert. Both runners tagged and advanced on a deep shot to right by Bowen, putting two in scoring postion. Waters drove in both runners with a double for a 2-0 edge. Denise Denis brought Waters home with a single to stretch the advantage to 3-0.

Fortier smacked a triple to start the fourth, but had to stay put on an infield single by Fishback. With runners at the corners, Carden lofted a sac fly to score Fortier for a 4-0 lead. Mouse offered up a single and an errant throw to the infield allowed Fishback to score the fifth run. Mouse took second on the throw and went to third on a hit by Radomski. Lampert contributed another RBI single, plating Mouse for a 6-0 score. Lampert advanced to second on the throw. Bowen closed out the scoring with a two-run single to bring home Radomski and Lampert for an 8-0 cushion.

Call retired the side in the top of the fifth to seal the victory, despite allowing a leadoff walk to Rustemeyer. After a strikeout of Pichalski, the game ended with a comebacker to the mound off the bat of Angie Hauser. Call fielded the grounder and fired to shortstop Fishback at second base to start a 1-6-3 double play.

With the weekend sweep of the Fusion, the Brakettes improved to 14-0 in 2013. The Brakettes return to action on Thursday night with a 7:00 doubleheader against the Rhode Island Thunder Gold at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field.

All 2013 Brakettes' home games are video webcast at brakettes.com.