Brakettes Triumph in USSSA Invitational Final

July 21, 2013 - The Stratford Brakettes claimed the 2013 Brakettes Invitational title at DeLuca Field on Sunday, blanking the Connecticut Eliminators, 8-0, in the semis and defeating the Stratford Diamonds in the championship game, 5-1.

Elise Fortier homered twice and Steffi Call smacked a three-run shot to break a 1-1 tie in the third inning of the title game.

Emily Weiman earned her second victory of the season with a one-hit shutout in the semi-final. She allowed just an infield single and a walk, while striking out 10 Eliminators along the way.

The Brakettes jumped up early on the Eliminators, scoring twice in the first.

Kate Bowen led off with a single in the first inning and advanced to second base on a sacrifice by Ashley Waters. Denise Denis walked to put two on with one out, bringing Call to the plate. Call singled to drive in Bowen for a 1-0 edge, moving Denis over to second. With two outs, Mandie Fishback sent Denis home with a single for a 2-0 lead.

Jess Mouse started another two-run frame in the second with a single, and moved to second when Britt Lampert reached on a walk. Bowen followed with a triple, driving both runners in to push the score to 4-0.

Fishback picked up the second of her three hits in the third and moved up a bag on a groundout. Lampert reached with a two-out base on balls and advanced when Bowen reached on an error. The miscue at short sent Fishback to third. Waters then drove in Fishback with a single to extend the margin to 5-0. Denis delivered a single to score Lampert and Bowen for a 7-0 advantage.

The Brakettes' last run was scored in the fourth, as Fishback again reached on a base hit. She went to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Becca Carden reached on an error. Mouse lofted a sac fly to right field to bring home Fishback, providing the Brakettes with enough scoring to try to close it out early.

Weiman (2-0) struck out the side in the top of the fifth to advance the Brakettes into the championship game.

The Brakettes watched the other semi-final and waited to see who would be their opponent in the 3:30 final.

The #7-seed Stratford Diamonds upset the #3-seed New York Swag (Red Team) 2-0 behind Tatum Buckley's bat and strong arm. Buckley threw a complete-game shutout and hit a homer that served as the game-winning RBI.

Buckley picked up the ball again for the Diamonds in the championship game, as Steffi Call took to the circle for the Brakettes.

Both pitchers hurled scoreless first frames, and Call struck out the side. But the complexion of the game took an unexpected turn in the second, when Call gave up just the third homer of the year by an opponent.

Steph Karcher went yard off Call with one out in the inning, putting the Diamonds up 1-0 for the time being.

The lead would be short-lived, as leadoff batter Elise Fortier crushed a solo shot in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1.

The Brakettes scored their other runs in the second, when Amber Radomski led off and reached base on an error.

Waters singled with one out to put two runners on, as the Brakettes tried to break the tie.

Call provided the necessary offense with a towering three-run home run to give the Brakettes their first lead at 4-1. The home run momentarily tied Fortier for the team-lead with 15 round-trippers on the year.

Fortier came up next and hit her 16th homer of the year to again take sole possession of the lead, while pushing the Brakettes' edge to 5-1.

Both pitchers locked down after the second, as no one would score the rest of the contest.

Call (21-0) struck out 14 batters in the final, and gave up just two hits to earn the win. She also received some help in the field, as Fortier made an incredible play at third base on a hard-hit ball by Buckley in the fifth. She dove to her left to cut down the grounder in the hole and threw out Buckley from her knees (photo).

The tournament served as an important lead-up to the upcoming USSSA World Series in Rockford, IL, from Friday through Sunday, July 26th-28th. The Brakettes will participate in a 20-team field, representing seven states.

The Brakettes will begin play in the USSSA World Series on Friday afternoon at 4 pm Eastern time (3:00 Central) with a pool play game against the BNGSA Lady Angels (Bloomington, Illinois). They will also play at 8 pm Eastern time (7:00 Central) Friday against the defending champion Indiana Slammers.

There are nine teams in the tournament from Illinois, four from Michigan, three from Ohio, and one each from Indiana (Slammers), Missouri (St. Louis Saints), Wisconsin (Wisconsin Blues) and the Brakettes.

All Brakettes' games at the 2013 USSSA World Series in Rockford, Illinois will be live video webcast at brakettes.com. Numerous other games will be broadcast from the tournament, including the other Pool E round-robin game on Friday between the Slammers and Lady Angels at 6 pm Eastern time (5:00 Central). Stay tuned for the broadcast schedule!