Brakettes Finish Pool Play with 3-0 Win

July 27, 2013 - The Stratford Brakettes closed out pool play on Saturday morning in the 2013 USSSA World Series with a 3-0 win over Diamonds Forever (Chicago Ridge, Illinois). Stratford finished 2-0 in Pool B and earned the top seed entering double-elimination bracket play, which starts Saturday afternoon.

Emily Weiman (3-0) threw a one-hit shutout, striking out nine batters and walking two in six innings. The game was called due to the 90-minute time limit after Weiman retired the side in the top of the sixth. The only hit was a second-inning ground rule double by Hannah Jenkins.

Opposing pitcher Virginia McAndrews held the Brakettes scoreless until the bottom of the third, when Jess Mouse led off with a single. Britt Lampert sacrificed her over to second, and Mouse scored on a double by Ashley Waters. Denise Denis followed with a single to drive in Waters for a 2-0 lead.

The Brakettes gave Weiman an insurance run in the fifth, as Kate Bowen beat out a bunt single with one out. Waters delivered her second hit of the game to move Bowen into scoring position.

With two outs, Steffi Call popped one up to left field, which seemed destined to be the third out. Left-fielder Dani Bestwina appeared to have a track on the ball, but the hard-blowing winds took over and pushed the ball back toward the infield. Bestwina made a diving attempt, but the ball dropped in. The bloop double scored Bowen to push the margin to 3-0.

Weiman retired the side 1-2-3 to close out the win and secure the top seed in Pool B. With the victory, the Brakettes improved to 51-0 on the season.

Waters and Bowen each had a pair of hits for the Brakettes, while Waters (photo, left) and Denis (photo, right) made sparkling plays in the field, both of which thwarted potential scoring opportunities for Diamonds Forever.

The Brakettes will play at 12:30 CT (1:30 Eastern Time) in the round of 16 in bracket play against an opponent yet to be determined.

The victory followed Friday afternoon’s 10-0 win over the Michigan Lookouts.

The four-inning, run-rule victory was completed just moments before heavy rains came down and wiped out the remainder of the night’s games, which pushed the game against Diamonds Forever back to Saturday.

Sam Greiner threw a four-inning perfect game in the Friday decision, striking out four along the way. She improved to 22-0 on the season.

Ashley Waters got things rolling for the Brakettes in the first inning, when she reached on a one-out single. Waters twice advanced on wild pitches, setting her up just 60 feet from home. Steffi Call drove Waters in with a two-out single for the early 1-0 edge.

The Brakettes extended the lead to 3-0 in the second frame, as Mandie Fishback led off with the first of her three hits. With one out, Jess Mouse launched a towering two-run shot to left-center to give the Brakettes more separation. The homer was the first of the year for Mouse.

Call led off the third with her second single and scored when Elise Fortier rocketed her team-leading 17th home run of the year. The two-run shot put Stratford up 5-0.

Fishback followed and again reached on a base hit, then moved up a base when Becca Carden reached base on an error. Britt Lampert delivered a single to score Fishback for a 6-0 advantage, also pushing Carden to second. Carden came home on an RBI single by Waters, giving the Brakettes a 7-0 lead after three.

With ominous, grey storm clouds rolling in from right field, the Brakettes managed to score three more in the bottom of the fourth to end the game in abbreviated fashion.

Fortier singled with one out and raced to third on a double off the outfield fence by Fishback. Mouse picked up two more RBI’s with a base hit, scoring Fortier and Fishback for a 9-0 lead. Mouse moved up on a passed ball and a wild pitch, putting her at third with two outs.

As the rains slowly started, Lampert beat out an infield single to send Mouse home with the decisive tenth run. As the Brakettes greeted Mouse at home plate, the skies opened up and the other games at the Harlem Community Center fields were suspended within moments.

The USSSA employs a 12-run rule after three innings, plus a 10-run rule after four and an eight-run rule after five.

All Brakettes games at the 2013 USSSA World Series will be video webcast at brakettes.com.