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Brakettes Take Pair from Rock Gold-Waye
 June 18 - The Stratford Brakettes earned two hard-fought wins over the Rock Gold-Waye 18U on Friday night at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, pulling out the bats to win 5-2 and 8-2.
Brandice Balschmiter improved to 4-0 for the 2016 campaign with a nine-strikeout performance in the early game, giving four hits along the way.
Patti Sciglimpaglia blasted her second home run of the season in the second inning to put Stratford up 1-0. That lead would last until the fifth inning, when the Rock Gold would tie it up.
Balschmiter did not allow a hit until the fifth frame, when Chelsea Wickham led off with a single to left. Erin Collins followed with a walk, putting two on with no outs. With a delayed steal play on, Brakettes catcher Hannah Cooper threw to shortstop Sarah Bencivenga covering third, who found centerfielder Val Suto sneaking in at second base to combine on the 2-6-8 putout of Wickham as she retreated toward second (photo). The tag proved to be important, as Taylor Clark walked and Katie Falatico singled, scoring Collins from second with the equalizer.
The Brakettes responded emphatically in the home fifth, scoring four times to break the game open.
Suto singled to left with one out and stole second. A single up the middle by Britt Lampert gave the Brakettes runners at the corners. Lampert took second base uncontested, putting two in scoring position. Denise Denis came through with a single to left, scoring both runners for a 3-1 advantage.
Sarah Bencivenga reached on an infield single, which pushed Denis to third, and chased Rock Gold starter Sara Magra from the game. Jenna Khantsian came on in relief and went the rest of the way.
Denis came home from third when Buckley reached on a fielder's choice, stretching the cushion to 4-1. Bencivenga was forced out at second on the play and hit by the throw on an attempted double play, which allowed Buckley to race to second. Cooper closed out the scoring at 5-1 with a single to plate Buckley, giving Balschmiter an extra run to work with.
Mackenzie Compton led off the top of the sixth with a solo shot, closing the gap to 5-2. Balschmiter was able to keep the Rock Gold off the board for the remainder of the matchup, notching her ninth strikeout of the night to secure the victory.
Buckley took the circle in the nightcap for the Brakettes, looking to extend her streak of 11 hitless innings to start the season.
The Rock Gold quickly put an end to the streak in the top of the first, when Julia DeCosta blasted a solo shot to left for a 1-0 edge. Wickham followed with a single and stole second, then scored on a single by Falatico for a 2-0 lead.
Outside of the two runs she surrendered in the first, it was the Tatum Buckley show for the rest of the night. She helped herself out in the home second, leading off with a double, then coming home on a base hit by Cooper to cut the deficit to 2-1.
After Bencivenga reached with one out in the third, Buckley gave the Brakettes the lead with a two-run shot. The 3-2 margin stood until the fourth, when Stratford tacked on five more runs.
Patti Sciglimpaglia led off the fifth frame for the Brakettes with a base hit and went to third on a bunt single by Suto. A wild pitch sent Sciglimpaglia home for a 4-2 lead and moved Suto to third. Lampert followed with an RBI groundout, extending the lead to 5-2.
Denis and Bencivenga delivered consecutive singles, and a base hit by Buckley sent Denis home for a 6-2 score. Cooper came through with the team's fourth single in a row, driving in two more runs and capping the tally at 8-2.
After allowing three hits and a run in the first, Buckley retired the next 18 batters she faced and struck out 12 to improve to 2-0 on the year. She also went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
The Brakettes and Rock Gold-Waye 18U will meet again on Saturday night at 7:00 at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. The doubleheader will be live video webcast at http://brakettes.com/webcast_2016.htm.
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| Friday night, June 17th vs. Rock Gold - Waye (Newtown, PA) |
| First Game, 7PM |
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Second Game |
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Batteries: Rock Gold- Sara Magro (L), Jenna Khantzian (5) and Taylor Amazeen; Brakettes- Brandice Balschmiter (W, 4-0) and Hannah Cooper
Homerun: Rock Gold- Mackenzie Compton; Brakettes- Patti Sciglimpaglia (2) |
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Batteries: Rock Gold- Chelsea Whitcomb (L), Jenna Khantzian (4) and Taylor Amazeen; Brakettes- Tatum Buckley (W, 2-0) and Hannah Cooper
Homerun: Rock Gold- Julia DeCosta; Brakettes- Tatum Buckley (1)
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