Thursday Night
Brakettes Lose Perfect Season in Doubleheader Split

July 15 - By Connor Pignatello - The Stratford Brakettes lost their perfect 22-0 season tonight against the Pennsylvania Stripes and Strikes in a doubleheader. Stratford won the first game 9-3 but lost the second contest 7-4.

The Stripes and Strikes came out hot to start game one. On just the third pitch of the game, Marissa Trivelpiece drove a Sam Schiebe pitch deep to centerfield for a solo home run. Her sister Megan hit a home run to lead off the fourth inning last night, the only run the Stripes and Strikes scored between those two games.

In the first inning, the Stripes and Strikes tallied three hits to take a 1-0 lead -- they only recorded three total hits between both of last night’s games.

But Stratford did not trail for long. With two outs in the second inning, Lauren Rende blasted a home run to straightaway center field, her second home run in as many nights. The Manhattan College shortstop hit a two-run walkoff home run last night to give the Brakettes the win in the first game of last night’s doubleheader.

In the top of the third, Pennsylvania reclaimed the lead thanks to an RBI single from Kas Slusser, but Stratford answered again.

Kristen Acocella singled to lead off the inning and Emma Larke singled her home after a sacrifice bunt from Gillian Birk.

To lead off the bottom of the fourth, Briana Marcelino smashed her fifth home run of the season to break the 2-2 tie and give the Brakettes the lead. This was Marcelino’s third home run in the past four games.

“I’ve been looking for my pitch, rather than having [the pitcher] dictate what goes on,” said Marcelino. “I’m just not trying to do too much -- trying to keep it simple and hit the ball hard, put it in play, and get some runs across.”

Jessica Burlingame, running as a courtesy runner for Kaitlyn Flood, scored on a Katie Sciglimpaglia single to stretch Stratford’s lead to 4-2.

In the top of the fifth, Pennsylvania threatened again and put runners on second and third with no outs to force Brakettes’ starter Sam Schiebe out of the game. In 4+ innings, Schiebe allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, walked one batter and hit two. Ali DuBois replaced Schiebe and escaped the jam while allowing an inherited runner to score.

Stratford loaded the bases on three separate occasions in the bottom of the fifth and drove in a trifecta of runs. Briana Marcelino started the scoring with an RBI single and Jana Sanden drove in two more runs with a double.

“They had a shift on me, but again, just tried to hit it hard, put it in play and make something happen,” said Marcelino.

In the sixth, Stratford added two more runs thanks to an RBI single from Val Suto and an error on second baseman Bella Gorzkowski.

In three innings of relief, DuBois allowed just two hits and struck out three. DuBois pitched a one-hit shutout in the second game of last night’s doubleheader.

Stripes and Strikes starter Kas Slusser allowed nine runs on 15 hits across seven innings. She struck out just one.

After a hitting barrage in game one, Brakette bats fell silent for the majority of game two. Mea Consentino, who limited the Brakettes to three runs on five hits in a walkoff loss yesterday, escaped with the tying run at the plate to earn the victory.

For the second straight game, Marissa Trivelpiece led off with a home run -- this time to almost the same exact location as her homer in the first game.

Gillian Birk answered with a home run of her own in the bottom of the second to tie the score.

In the third inning, the Stripes and Strikes broke the tie with a two-out rally. Four straight Pennsylvania batters reached despite only one getting a hit, and the Stripes and Strikes took a 3-1 lead.

The Stripes and Strikes increased their advantage in the fourth frame thanks to a Marissa Trivelpiece double and stretched it again in the fifth inning with a two-run home run from Slusser.

To start the sixth inning, Ali DuBois entered as a relief pitcher for the second straight game. Although Brakettes starter Sarah Lawton struck out eleven, she threw several wild pitches, hit a batter and gave up two walks. After giving up just a run on two hits last night, she allowed six runs on six hits.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Brakettes put runners on second and third with two outs for pinch hitter Rebecca Johnson. Facing a 3-0 count, Johnson flared a liner into shallow centerfield, but Pennsylvania outfielder Gianna Gombeda made a spectacular diving catch to steal a hit and end the inning.

In the sixth, the Brakettes cut the Stripes and Strikes deficit to 7-4 after Katie Sciglimpaglia drilled a two-run home run and Lauren Rende scored on a wild pitch. With two runners on and two outs, pinch hitter Kaitlyn Flood skied a Consentino pitch to the warning track in center field, but Gombeda ended the inning with another nice grab.

Down to their last chance to save their 22-0 season, Rebecca Johnson hit a single with one out. Marcelino, the next batter, drove a pitch deep into centerfield, but yet again, Gombeda snagged a ball that was headed over the fence. After Jana Sanden also singled, the Brakettes had runners on second and third for Katie Sciglimpaglia, but Sciglimpaglia grounded out for the last out and ended the Brakettes undefeated season.

The Brakettes stranded two runners in each of the last three innings.

Last night, the Brakettes beat the Stripes and Strikes 3-1 and 1-0 in a doubleheader.

This loss snaps a 40 game win streak -- a streak that began after a pair of losses to the Stripes and Strikes last season.

The Brakettes return this weekend as a participant in the third annual Micki Stratton Round Robin.