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Brakettes Hold off Juniors, Begin Prep for Pennsylvania Trip to Cornfield Classic
 June 4 - The Stratford Brakettes swept a Saturday night doubleheader from the Junior Brakettes at DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, holding on for 4-3 and 13-9 victories on an unseasonably cold and windy June evening.
Stratford jumped ahead quickly in the early game, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. Sarah Rende drew a walk and moved over on a sacrifice by Juliette Zito. Kaitlyn Flood, who homered in both games Friday, followed with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. Aliya Catanzarita reached on a fielder’s choice, and an error on the play allowed Flood to reach second. With two outs, Kendall LaMorte delivered a two-run single to stretch the Brakettes’ lead to 3-0.
The Juniors managed a run with some small ball in the fourth, when Mandi Hanewich walked and stole second base. She advanced a bag on a groundout and scored on a fielder’s choice by Julia Krijgsman to make it 3-1.
Sarah Falcone led off the top of the fifth with a single and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. Vinchenza Andretta drove the runner home with a groundout to shortstop, closing the gap to 3-2.
Sophia DiCocco led off the home sixth with a base on balls and moved up on a groundout. Rende contributed a two-out single to plate DiCocco for a 4-2 lead.
The Juniors fought back again in the seventh, when Hanewich scored on a wild pitch to pull within 4-3 after reaching on a fielder’s choice. Brakettes’ pitcher Marie Hamill, who took over for starter Sophie Garner-Mackinnon in the fifth, induced a ground ball to the left side to retire the side and earn her first save as a Brakette.
Garner-MacKinnon fanned six in four innings, but none bigger than the inning-ending strikeout with two runners on in the fourth. She improved to 2-0 with the win.
 Emily Rerick went the distance in the loss, striking out two, just a night after she beat the Brakettes in her debut with the Juniors.
The Brakettes jumped all over the Juniors in the late contest, as Rende and Flood both singled and scored in the first, thanks to RBI singles by Catanzarita and Jackie Pengel.
The 2-0 Stratford lead ballooned in the second, with Zito leading off with a base hit and Hamill earning a walk. Rende brought home Zito with a single and then the gates opened up. Hamill and Rende scored on fielder’s choice grounders, then Lindsey Hoag’s first hit as a Brakette loaded the bases with two outs. LaMorte crushed a double to clear the bases, closing out the frame at 8-0 (photo).
Still, the Juniors would not give up without a fight. They put up three in the third, with Lauren Wasikowski’s RBI base knock and Molly Lennon’s two-run single adding the punch.
The Brakettes tacked one on in the third, and the Juniors scored again in the fourth, but three more runs for the Junior club suddenly made it interesting in the top of the fifth. Lennon singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch, while Wasikowski delivered a two-run single to pull within 9-7.
Any amount of suspense was gone after the fifth, when Catanzarita launched her first homer of the year, a three-run shot, stretching the Brakettes’ lead to 12-7.
The Juniors added two in the sixth and the Brakettes scored once in the bottom half, closing out the scoring at 13-9.
DiCocco (1-0), who came on in the third for the Brakettes, earned the win in relief.
The Brakettes improved to 3-1 by sweeping the twin bill, taking the last three contests from the Junior squad after dropping Friday night’s season opener for both clubs.
The Stratford Brakettes will hit the road next weekend for the Cornfield Classic (June 10-11) in Lyons, PA, while the Juniors have the weekend off. The Brakettes will play three round-robin pool play games on Saturday, and Sunday play will feature an eight-team, single elimination bracket for the title.
All Stratford Brakettes and Junior Brakettes games are live video webcast at www.brakettes.com!
Saturday night, June 3rd, vs. Junior Brakettes
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| 7:00 PM - FINAL |
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Game 2 - FINAL |
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Batteries: Jr. Brakettes- Emily Rerick (L, 1-1) and Morgan Tainter; Stfd Brakettes- Sophie Garner-MacKinnon (W, 2-0), Marie Hamill (5, S) and Kaitlyn Flood
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Batteries: Jr. Brakettes- Julia Krijgsman (L), Lauren Wasikowski (2) and Morgan Tainter; Stfd Brakettes- Marie Hamill, Sophia DiCocco (3, W, 1-0) and Kendall LaMorte
Homerun: Stfd Brakettes- Aliya Catanzarita (1) |
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