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Micki Stratton Tourney Shortened by Rain; Catanzarita Leads Brakettes
 July 20 - Aliya Catanzarita smashed two clutch home runs, including a sixth-inning grand slam, as the Brakettes completed a 14-8 comeback against the Jersey Kaboom in the Micki Stratton Invitational on Saturday. Sunday’s games were cancelled due to rain, shortening the round robin held annually in memory of the Brakettes’ first ASA National Hall of Famer.
The Kaboom jumped up 2-0 in the top of the first, but Stratford answered quickly in the bottom of the inning. RBI singles by Kaitlyn Flood and Jana Sanden provided the spark, tying the game at 2-2.
Sophia DiCocco led off the second with a walk and scored on a sac fly to center by Sarah Rende, giving the Brakettes a 3-2 lead after two in the books.
Stratford’s lead was short-lived, as the Kaboom jumped back on top with two runs in the third. Jess Forte tripled with one out and scored on a single by Gore. Rachel Alecci drove in Gore with a sac fly to left field for a 4-3 edge.
The Kaboom picked up four more runs in the fourth, led by Reese Wilson’s RBI double. Hailee Sobieski singled in a run, and Alecci picked up her third RBI of the contest with a sac fly.
Down 8-3 entering the home fourth, the Brakettes plated four to pull within a run. Lindsey Hoag punctuated the rally with a three-run blast, her sixth homer of the season.
Flood led off the fifth with a single, putting the tying run on base for the Brakettes. With one out, Catanzarita sent a towering shot over the centerfield fence to seize the lead for Stratford once more.
The Brakettes added to the 9-8 lead and put it away in the sixth. Hoag and Lauren Rende both singled with one out, and a walk by Flood loaded the bases. Sanden was hit by a pitch, sending another run home with the bases still loaded.
Catanzarita then delivered the knockout punch with the grand slam, her seventh long ball of the season, closing out the scoring at 14-8.
Ali Dubois went the distance for the Brakettes to earn her second win of the season.
While the Brakettes’ win closed out play for the day, the Junior Brakettes opened the round robin with an 8-2 victory over the Connecticut Freedom.
Karissa Spring and Sarah Falcone both contributed RBI singles in the second inning to give the Juniors a 2-0 lead.
Tori Young and Olivia Young provided the Freedom an offensive spark in the top of the third with back-to-back solo shots, tying it up at 2-2.
Molly Lennon broke the tie with an RBI single in the third, and a two-run double by May Dawes stretched the margin to 5-2. Spring then doubled to drive in another run, and Cat Palmer sent another across with an RBI single for a 7-2 lead. Falcone reached on an error in the sixth and scored for an 8-2 tally.
Emily Rerick struck out five in four innings to earn the win, and Lauren Wasikowski pitched the last three frames, striking out six batters.
The Kaboom topped the Juniors 5-2 in the second matchup of the day, with Jess Forte leading off the game with a home run.
The Juniors tied it up at 1-1 in the third when Lennon doubled, and was then doubled home by Spring.
Olivia Huffman led off the fifth for the Kaboom with a single and scored on a sac fly by Sobieski to make it 2-1.
Forte smacked her second solo shot of the game with one out in the seventh, and Wilson nailed a two-run blast to stretch the lead to 5-1.
The Juniors scratched one run across in the seventh on an RBI single by Falcone, but fell short and dropped the decision, 5-2.
The Juniors were slated to play Tuesday, July 18th, against the CT Bombers 18U, but the games were rained out. The teams are working to schedule a makeup date.
The Stratford Brakettes and Juniors will both take part in the Bob Baird Memorial Round Robin at DeLuca Field this Saturday and Sunday, along with the Newtown Rock (PA) and Mid-Hudson Mustangs (NY), starting at 3:00 p.m. Saturday. |
Saturday, July 15th
Micki Stratton Round Robin |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
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4 |
5 |
6 |
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7 |
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R |
H |
E |
| KABOOM (NJ) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
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4 |
0 |
0 |
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0 |
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8 |
11 |
2 |
| BRAKETTES |
2 |
1 |
0 |
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4 |
2 |
5 |
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x |
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14 |
10 |
3 |
Batteries: Brakettes- Ali DuBois (W, 2-0) and Kaitlyn Flood; Kaboom- Mackenzie Masiernak (L) and Olivia Huffman
Homerun: Brakettes- Lindsey Hoag (6), Aliya Catanzarita 2, grand slam (7) |
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