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2003 in Review |
| Rumor Mill Rampant During Brakettes' ASA Win The air was thick and full of rumors as the Stratford Brakettes took the field at Mineral Springs Park in Pekin, IL, last August 16. On the minds of everyone on that hot, steamy Saturday was the defense of their National ASA Women's Major Fastpitch Championship. Manager John Stratton's Brakettes had put themselves in position to repeat in the same venue where they had prevailed 17 years earlier against another California opponent. This day the Brakettes would meet a formidable foe in Teamsmith Nationals, a collection of all-stars from the USA Elite Team fresh from an unexpected triumph in the Canada Cup a month earlier. Once again the Brakettes were up for the challenge and they responded in a fashion that has punctuated the team's 57-year history with their 25th National Championship, accomplished on the basis of 2-1 and 4-0 wins over Teamsmith Nationals. The hoopla that followed the team's return to dominance the past two years also helped to contribute to conjecture about its possible demise in the near future. The winds of change were becoming stronger and louder. Talk about the formation of a new women's professional league was as prevalent in this town of 35,000 as gardens full of marigolds, Pekin's native flower. Although the long winter months would reveal just how true those rumors were, Stratton and the Stratford Brakettes didn't let anything spoil that special day and season. The Brakettes' outstanding season came to a fitting end with its shutout victory over Teamsmith to cap a 5-0 tournament effort and 65-5 season which finished with 33 straight victories. Along the way the Brakettes finished fourth in the prestigious Canada Cup behind the two USA squads and Team Australia. The highest finisher among club teams, the Brakettes also scored wins over the Olympic Teams of China (twice) and Canada, eliminating both of them from the tournament. The Brakettes also captured their fifth straight Bob Caravan tournament title in Allentown, PA, and their sixth straight Northeast Seaboard Women's Fastpitch League championship while sweeping three games from the National Professional Fastpitch League all-stars. "We had a team that had all of the necessary ingredients to win," said Stratton. "And, we had them in abundance." Pitching was exceptional with Kaci Clark (27-2), Danielle Henderson (25-2) and Leigh Ann Ellis (13-1). Counting their six pre-tournament games in Illinois, the Brakettes outscored their opponents 75-3 and finished the year with a single-season record 65 home runs. Henderson was the winner in the championship and was aided by a two-run second inning as Lea Mishlan singled in a run and later scored on Kelly Kretschman's sacrifice fly. Mishlan was the Erv Lind Award recipient for her defensive prowess and Kretschman the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Kretschman added to the lead in the fourth with another sac fly and Jen Smith scored the final run in the fifth on Alicia Smith's RBI single. Earlier in the day the Brakettes, behind the solid pitching of Clark, the Bertha Tickey Award winner as the Most Outstanding Pitcher, sent Teamsmith into the loser's bracket with a 2-1 win. Jen Smith's home run gave the Brakettes an early lead, but it took a throwing error by the California squad in the bottom of the seventh for Erica Sobel to score the winning run. The Brakettes opened the tournament with a 13-2 romp over Avanti's of East Peoria, IL before beating a pesky Storm USA of Lake Forest, CA, the 2002 Class A National Champions, 2-0. In that game Clark pitched a 5-hitter and struck out 11. Kretschman's solo home run and Mishlan's RBI single produced the Brakettes' runs. A 7-0 win over Bloomington, IL, Lady Hearts in the winner's bracket semifinals sent the Brakettes into their first engagement with Teamsmith. Three months after the trip to Pekin, the professional draft staged in San Antonio, TX, did what no opponent could do in the last two years. It managed to break up the Brakettes. As the Brakettes approach another rebuilding project in 2004, they said farewell to Clark, Henderson, Mishlan, Ellis, Kellie Wilkerson, Germaine Fairchild, Jen and Alicia Smith, Heather Wright, Karrie Rider, Sara Jewett, Robyn King and Nikki Myers who were drafted. Also, Cat Osterman and Kelly Kretschman were selected to represent the USA Olympic Team. |