Pair of One-Hit Shutouts Paces Brakettes

June 21, 2014 - Brandice Balschmiter and Allyson Fournier tossed a pair of complete game one-hitters on Saturday night against the Newtown Rock Gold, leading the Brakettes to 7-0 and 3-0 victories at DeLuca Field in Stratford. Tatum Buckley hit her first home run as a Brakette in the late game, while Denise Denis and Elise Fortier hit back-to-back homers.

Balschmiter struck out 10 Rock batters in the early game, while giving up just an infield hit to Samantha Worrell over seven innings. She retired the last 11 batters she faced and allowed just one runner to reach second base.

The Brakettes scored two quick runs in the first inning, when Quianna Diaz-Patterson singled to start the home first. With one out, Denis nailed a hard-hit grounder, which went through the legs of the shortstop and rolled towards the fence. Diaz-Patterson scored on the error, which allowed Denis to cruise into second.

Denis went to third on a groundout and came home on an RBI single by Mandie Fishback for a 2-0 edge.

Stratford scored another quick run in the third inning, after Denis led off with a base on balls. Fortier followed and drilled a double to plate Denis, stretching the lead to 3-0.

The Brakettes scored four more in the bottom of the fifth, when Fishback led off with a single through the left side. Jess Mouse bunted Fishback over and was poised to beat it out, when the throw sailed wide of the bag and into the right field corner. Fishback scored easily after the miscue, while Mouse motored all the way around the bases to score on the play for a 5-0 lead.

Buckley then singled and went to second on an error. Amber Radomski walked, with ball four going back to the screen off the catcher's glove. Buckley raced to third on the passed ball, giving the Brakettes runners at the corners with no outs.

Diaz-Patterson grounded out to short, but the only play was to first, allowing Buckley to score another run. After walks to Schlaefer and Denis, Fortier delivered a bases-loaded sac fly to drive in Radomski, closing out the scoring at 7-0.

Balschmiter retired the side 1-2-3 in both the sixth and seventh innings to secure the victory, improving to 5-0 in the process.

Fournier came into the second game having thrown two consecutive perfect games. She retired the first seven batters she faced Saturday night, before Dominique Pinto roped a double to the corner in right. Fournier had retired 55 in a row before Pinto's line drive.

The Brakettes gave Fournier all the runs she needed in the first inning, when Denis and Fortier connected on back-to-back solo shots for a 2-0 lead. It was the sixth homer of the year for Denis and a team-leading eight home run for Fortier.

Buckley gave the Brakettes a 3-0 advantage in the second inning with her first home run as a Brakette. The blast closed out the scoring for both clubs.

Fournier improved to 9-0 on the season with her complete game, 16-strikeout effort. The Brakettes upped their mark in 2014 to 15-0 with the pair of victories.

The Brakettes will return to action on Thursday night at 7:00 in Providence, RI, with a nine-inning game against the Planet Fastpitch All-Stars. The game will be played at RIC Field (Rhode Island College).

All 2014 Brakette games are live video webcast at www.brakettes.com.