St. Louis Saints Set Stage for WMS Tourney

August 5, 2014 - The Brakettes captured the first game of Tuesday night's doubleheader against the St. Louis Saints with a 4-2 decision, but the Saints raised the stakes for the upcoming WMS National Championship with a come-from-behind, 5-3 win in the late game. The loss ended the Brakettes' 241-game DeLuca Field win streak, which dated back to June 4, 2010.

Shannon Smith (3-2) earned the win in the early contest, while Allyson Fournier came on in the seventh inning to pick up the save.

Elise Fortier smashed her team-leading 17th homer of the year in the bottom of the fourth, also scoring Britt Lampert, who doubled earlier in the frame. The 2-0 lead stood until the sixth inning, when the Saints would crack the scoreboard.

Kelly Kapp reached base and went to second on an error, then moved up a bag on a single by Rylee Holland. Consecutive walks to Shelby Wilson and Morgan Allee pushed a run home for the Saints, narrowing the gap to 2-1.

Smith struck out the next three batters to get out of trouble. She fanned 12 batters along the way in the six-plus innings of work.

The Brakettes extended the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, as Fortier and Jess Mouse started the rally with back-to-back singles. Fortier moved to third on Mouse's base hit, which drew the throw from the outfield. Mouse pulled into second on the throw (photo), putting two in scoring position. Mariel Schlaefer provided some more separation with a sac fly to score Fortier, also moving Mouse to third. Mouse came home with the fourth run when Amber Radomski reached on an error, closing out the sixth with a 4-1 Stratford lead.

The Saints did not go down without a fight, as Danie Brinkmann led off the seventh with a single to right. Kendra Rakers also singled to put two on with no outs, and Kapp reached on an error that also sent Brinkmann home.

The Brakettes held onto a 4-2 lead when Fournier came in for Smith, getting three quick outs to close out the win.

St. Louis struck first in the late game, plating a run in the third with two outs. Kapp beat out a bunt single with one away and moved up on a groundout, then scored on a base hit by Wilson to right field.

Fournier took the tough-luck loss in the nightcap, dropping to 21-2 on the season for the Brakettes. She struck out nine along the way.

The Brakettes tied the score in the bottom of the frame, after Radomski led off with a double to right. Tatum Buckley drove Radomski in with a single through the left side, ending the third inning with a 1-1 tie.

Stratford moved ahead in the home fourth, when Fortier and Mouse again reached base on back-to-back singles. With two outs, Cassie Rucscz singled to left field to score Fortier for a 2-1 advantage.

The Saints tied the score in the top of the sixth, after Allee doubled with one away. With two outs, Kate Sullens delivered a single up the middle to bring home Allee with the equalizer.

The Brakettes broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth, after Britt Lampert led off with a walk and reached second on a wild pitch. Elena Bowman blooped a single to left, sending Lampert to third. Fortier grounded into a double play, which allowed Lampert to score for a 3-2 lead. Despite a run scoring scoring on the play, the web gem by Allee proved pivotal for the Saints, as it limited the damage in the inning to just one tally.

The double play was the second in as many innings by Saints shortstop Allee, who both times fielded hard-hit grounders up the middle and stepped on second, before firing to first to turn two.

Down 3-2 heading into the top of the seventh, the Saints staged a dramatic rally to earn St. Louis manager Eddie Martz his second-ever victory over the Brakettes.

Elexus Lohman started the inning off with a bloop single to left, and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kapp. Rylee Holland singled through the left side to tie the game up, then sprinted to third on a double by Wilson.

Morgan Allee then delivered a two-run double to score Holland and Wilson, giving St. Louis a 5-3 lead.

The Brakettes were retired in order by winning pitcher Wendy Macias in the seventh, securing the win for the Saints. Macias scattered seven hits in the complete-game decision, frustrating Brakette batters throughout.

The game marked the end of the regular season for the Brakettes, who will begin play in the 6th Annual Women's Major Softball National Championship this Thursday at DeLuca Field. Stratford will take on the Queens Lady Rangers (NY) at 1:00, then battle later in the evening with Team Connecticut at 6:30.

All 2014 Brakettes games are live video webcast on www.brakettes.com.