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July 27, 2006
Brakettes game proves to be a big hit
It's a beautiful summer evening, perfect weather for a ball game. It's great to be at a game, to see how the pros do it. I take my seat in row J, seat 22 just as the home team gets up to bat. The batter steps in. Runners are on first and second with two outs. The pitcher gets the sign from the catcher and winds up. The crowd cheers for a hit. Crack! It's a line drive smacked over third base to score a run. The crowd hoots and hollers as the team runs out of the dugout to hug the runner. Hugs? Nope, this isn't a Mets, Yankees or even Bluefish game. It's the Connecticut Brakettes, of the National Pro Fastpitch League, who play their home games at DeLuca Field on Main Street in Stratford. The team has had a storied history as amateurs dating to the 1940s, and this season it went pro along with six other teams from around the country. The season runs through the middle of August, and you can catch the Brakettes taking on teams from Chicago, Texas, Philadelphia and Arizona, as well as the Canadian, Chinese and Dominican Republic national teams. It's no Sunday rec league, that's for sure. The roster includes Olympians, former NCAA stars and other big names in the softball world. I'm a big baseball fan, and I also play softball two nights a week. I love the game, and watching it in such an intimate yet competitive setting was a treat. The night I went, I witnessed a pitching duel that ended in a 1-0 victory for the Brakettes over the Texas Thunder. It was great to see the crowd, numbering in the hundreds, be so supportive of the team. It was a mixed crowd of sports fans, seniors who have been rooting on their team for decades, families with young children, and teens wearing shirts autographed by the players. In front of me sat three generations of women from one family. Everyone was having a good time.
"Homer" the mascot threw Tootsie Rolls into the stands while the DJ played lots of songs with the word "girl" in them. (I was hoping for "Girl You Know Its True" by Milli Vanilli, but I didn't hear it.). In between innings there were wheelbarrow and piggy back races with kids from the stands. Would-be superstars tested their throwing speed at a booth behind the bleachers. There were contest giveaways, and everyone in attendance got a free T-shirt that night. Not bad for my $6 ticket.
I sat in the bleachers along the third base (home dugout) side. It was obviously the place to be, because down in the front of the bleachers stood someone who I could only guess was the matriarch of the park. Here was a super fan who looked like she's been cheering on the team since its beginnings. She leaned over the railing through the entire game, completely tuned in to every pitch. "Don't you dare bunt," she yelled to one player up at bat. In the next breath, she turned around and scolded some kids for running on the bleachers. She meant business in her orange flowered pantsuit. You don't see that much pure enthusiasm on the major league level.
All in all it was a great summer activity on a beautiful day that's good for the whole family and sports fans alike. One word of caution: if you do go to the game, don't park in the row closest to the stadium. I watched a foul ball narrowly miss the back window of an SUV, instead putting a sizeable dent in the rear door. (If the owner of the car is reading this, I can vouch for you with the insurance company.) I'm sure that car's owner can tell you the ball isn't exactly "soft." And neither is the game. For more information, visit www.brakettes.com
By Elizabeth Glagowski
Posted by getout on July 27, 2006 12:14 PM
