The only thing was, at the rate they were going at DeLuca Field, they never would have scratched out a run.
Jennie Finch pitched a one-hitter, striking out 13, to lead Team USA to a 9-0 win in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,300 fans. "We had nothing to lose," Brakettes third baseman Jess Mouse said. "I came in wanting to have fun. I just wanted to play in front of this big crowd."
The Brakettes were in it until the ninth. They trailed 2-0 after three, 3-0 after five, 4-0 after seven, but their pitching kept them in it despite 16 hits for the national team.
Finch only had to deal with two Brakettes baserunners, Mandie Fishback on a walk in the first and Laura Trout on a hard ground-ball single in the eighth.
"The thing I didn't like about the hitting, we were taking too many strikes," said Brakettes manager John Stratton, whose team is 40-1. "Good hitters don't look for walks. They don't go up taking pitches. That's something we have to work on the next couple of weeks."
Even when they swung, Finch had them so off-balance that they tapped soft grounders or got under soft popups. Finch walked Fishback with two out in the first, then retired the next 20. No ball had reached the outfield until
That turned out to be the only ball that made it to an outfielder. Finch got Ashley Waters to pop up a bunt, got Mouse to pop to third, then struck out the side in the ninth. "She moves it in different zones," Mouse said. "She'll throw low strikes and get you to chase the drop. She'll go to the rise. She messes with your eyes. You've got to go up looking to hit anything. She's not going to walk you."
While Finch kept the Brakettes quiet, her teammates steadily built a lead. Jessica Mendoza went 4-for-5 and scored four runs, including one on a majestic two-run home run in the third.
Former Brakette Kelly Kretschman went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and Caitlin Lowe went 3-for-4. Team USA is 56-1. It has three games remaining before leaving for China and the Olympics. "I think we're pretty happy with where we are," Kretschman said. "We're working on some things defensively, still, but we're ready to go. I'm ready to get there."
Leslie Malerich pitched around three baserunners to hold the national team scoreless over two innings. Every other Brakettes pitcher allowed at least a run.
Mendoza's home run opened the scoring, falling just short of the 300-foot, high fence in back of the bleachers. It was her 20th home run in 57 games on the tour, and she has 101 RBIs. Kretschman drove in Mendoza from second with a two-out single in the fifth.
Duran's sacrifice fly brought Mendoza home in the seventh. The national team scored five runs in the ninth, only two earned, off Masuk High School sensation Rachele Fico. Tairia Flowers capped the scoring with a two-run home run into the center-field bleachers.
"I'm very pleased with our pitchers. I'm pleased with everyone," Stratton said. "The defense was solid. That's the way we like to play good teams." As long as they weren't touching Finch, it wasn't even an uphill climb.
On the other hand, they played competitively with the prohibitive favorite for gold next month. "She's the best pitcher I'm ever going to face," Trout said. "I play Division III (in college). That's the best pitching I've ever seen. It's a great feeling to play against them."
UNITED STATES 002 010 105 — 9 16 0
STRATFORD BRAKETTES 000 000 000 — 0 1 2
Records: United States 56-1; Stratford Brakettes 40-1
Batteries: USA — Jennie Finch (W, 18-1) and Stacey Nuveman; SB — Leslie Malerich, Brandice Balschmiter (3, L, 14-1), Danielle Henderson (5), Bailey Sanders (7), Rachele Fico (9) and Jill Cimminello, Jess Serio (3), Cimminello (5), Serio (7)
Home runs: USA — Jessica Mendoza, Tairia Flowers
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