Team USA softball had just completed its 9-0 win over the Stratford Brakettes on Sunday, and pitcher Rachele Fico was all smiles when she went to hug her high school teammates.

And on top of that, the 17-year-old Masuk prodigy graciously signed a few autographs for some young admirers.

Hard to believe that just a few minutes earlier, Fico had give up five earned runs on four hits and a walk in just one inning of work.

For those who have followed Fico’s near flawless high school career, the performance may have come as a shock. But there’s a big difference between your average CIAC player - or a regular opponent of the Brakettes - than Olympians like Caitlin Mendoza.

And for that matter, the batters Fico faced in the Canada Cup earlier this month as a member of the Florida-based Gold Coast Hurricanes - like Japan, Venezuela, and Chinese Taipei - were not too shabby.

“It’s been so much fun, I’ve had some awesome learning experience facing some of the best teams in the world,” Fico said about her Canada Cup experience. “I’m taking what I do in the game and learning from it and hopefully I’ll grow from it.”

And Fico fortunately has not let her softball growth and advancement go to her head. According to her friends and members of the Brakettes, she’s still the same Rachele Fico who would rather see her team win a game than get personal accolades.

In fact, her father, Ralph Fico, told reporters Sunday that his daughter’s reaction to being named a high school All-American this season was, “Oh, cool.”

So it’s no wonder Fico, who has already given a verbal agreement to Louisiana State University, wasn’t intimidated during her one inning against the USA Olympic team.

“I was just so excited to play against the number one team in the country, and I just went out there and had fun,” Fico said.

STRATFORD - There have been several spectacular pitching performances at DeLuca Field this summer. But for the first time, the dominant pitcher was in the visiting dugout.

That was Jennie Finch. The Team USA softball pitcher.

Finch fired a one-hitter, struck out 12, and walked just one to lead Team USA over the Stratford Brakettes 9-0 Sunday.

Finch did not allow a hit through seven innings, and gave up a one-out single to extra player Laura Trout with one out in the eighth. Brakettes shortstop Mandie Fishback, who took a bad hop to the head a night earlier and was sent to the hospital, played the game and walked in the first inning.

The Brakettes had been 40-0 prior to the game, but did not show any signs of anguish after the game, snapping photos of themselves and with members of Team USA prior to a post game autograph session.

“I’ve seen all the great players come through here, and just to have the opportunity to be on the field with them at the same time is truly an honor,” said Brakettes right fielder Amber Radomski, a Joel Barlow graduate who grew up as a bat girl for the 28-time ASA champions.

Current Masuk star Rachele Fico, who was charged with five earned runs which pitching the ninth inning, had the same feelings as Radomski after the game.

“It was just an awesome experience to throw against the greatest hitters in the world, and by far Team USA does have the greatest hitters in the world,” Fico said. “It was just awesome and so much fun to be out there.”

The game was a tune-up for Team USA, which is on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour in preparation for the Olympics. The announced attendance at DeLuca was 3,300, which included fans seating in temporary bleachers set up behind the outfield fences.

The DeLuca Field refreshment stand, Brakettes and Team USA souvenir booths, and the rest rooms will be open. The bleachers will be partitioned off and no fans will be allowed in the seating area until the gates officially open at 5 p.m.

Fans with reserved seating will enter via the main entrance, adjacent to the ticket booth. General admission fans will enter via the back gate on the first base side of the field.

Four years ago fans attending the Team USA-Stratford Brakettes softball games arrived up to five hours before game time.

Why so early? Try merchandise.

One of the coveted souvenirs is the Team USA program book which is a must for the softball fan. The full color program has in-depth coverage of the entire Olympic Team roster and coaching staff, which includes former Brakettes Cat Osterman and Kelly Kretschman, along with USA alternate Lisa Fernandes, and Coach Karen (Sanchelli) Johns. This will be the last USA Olympic softball team until 2016 at the earliest.

The 9-inning affair is expected to begin at 7 p.m.

It could make for a long day for diehard softball fans. Following the game there will be a 20-minute cooling off and interview period for the players before they will sign autographs for 45 minutes.

So in case there were any doubters out there, hoping her Brakettes performance would expose some sort of weakness, something that would make her look like a 17-year-old-girl and not a stellar athlete who gave a verbal commitment to LSU as a Masuk High School junior…

Guess what? Rachele Fico is the real deal.

Fico compiled a perfect 27-0 record for Masuk, which won its second straight CIAC Class LL championship with a 1-0 victory over Naugatuck at DeLuca Field on June 8. She threw 12 no-hitters, seven perfect games, and struck out 486 batters in 195 innings. She allowed only 21 hits and walked just seven batters and she had a 0.07 ERA.

And you can’t blame that on poor hitting in the CIAC. Not when you’re a one-person wrecking crew, and then proved it again on a higher stage.

Now the Brakettes could use some fans in the seats, and hopefully the presence of Fico will get some out there. Why not? Local girl makes good. Everyone loves a success story.

Here’s to hoping she gets to put in some work - even if just for one inning - against Team USA this July 20.

The Seahawks went up 1-0 in the third inning of the opener after a double by Sarah Gates, who was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Jen Michaels, and scored on a double up the middle by Christine Bourdeau.

The Brakettes got the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Mandie Fischback bunted her way to first, and Whitney Mollica followed with a homer to left center. Jessica Mouse made it back-to-back shots with a homer off Seahawks starter Bren Gleason.

Brandice Balschmiter got her seventh win on the mound with a 13 strikeout performance.

In game two, the Seahawks grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning Michelle Libby doubled and scored on Kim Church’s sacrifice bunt and a Mollica throwing error. Jenn Rickel’s sac bunt, a comebacker by Michaels, and Lindsay Kinnel’s RBI single accounted for the second run off Brakettes starter Bailey Sanders.

But Mollica led off the home half of the second with a homer to left. And with two outs, Ashley Waters drilled a double to right center, and scored on Amber Radomski’s single to center for a 2-2 tie.

The last time the Brakettes trailed in both games of a doubleheader? According to the record books, it was July 1, 2006.

And they all are fighting for your hard-earned dollar. Or to keep that paycheck in your bank account.

But one of the oldest sports traditions in Fairfield County is also one of the most obscure to those who aren’t softball purists. That would be the 61-year-old Stratford Brakettes.

The days of when thousands of fans would circle either Raybestos Memorial Field or Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field on a nightly basis have passed. But if you want to see some of the most talented fast-pitch players take the field, then there’s no reason to pass the 27-time ASA champion Brakettes by.

Here’s 10 reasons to catch a Brakettes game (or two) this summer:

1. Double-headers (almost) every night: Where else can you get twice the bang for your buck these days?
2. Free parking: And on top of that, an easy shot off I-95 once you reach the Lordship and Sikorski areas. Traffic is not a problem.
3. Don Zimmer’s granddaughter: Really, she’s a Brakette. Whitney Mollica, number 23 on your scorecard. And the first baseman is batting well over .500 with five homers on the season. In the Tampa Bay area, though, Zimmer is known as Whitney’s grampa.
4. A local connection: Amber Radomski once dominated the field at Joel Barlow, now she is living her lifelong dream of being a Brakette. She’s a role model local kids can look up to, and proof that any goal can be achieved with hard work.
5. Your new local hero: Rachele Fico, the Oxford resident and Masuk pitching star, will make her Brakettes debut on Sunday. Last time I talked with her she was heading to Florida to play for a premiere U18 team, so skip Sunday dinner and check her out.
6. Fico’s future teammate: Third baseman Jessica Mouse just completed her freshman year at Louisiana State University, where Fico will be starting in the fall of 2009. And she’s proven why LSU attracts some of the best players in the nation.
7. Olympians: OK, two current Brakettes just missed out on making it to the last-ever Olympic competition. Leslie Malerich, who is riding a hot streak on the mound right now, is a member of the Italy national team, and Jenna Lopez’s Puerto Rico team missed qualifying for Bejing, losing to Venezuela in the qualification round finals.
8. And more Olympians: Sunday, July 20, Team USA comes to town for a one-game match-up with the Brakettes. We’re talking Jennie Finch and Lisa Fernandez, folks, right here in our backyard.
9. Legendary coach John Stratton: For those keeping score at home, the Friday night sweep against the Stratford Seahawks gave Stratton a 654-89 career record. This is his 30th season as a coach with the Brakettes, and his 12th as the manager.
10. Good eats: What’s a ballgame without a good concession stand? A horrible experience, that’s what. Best fries in Stratford, plus no need to break the bank to feed a family of four.

So there you have it. If you don’t believe me, here’s a link to the Brakettes schedule. Come on out and give me more reasons to hit the field.

Fico, Connecticut’s 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year, compiled a perfect 27-0 record for Masuk, which won its second straight CIAC Class LL championship with a 1-0 victory over Naugatuck at DeLuca Field on June 8. During the recently concluded season Fico fashioned 12 no-hitters, seven perfect games and she struck out 486 batters in 195 innings. She allowed only 21 hits and walked just seven batters and she had a 0.07 ERA.

Speaking of dominant pitchers, Leslie Malerich (7-0) will pitch the opener of Saturday night’s doubleheader with the Topton, PA, VIPs at DeLuca Field. Malerich has a string of 23 consecutive perfect innings, and three straight perfect games.

She also has pitched four no-hitters in a row with 25 straight innings without allowing a hit at DeLuca Field. Another perfecto will put in her in the record books for most consecutive, while another gem ties Kathy Arendsen’s 1980 mark of five straight no-hitters.

Even more impressive - the Brakettes have given up just five runs this season, and no more than one per game.

In the second game of the Sunday doubleheader, Leslie Malerich put her name in the storied franchise’s record book. She threw her third straight perfect game, and now has a streak of 23-plus perfect innings. The three-game perfect streak ties the Brakettes’ all-time record of consecutive perfect games, as she matches the mark set by Kathy Arendsen, Lisa Fernandez, and Michelle Collins.

And Malerich, who pitches for the Italian national leam, doesn’t even have the best ERA on the staff. Here’s the 2008 team pitching stats to date:

And the hitting isn’t too shabby either: Whitney Mollica is leading the way with a .551 batting average and has three homers and 14 RBIs.

The Brakettes host the Stratford Seahawks for a double-header 7 p.m. Friday at DeLuca Field.

And after a cool spring weather-wise, mother nature went crazy yesterday, blistering athletes with temperatures in the 90s. Which meant in-season conditioning became a major factor for all the athletes involved.

Here’s a quick roundup of winners, losers (though to be politically correct, they are runners-up), and more, including clips from the local sports media…

FRIDAY:
Westhill wins Class LL Baseball Title
I slammed Westhill pitched T.J. Hickey’s mound antics in a post a few weeks ago. He’s recovered nicely and, on the mound, became the go-to guy a lot of us saw during the football season. As he kept Masuk batters in check, Bobby Migliazza and Greg Smith led the offense in a 12-1 win up at Palmer Field in Middletown.

The clips: Stamford Advocate game story; Stamford Advocate sidebar; Connecticut Post.

Also Friday: Darien takes volleyball title; Staples wins again in Class L.

SATURDAY
The links:

• Masuk phenom Rachele Fico shuts down Naugatuck: Connecticut Post; New Haven Register.
• Law upsets Ludlowe for Class L baseball title: New Haven Register; Connecticut Post.
• Danbury takes Division II girls lacrosse championship: News-Times; News-Times sidebar.
• Prefect ending for New Fairfield lacrosse team: News-Times.
• Prep tops Ridgefield in 3OT to take Class L lacrosse title: Connecticut Post.
• Darien girls defeat Wilton again for girls lacrosse championship: Stamford Advocate.
• Blue Wave Boys make it a lacrosse sweep: Stamford Advocate.

And while she has every right to talk in third person – and all about herself – she’s rather talk about her teammates and their accomplishments.

“I really don’t think about all the hype people make about me,” Fico said Friday at Deluca Field after the Panthers edged Bunnell 1-0 in the SWC semifinals. “I just want to go out there and play with my team and win some games, and so far that’s what we’re doing.”

And Masuk coach Jacqui Sheftz says that’s what Fico is – a modest superstar who puts team first and records second. As Sheftz puts it, they don’t make kids like her anymore.

“The best attribute is her character. She’s extremely humble, the credit goes to her teammates first, and it’s never to her,” Sheftz said. “No matter how many hits she gets, no matter how many batters she strikes out, she only cares about the W.”

And win is something that the Panthers have done a lot. This season alone, Masuk is 23-0 and heads into the Class LL playoffs as the top seed. And they’ve won primarily because of the junior Fico’s right arm.

Fico has thrown seven perfect games this season, one shy of the national record. And six of those came over a seven game stretch, including five straight, which tied a 19-year-old national record.
So as nice as she is off the field, and as much as she enjoys being around her teammates, the opposition is still in awe of Fico’s presence.

Just ask Bunnell head coach Heather Pullen, whose team has now lost twice this season by 1-0 scores. She says the thought of facing Fico can be stressful.

“When you face the best pitcher in the state of Connecticut, there is going to be a little bit of intimidation,” Pullen said. “You go in there afraid, but you have to constantly reiterate that anybody can be hitable, anyone can be off.”

On Friday, Bunnell was only able to manage a bunt single. When Masuk and Bunnell met a few weeks back, Fico threw a 10-inning perfect game.

“Rachele brings a totally different game of softball to the state of Connecticut, with her ability to through a variety of different pitches at this level,” Sheftz said. “I think any time there’s a 68 mile-per-hour fastball coming at you there’s going to be some level of intimidation.”

That gives Fico a big advantage, Sheftz said, even if her teammates are more important to her than seeing her name in the record books.

“It’s been so much fun,” Fico said of the season. “Our team has such great chemistry together. We love being at practice, we just love being together. It just shows we have so much fun and get along, and that’s why we’re so successful.”

Fico will play this summer with the U18 Gold Coast Hurricanes down in Florida. And when she returns – before her senior season begins at Masuk – she will get a chance to pitch for the world renown Stratford Brakettes. And starting in the fall of 2009, she will be at LSU, where she has already given a verbal commitment.