By Tim Parry
It’s true, the summertime is a busy season in Fairfield County. If you’re not hitting a movie or a dining (or drinking) establishment, it’s a Bluefish game. And the malls, the summer concert series’ can get in the way, as do the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox, whether live or on the screen.

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.

Rachel Fico mowed down the competition this spring for Masuk. Can she do the same against the XTreme Chaos? Thant answer will come Sunday, when Fico makes her debut for the Stratford Brakettes in a 6 p.m. doubleheader at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame 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.

The death of the Stratford Brakettes has been highly exaggerated. In fact, the Brakettes are again on top of the ASA world, off to an 18-0 start thanks to a weekend sweep over the Outten (PA) Trailblazers.

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.