University of Massachusets Athletics
Several Minutewomen In Action With Brakettes
June 10, 2010 | Softball
June 10, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - Six current and former UMass softball players began their summer ball seasons last weekend playing for the famed Stratford Brakettes. Rising junior pitcher Sara Plourde and rising sophomore infielder Christine Della Vecchia both begin their first season with the team, while alumnae Denise Denis (2005), Carly Normandin (2010), Bailey Sanders (2010), and Jessica Serio (2010) all return as veterans. The Brakettes began their 53-game regular season by going 5-1 overall the weekend.
Plourde, a native of Bristol, Conn. begins her first season pitching for the Brakettes after playing last summer for the Stratford Breakers. Plourde and the Breakers ended the Brakettes' 2009 season with an upset 1-0 victory in the Women's Major Softball Championship. Plourde enjoyed a record-breaking 2010 for UMass, leading the country in wins (40), strikeouts (556), and strikeouts per seven innings (12.5) on her way to being named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, ECAC Pitcher of the Year, and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Third Team All-American.
Della Vecchia, a Stratford, Conn. native, begins her first season playing for her hometown team after a successful rookie campaign for the Minutewomen. After an early season knee injury sidelined her for much of the Feb. and March tournament season, the lefty-batting speedster returned to become one of UMass' top pinch-running threats. Della Vecchia saw action in 22 games, scoring nine runs and going 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts.
Normandin, Sanders, and Serio all finished standout careers for UMass in 2010 by earning their fourth-straight A-10 Championship and fourth-straight NCAA Tournament. Normandin led the A-10 in batting for the second year in a row and was named All-Conference, All-Region, and ECAC All-Star. Serio started 36 games, batting .287 with two home runs and 15 RBIs. Sanders made 17 pitching appearances in 2010, going 2-2 with 47 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings.
Sanders is in her fourth season with the Brakettes, while Serio is starting her third season and Normandin her second.
Denis starred at UMass from 2002-05, playing primarily right field. The lefty posted a .308 career batting average, including a .360 mark her senior season when she hit seven home runs and drove in 43 runs on her way to being named All-Conference, All-New England, and ECAC All-Star. Denis is tied for the longest tenured current Brakette, playing since 2005.
The six UMass softball players and alumnae on the 2010 Brakettes squad continue the long tradition of UMass talent playing for the storied club. The list of former Minutewomen players to play in Stratford include Danielle Henderson, Brandice Balschmiter, and Whitney Mollica. Current UMass assistant coach Jessica Merchant was named National Pro Fastpitch Most Outstanding Offensive Player in 2006 playing for the Brakettes NPF team.
The Stratford Brakettes, formed in 1947, play their home games at DeLuca Field, 1000 Main Street, Stratford, Conn.
