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Bees to challenge Brakettes in fast-pitch softball game at New Britain Stadium

The New Britain Bees pro baseball team will take on the Stratford Brakettes in a fast-pitch softball game in July at New Britain Stadium. This is the Brakette’s 2017 team.

NEW BRITAIN, March 28 – And now for something different.

The New Britain Bees professional baseball team will host the Stratford Brakettes fast pitch softball team in a seven-inning contest at New Britain Stadium on Sunday, July 15 at 7 p.m. The Bees are calling this the inaugural Battle of the Sexes game. The game will be played under fast-pitch softball rules.

The Brakettes have been playing baseball teams since 2014. For the past four seasons, the Brakettes would play yearly contests against the Bridgeport Bluefish. But the Bluefish moved out of state to High Point, North Carolina after the 2017 Atlantic League campaign. The city of Bridgeport decided to turn the Bluefish’s home facility — the BallPark at Harbor Yard — into a concert venue.

“This is a fun, exciting and unique opportunity that offers something special for all fans in this region,” says Bees general manager Brad Smith. “The Bees are pleased to team up with the Brakettes and look forward to the first of hopefully many Battle of the Sexes games at New Britain Stadium.”

The first time a player from the Brakettes played a professional baseball team in Connecticut was back in the August 1961 where legendary Brakette pitcher Joan Joyce faced Hall of Fame Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams in a charity event in Waterbury, and struck him out.

The Stratford Brakettes are the longest running competitive softball team in the United States. They will begin their 72nd consecutive season June 2 at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in Stratford.

The Brakettes have won 28 National Amateur Softball Association championships and seven Women’s Major Softball national championships and have produced 22 National A.S.A. Hall of Fame players and 13 Olympians.

Since 2010 the Brakettes have a 442-22 overall record, which includes 25 invitational tournament titles and a national record 168 game winning streak. Manager John Stratton’s club also had unbeaten seasons in 2011 (63-0) and 2013 (68-0). For additional information on the Brakettes, go to www.brakettes.com.

Tickets are now on sale. Field box tickets are $11, box seats are $10, and bleacher tickets will be $8. There will also be special group and suite rental rates. Tickets for the game are available by visiting the Bees ticket office, calling (860) 826-BEES, or going to www.NBBees.com. 

The Bees are beginning their third season in New Britain at New Britain Stadium on Friday, May 4 when they host the Road Warriors at 6:35 p.m. The season begins for the Bees with a six-game road trip in Texas to take on the Sugar Land Skeeters on April 27.

NOTES: The Bluefish moved to North Carolina and will begin play in the Atlantic League in 2019. They will become the eighth team in the league… The Road Warriors are a team owned by the Atlantic League that play on the road throughout the entire season. It will be the fourth time that the league is filling a gap in their roster of teams with the Road Warriors, who played in the league in 2006, 2007 and 2011.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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