The Bay State Brats opened the 2008 season by finishing as tournament runner-ups at the NSA's "Fathers Day Bash" this past weekend in Leominster, MA.  The Brats finished with a 3 & 0 record during pool play earning them the #1 seed in their bracket.  The Brats opened the tournament with a 4-3 win Friday night against the always tough Concord Raiders.  The Brats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with key hits from Emily Leverone & Brenna Morrissey.  The Raiders got all their runs in the 3rd inning tying the game 3-3.  Hannah Everson shut the door the rest of the way on the Raiders with 4 innings of shutout relief allowing only 1 hit.  The Brats scored the winning run in the 5th inning when Brenna Morrissey reached on a bunt single, Hillary Smyth moved Morrissey over to second with a sacrifice bunt, and Marrissa Palumbo drove the game winning rbi hit to left field.  Palumbo was 3 for 3 for the game.   Game #2 had the Brats winning by forfeit over the NH Elite as they were unable to field a team due to the NH high school state finals.  Game #3 was against the Mass Destruction with the Brats pulling out a 3-2 victory in dramatic fashion.  With the Brats trailing the Destruction 2-0 in the 6th inning, Casey Stoodley drove a double to right centerfield.  Stoodley went to third on a scarifice fly by Emily Leverone before she scored on a clutch hit by Amanda Kressler.  Down 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Jenna Lipscomb led the inning off with a bunt single, Brenna Morrissey moved Lipscomb over to 2nd base with a sacrifice bunt,  Lipscomb moved to 3rd on a groundout by Amy Gordon, Marrissa Palumbo walked and stole 2nd base and then Casey Stoodley with 2 outs delivered the game winning hit scoring both Lipscomb & Palumbo.  The Brats offense was led by Stoodly, Palumbo, & Amanda Kressler, all with 2 hits  apiece.

The single elimination portion of the tournament on Sunday was cancelled due to rain.  With a 3 & 0 record and only 5 runs allowed, the Brats earned a 2nd place finish out of the 17 teams entered.

                                            Bay State Brats Scores:

        Friday, 6/13   6:15pm     Brats 4     Concord Raiders  3

       Saturday, 6/14  1:15pm    Brats win by forfeit over NH Elite

                          3:00pm     Brats 3    Mass Destruction  2

       Sunday, 6/15    9:45am     Cancelled due to rain. 

The Bay State Brats finished as tournament runnerups this past weekend as they participated in the Southern Maine Flames "Diamond Challenge"  18/U tournament.  The Brats were the #3 seed with a 2 & 1 record heading into the single elimination portion of the tournament on Sunday.   In the 1/4 finals, the Brats got exceptional pitching from Chelsea Durso, great defense from outfielders Emily Leverone, Hillary Smyth, & Marrissa Palumbo, and timely hitting from Kelly Garrity to advance them into the semi-finals.  The semi-finals found the Brats facing a familiar "Diamond Challenge" foe, the tournament host Southern Maine Flames.   It was a typical pitching duel like many games they have played in the past with the Brats winning this one 1-0 behind the stellar pitching performance of Hannah Everson.  The Brats scored the winning run in the 4th inning when Marissa Palumbo opened the inning with a single, she went to second on a bunt single by Casey Stoodley, Amy Gordon then sacrificed bunted them over to second and third before Emily Leverone hit a long rbi sacrifice fly scoring Palumbo.  The Brats now advanced to the Championship to face the #1 seed Jr. Black Bears who was the only defeat suffered by the Brats 3-2 on Friday night. The first inning was scoreless. During the top of the second, the skys opened up making the fields unplayable. For the second straight weekend, the Brats finish a tournament as runner-ups with both tournaments being shortened due to rain.

                                                          Brats Scores:

                    Friday, 6/20     Bay State Brats 2      Jr. Black Bears  3

                   Saturday, 6/21   Bay State Brats  8    Mass Wildcats  1 

                                             Bay State Brats 11    NE Quicksilver  5 

                    Sunday, 6/22     Bay State Brats  6   NE Quicksilver  2

                                             Bay State Brats  1    So. Maine Flames  0

            (CHAMPIONSHIP)    Bay State Brats  0   Jr. Black Bears  0  (Rained out-2nd inning)

The Bay State Brats captured the Sandlot Softball Academy's "Independence Day Tournament" held in Manchester & Hooksett, NH. this past weekend.  The Brats finished the tournament with a perfect 5 & 0 record.  The pitching tandem of Chelsea Durso & Hannah Everson, and their tremendous defense behind them allowed only 1 run the entire weekend.  The Brats offense exploded for 28 runs on 47 hits.  They were led by Hillary Smyth with 9 hits, Casey Stoodley with 8, and Brenna Morrissey with 7.  Defensively, the Brats entire team played exceptionally well.  The Brats now head to the NSA States in Leominster this coming weekend. 

                                       Bay State Brats Schedule/Scores:

       Friday, 6/27/08      Bay State Brats  3     Mass Wildcats  1

      Saturday, 6/28/08   Bay State Brats  5     Tanner Pride  0

                                      Bay State Brats  4     NH Hammerheads  0

      Sunday, 6/29/2008  Bay State Brats  8     Tanner Pride  0 

                                      Bay State Brats  8      NH Royals  0

The Bay State Brats finished in 3rd place this past weekend in Leominster, MA. as they participated in the NSA's State Tournament.  This was a 16-team double elimination tournament.  The 16 teams were: Bay State Brats, Mass Commotion, Firecracker Brats, NE Phoenix Gold, NH Royals, NE Invasion, Mass Inferno, Strikezone, NH Elite, Dracut Panthers, Firecracker Red Hots, Thunderkatz, Mass Intensity, NH Hammerheads, Seacoast Hurricanes, & the Stoneham Sparks.  All games were held at the Leominster Lassie League Fields.

                                      Bay State Brats Schedule/Scores:

           Fri.  7/4/08    Bay State Brats  8     Northeast Invasion  3

          Sat.  7/5/08    Bay State Brats  5     StrizkeZone  2

          Sun. 7/6/08     Bay State Brats  1      NE Phoenix Gold  2

                                  Bay State Brats  8     NH Royals  2

                                  Bay State Brats  14    StrikeZone  0

                                  Bay State Brats  3     NE Phoenix Gold  5 

The Bay State Brats will be in New Jersey this upcoming weekend as they participate in the 6th Annual "War at the Shore" 18/U ASA Tournament.  This 20 team tournament includes teams from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and our NH/Mass connection.

                                    Bay State Brats Schedule/Scores:

          Friday, 7/11/08          9:00am     vs.  NJ Surf

                                           10:30am     vs.  Hudson Valley Hurricanes(NY)

         Saturday, 7/12/08       8:00am     vs.  Duke's Diamonds(PA)

                                           11:00am     vs.  NJ Lady Thunder

                                            2:00pm    vs.  RKE JAXX(NJ) Host Team

         Sunday, 7/13/08          ?????    (single elimination-to be determined)

 Northeast-10 Player & Freshman of the Week (4/14-4/20/2008)

Bay State Brat & Southern New Hampshire's Casey Stoodley was named the Northeast-10 Player and Freshman of the Week. She batted .500(9-18) with three home runs and nine RBI's in six games last week.  She belted a grand slam in a 12-11 loss to nationally-ranked C.W. Post.  Of Casey's nine hits, five of them went for extra bases.

  Congratulations Casey.

Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year

Bay State Brat and Assumption College's Marissa Palumbo was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year.  Marissa ranked among the conference leaders in average (.410), on-base percentage (.469), and hits (48).  She also drove in 15 runs while scoring 16 times.  Marissa was named to the Northeast-10 Weekly Honor Roll twice this spring.  In addition, she was also selected to the All Northeast-10 First Team. 

Congratulations Marissa.

THE BAY STATE BRATS ARE HEADING SOUTH THIS UPCOMING WEEKEND AS THEY PARTICIPATE IN THE 6TH ANNUAL "WAR AT THE SHORE" 18/U ASA TOURNAMENT IN NEW JERSEY.

Check out the BRATS individual photos on our roster page, and some team photos on our album page.