Ethany Encarnacion hit two two-run home runs and ace pitcher Jennifer Brady scattered three hits and fanned 12 as the Flames beat Hard Wuk 5-3 Wednesday night in women’s fast pitch softball at the D.C. Canegata ball park.
After both teams got on the board in the first inning, Brady and Hard Wuk pitcher Marie Encarnacion got into a scoreless pitching duel over the next four innings before the Flames scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
Batting first, Hard Wuk came up with an unearned run in the top of the first to take the early lead. The Flames responded with two runs on the first of Ethany Encarnacion’s two two-run home runs to take a 2-1 lead. Brady took care of business from there.
The two veterans – Brady and Encarnacion – locked horns from the second inning, and it looked as if the contest would end in a 2-1 victory for the Flames because neither pitcher was giving an inch.
However a leadoff double in the bottom of the by sixth by the Flames Joandra Perez followed by Ethany Encarnacion’s second two-run round tripper and an RBI single by Jewel Velez gave the winners three insurance runs for Brady. She did not need them, though, as she blanked Hard Wuk over six innings for the complete game victory. Marie Encarnacion turned in a good pitching effort herself in the loss.
Top batters for the Flames were Ethany Encarnacion, 2 for 3 with four RBIs, and Velez, 1 for 3 with one RBI. For Hard Wuk, Jarria Sweeny was 1 for 4 with a stolen base.
