Sea Dogs to Host Women in Sports Night Celebration on August 21
Published on August 15, 2025 under Eastern League (EL)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
Portland, Maine - The Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, will host Women in Sports Night on Thursday, August 21st at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field.
The night will begin with a pregame panel discussion from 4:15 to 5:00 PM on the front plaza at Delta Dental Park. The panel will include Sea Dogs Director of Broadcasting Emma Tiedemann, Dr. Ally Howe, the head physician for the USA Hockey Women's National Team, Paralympic medalist Clara Brown, and Gorham native and UConn softball player Amber Bretton.
Tiedemann, the Maine Sports Broadcaster of the Year, is one of just two female broadcasters in Minor League Baseball. In 2024, she and Rylee Pay became the first female duo to call a Boston Red Sox game. Tiedemann again made history on August 5, 2025 when she joined Alanna Rizzo to form the first all-female broadcast booth to call an entire Red Sox game on NESN.
The pregame ceremonies will include the introduction of the "Starting Nine", highlighting nine local women who have been influential to the next generation for opportunities for women in sports. Each woman will throw out a ceremonial first pitch and will be presented with a team jersey. The women being recognized include:
Sheila Brennan Nee
Sheila serves as the Strategic Director for the Maine Sports Commission. The Maine Sports Commission is a nonprofit organization that works to advance, elevate, and promote Maine as a four-season sports destination, strengthening the state through sports tourism, encouraging healthy, active lifestyles for all. In 2024, Portland, Maine, was named the #1 Minor League Sports Market in the country by Sports Business Journal.
Amber Bretton
Bretton from Gorham, Maine, is a sophomore on the softball team at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
Amber loves giving back to her community, which is why she is a proud community ambassador for Aroma Joe's, UConn's team captain for Team Impact, and national ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She is also a member of Pliable's Mission E50 to increase the popularity and access to women's sports.
Clara Brown
Brown is a two-time Paralympian athlete from Falmouth. She captured the bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Paralympics in cycling.
Shea Cusick
Cusick represents the Maine Mayhem, Maine's only full-contact women's football team. Cusick plays both on the offensive and defensive line for the Mayhem and coaches her son's flag football team.
Carrie Earls
Earls, a Portland native, has served as the Coordinator of Marketing & Game Operations for the Maine Celtics since 2019. Additionally, she has coached both middle and high school soccer, basketball, and lacrosse at Waynflete. Her daughter, Morgan, has also served as one of the Sea Dogs' bat girls for several seasons.
Kathryn Horrigan
Horrigan joined the Maine Mariners in August of 2024 as the Director of Marketing. Previously, she worked with the Boston Red Sox and was a part of their 2018 World Series-winning game day staff.
Dr. Ally Howe
Dr. Howe is a Sports Medicine Physician at Intermed in Portland. She also serves as the head physician for the USA Hockey Women's National Team, where she traveled with the team to the Olympics in 2018 and 2022. Howe played soccer and basketball at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, where she graduated in 1994. She was a first-team Academic and Athletic All-American in 1993. In the fall of 2016, she was inducted into the William Smith College Hall of Honor.
Alanna LaCourse
LaCourse from East Boothbay, Maine, is an alpine skier at Gould Academy. In addition to being an elite skier, she is a model and well-rounded student athlete. On June 28, 2025, she was named Miss Maine's Teen.
At age 14, she founded her own nonprofit, GIVE O.N.E., which raises funds to support aspiring ski racers in the Maine Junior Ski League in acquiring the necessary equipment for their upcoming alpine racing season.
Hannah Sirois
Sirois serves as the VP, Fan Experience for Maine's newest sports franchise, the Hearts of Pine. Sirois is an advocate for gender equality, and believes sports have the power to change the lives of boys AND girls, men AND women. Women in sports defy gender stereotypes, making inspiring role models and demonstrating equality between men and women.
Pliable Marketing Athletes Amber Bretton, Alyssa LaCourse, and Lydia Trytek will be signing autographs after the first pitches in the concourse.
The Sea Dogs will also recognize the dozens of female staff members who work hard every day to make the Sea Dogs a success.
Tickets for the game are available and can be purchased online at seadogs.com or by calling the ticket office at 207-879-9500.
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- Sea Dogs to Host Women in Sports Night Celebration on August 21 - Portland Sea Dogs
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