Davis Throws No-No, Hawk Sluggers Win Two Blowouts

By Andy Hutchison

It was Friday the 13th but Newtown High pitcher Mike Davis was feeling lucky — and looking really good on the mound. Davis, only a sophomore, fired a no-hitter to lead Newtown High School’s baseball team to a 9-0 win over visiting Bethel last week.

Davis struck out nine batters and walked four in the seven-inning complete game. He got the final out on a ground ball to first baseman Steven Conway.

“It was good. It was really good,” Davis said of the feeling of throwing a no-hitter. “My slider was a good strikeout pitch and I was able to locate my fastball.”

Davis also mixed in his curveball and changeup and helped the Nighthawks to victory.

“He was just getting the first pitch over and his off-speed stuff was working well, too. When you have a team with cold bats and a guy who throws strikes it’s a good combination,” senior catcher Mike Allwein said.

Davis, who finished with 108 pitches, said he first started to think about the no-hitter in the fifth inning but that it didn’t faze him.

Newtown High Coach Matt Memoli added that he, too, didn’t realize what was unfolding until the fifth inning rolled around. When Davis got the final out, Memoli was as thrilled as his team members.

“It was something special. I’ve never been a part of one. To see him do it — especially a kid who’s a sophomore — come out there and stay so composed the entire game, just act as a leader. And that was huge for us. It was a lot of fun for me. To see him go out there and have that kind of game was special,” Memoli said.

Davis says he wasn’t getting nervous. How about his coach? “For the last couple of outs — yes,” Memoli admitted.

But the coach also had plenty of confidence because of the combination of how well Davis was throwing and the ability of the fielders. “We have such a great defense behind him,” said Memoli, referring to not only starters, but bench players who enter into middle and late innings of games. “It was awesome to see them be a part of it too — making plays to get those ground ball outs.”

Overshadowed was Newtown’s explosive offense, which piled up six runs in the sixth inning behind Evan Noonan’s leadoff home run. Noonan was 2-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases. Andy Kelley and Justin DeVellis both had two hits and a run batted in. David Lucia had two hits, including a double, and two RBI, Reid Schmidt had a two-run double, and JP Blanco, Kyle Wilcox, and Chris Tenney all added hits in the win.

The offense stayed hot, and the pitching continued to cool off opposing bats in a 13-2 triumph over Ansonia on April 14. Newtown won its third straight game to improve to 3-2 overall heading into the Friday, April 20, visit to Notre Dame-Fairfield. Pitcher Brandon Marks went four innings and allowed only on earned run and struck out three. Reid Schmidt had a solo home run off of the bench. John Hull had a big day offensively, contributing two hits. Mike Koch, Noonan, Kelley, Blanco, Wilcox, Devellis, Allwein, Lucia, and Conway all added hits for the Nighthawks.

“It’s great to see us just go out there and play to our potential,” said Memoli, adding that the lopsided wins make it that much easier for him to get as many of his 20 of his players into the games for more innings as possible. Memoli said his lineup is deep and that players recognize that they may not start but need to be ready to pinch hit, pinch run, or enter into a game in the field at any time. Memoli said they are all handing their roles well. “I enjoy seeing all of my players play,” the coach added.