High School Softball Team’s Winning Ways Highlighted By Comeback

By Andy Hutchison

REDDING — The winning streak stretched to nine games this week. Newtown High School’s softball team, following an 0-3 opening week, found its winning touch once involved in games that count toward the South-West Conference standings. Newtown doubled up Oxford 6-3 on April 27, edged Joel Barlow in Redding 1-0 on April 29, and toppled Immaculate of Danbury 18-1 on May 2 to improve to 8-0 in SWC action.

Then Nighthawks continued to roll by coming from behind to shock FCIAC team St Joseph of Trumbull, 7-6, on May 3, in a game that had been postponed by rain twice in April. St Joseph, last year’s Class M state champions, carried a 9-2 record into the contest at Treadwell Park. The Cadets also carried a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning before the Nighthawks began a thrilling comeback.

In the bottom of the second, after Megan Gibbons and Natalie Dunn singled, Colleen Cunningham followed with a single of her own to plate a run and make it 5-1. Newtown scratched out three more runs in the last of the third inning to get to within 5-4. Kayla O’Grady singled and scored on a Jess Gibbons triple and Megan Gibbons followed with another triple to make it 5-3. Dunn drove in the fourth run with another single.

The Cadets tacked on a run in the fourth and carried a 6-4 advantage into the bottom of the sixth when Newtown struck for three runs. Danielle Shine pinch hit and drew a walk, then scored on a Maddy Hauck triple to make it 6-5. Monica Macchiarulo followed with a game-tying single inside of first base. With two outs, Jess Gibbons lined a double to left center to drive in the decisive run, and Newtown improved to 9-3 overall.

Newtown may not be able to top its comeback win over the Cadets, but the team has had some other pretty exciting triumphs. As lopsided as the Immaculate game was — the first 13 Newtown batters reached base and scored to set the tone in that mismatch — the 1-0 nail-biter win over Barlow was perhaps a more rewarding win given the score and the fact Barlow is a seven-win team.

Newtown pitcher Emma Herring allowed just one hit, walked none, and struck out five batters in the win. Herring also induced eight come-back grounders that she turned into outs. The Nighthawks scored their only run in the first inning when O’Grady singled, stole second base, and scored on Megan Gibbons’s single.

“We’ve been getting some good pitching. Emma’s got a bad back, but she threw a spectacular game today. She had great command, didn’t walk a girl, as you could see we played good defense — so it’s a very winning combination,” Newtown Coach Bob Guererra said after the game.

Herring’s pitching speed and location were on — and so was the fielding — in the win over Barlow. “I knew that even if one or the other wasn’t working my team was behind me if I needed them,” Herring said.

Against Oxford, Megan Gibbons had three hits and three runs batted in, Jess Gibbons had a hit and scored three runs, and O’Grady had a hit, RBI, and two runs scored. The Nighthawks drew ten walks in the victory.

In the win over Immaculate, Macchiarulo hit a grand slam, Morgan Macchiarulo had a two-run hit, Megan Gibbons knocked in a pair of runs, and Jess Gibbons delivered an RBI triple. Everyone in the lineup was on base in the opening inning, as O’Grady, Dunn, Cunningham, Shine, Courtney Escoda, and Abi Kuligowski contributed in the offensive onslaught.

Guererra believes his team just needed to find its confidence after a slow start to the spring.

“I think everything in this sport is about confidence. If you’re hitting it’s about confidence, if you’re fielding it’s about confidence, if you’re pitching it’s about confidence,” the coach said.

“It’s relieving,” Herring said of the Hawks’ wining ways. “But we all know not to let our guard down.”

“The kids are loose — they’re joking around a little bit. It’s a game where you have to be a little bit loose. You can’t be tight to play this game because, as much of a team game as it is, it’s also an individual game. So I’m liking the feel of it and they’re believing in themselves, so that’s going to be a good combination to continue to go with,” Guererra added.