Newtown High School's baseball team has been hitting the ball with authority during a busy stretch of games in mid May. The Nighthawks followed up at 8-1 win over Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport with a hard-fought 12-9 loss to visiting Masuk of Monroe at Fairfield Hills two nights later. Then came a 14-0 win over Bassick of Bridgeport at Seaside Park on May 15, a 15-8 come-from-behind at Joel Barlow of Redding in a makeup contest on May 16, and then a 19-1 drubbing of visiting Harding of Bridgeport on Senior Night, at Fairfield Hills on May 18.

Newtown overcame a pair of four-run deficits to take the lead and then tie the score before falling to Masuk in a wild game that lasted nearly three and a half hours. Masuk took advantage of a pair of errors to open up a 4-0 lead in the second inning.

The Nighthawks answered with two runs in the bottom of the second. Jack Carta led off with a double before Luke Libero brought him home with an infield single. Ryan Schmidt was hit by a pitch and Travis Rekos followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. Newtown evened the score in the third inning. Lucian Place walked, Carta was hit by a pitch, and Pete Eppers singled to load the bases. Libero drew a bases-loaded walk to plate one run before Sean Caron, pinch running for Carta, scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 4-4.

The Nighthawks took the lead in the fourth. Rekos tripled to open the inning and scored on clutch a two-out single by Place, giving Newtown a 5-4 edge. Masuk responded with a five-run fifth inning for a 9-5 lead.

Newtown battled back again in the bottom half of the inning. Eppers reached on an error and advanced to second on a groundout by JT Walsh before Libero singled him home. Schmidt followed with a single that moved Libero to third, and Schmidt advanced to second on the throw. Rekos then delivered an RBI single that scored Libero. Schmidt became caught in a rundown on the same play and scored on an interference call. Chris Moseman then reached on an error to keep the rally alive, and Kieran Garrity capped the comeback with a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 9-9.

The Panthers broke the deadlock in the seventh inning, stringing together four consecutive hits and scoring three runs to secure the 12-9 victory.

Garrity started on the mound for Newtown, allowing six runs — only two earned — on six hits over 4 1/3 innings while striking out six and walking three. Trevor Stott, Jacob Buckley, and Carta pitched in relief. Newtown collected ten hits in the game. Rekos led the offense with three hits and two RBI and Libero added two hits and a team-high three RBI.

"We keep battling. We fight — we're going to fight all the time," Newtown Coach Ian Thoesen said of his team rallying twice after Masuk took big leads.

It was a bizarre final inning with the clock ticking toward 10 pm and word that the High Meadow field lights would shut off at that time. After plating three runs to break the tie and add to its lead, Masuk intentionally ran into two outs and struck out on a pitch outside the strike zone to get back onto the field and, ultimately, close out the game at 9:52 pm. Had the lights gone out while the game was being played it would have to be resumed at the start of the inning with the score reverting back to 9-9, so the Panthers did not take that risk of losing their late lead on account of the lights, Panther Coach Brian Hourigan said. As it turned out, the field was still lit at least several minutes after 10 o'clock, but at least the urgency to complete the game got fans home before, or maybe a little past bed time on this late night at the field.

Lights Out Hitting

It is sometimes said basketball players shoot lights out, so how about baseball players hitting lights out. Following concern about the actual lights potentially going out for a night game, the Nighthawk batters certainly lit up the scoreboards. NHS slugged out a couple of touchdowns worth of runs (plus) in each of its next three games. The Hawks erupted for ten runs in the opening inning and cruised to victory at Bassick.

Rekos started the rally with a single, Moseman walked, and Lucian Place had an RBI single. Carta later walked, and Cam Kullgren reached on an error that brought home another run. Libero followed with a ball put in play that resulted in two more runs scoring on an error.

After Eppers walked to load the bases, Schmidt delivered the biggest hit of the inning, ripping a bases-clearing triple to extend the lead. Stott added an RBI groundout before Rekos collected his second hit of the inning. Moseman doubled, Rekos scored on a wild pitch, and Place capped the frame with an RBI triple as Newtown built a commanding advantage.

The Nighthawks added another run in the second inning when Eppers doubled, Ryan Schmidt walked, and Stott lined an RBI single down the right field line to make it 11-0. Newtown pushed the lead to 12-0 in the third after Carta was hit by a pitch and Libero reached on an error before Schmidt added an RBI single. The Nighthawks closed the scoring in the fifth inning. Sean Caron drew a walk, Oscar Nordt singled, and Brayden Kozek smashed a two-run double off the left-field fence to highlight the frame.

Jacob Buckley earned the win on the mound for Newtown. The left-hander tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit while striking out four. Walsh pitched two innings in relief and allowed one hit while striking out three. Newtown finished with 12 hits; Place, Schmidt, and Rekos each had two hits, and Schmidt drove in a team-high four runs.

The Nighthawks erased an early five-run deficit and powered past the Joel Barlow Falcons in a rescheduled game. Newtown found itself behind 6-1 after the opening inning but responded with steady offense and strong pitching the rest of the way to secure the comeback victory.

The Nighthawks struck first in the top of the first inning when Rekos singled to lead off the game and stole second base. Moseman reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing Rekos to move to third, before Place delivered a sacrifice fly to bring home the game’s first run.

After Barlow's six runs in the bottom of the first, Newtown quickly rallied in the second. Eppers drew a leadoff walk and singles by Schmidt and Walsh loaded the bases before Rekos cleared them with a triple. Moseman later walked, and Kieran Garrity followed with a sacrifice fly to score Rekos. After Place worked a walk, Carta singled home Moseman to even the score at 6-6.

The Nighthawks broke the tie in the fourth inning. Moseman, Garrity, and Place each drew walks to load the bases before Moseman scored on a catcher’s error. Carta then delivered another RBI single to extend the lead to 8-6. Newtown added two more runs in the fifth. Walsh doubled and Rekos singled before Place drove in a pair with a base hit to make it 10-6.

The Nighthawks continued to build their lead in the sixth after Barlow scored a run. Eppers walked and Schmidt singled before Libero moved both runners up with a groundout. Walsh added a sacrifice fly to score Eppers, and Rekos tripled for the second time in the game to plate Schmidt and give Newtown a 12-7 lead.

Newtown capped the scoring with three runs in the seventh inning. Kullgren singled and Carta doubled for his third hit of the day before Schmidt walked to load the bases. Libero followed with a two-run single, and Schmidt later scored on a catcher’s error after a wild pitch advanced the runners.

Stott earned the win for the Nighthawks, allowing two runs — one earned — on six hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight and walking five. Newtown finished with 14 hits. Rekos, Walsh, Carta, and Schmidt each recorded multiple hits, and Rekos paced the offense with four RBI on four hits. Place drove in three runs, and Carta and Libero each added two RBI. Walsh and Garrity also contributed RBI.

The Nighthawks also showed patience at the plate, drawing nine walks. Place, Eppers, and Moseman each collected two free passes. Rekos, Libero, and Nordt each stole a base.

Newtown hosted Harding for its Senior Night game at Fairfield Hills on May 18 and won 19-1. Seniors recognized were: Eppers: two hits, two RBI; Brayden Kozek: one hit, two RBI; Moseman: one hit, four runs scored; Place: three hits, one RBI, three runs scored; Walsh: two hits, two RBI; Carta (captain): two hits, one RBI, four runs scored; Jamie Piccuillo (captain): one hit, one RBI; Garrity (captain): one RBI, two runs scored; Rekos (captain): three hits, one RBI, three runs scored. Carta, Walsh, and Piccuillo all pitched. Collectively, they compiled 11 strikeouts, allowed two hits, two walks, and one unearned run. Managers Teddy Moxham and Jake Roszman were also recognized.

Newtown closed out the regular season with a home game against Nonnewaug at Fairfield Hills on May 19, the team's fifth game in seven days. Newtown dropped a 4-2 decision despite out-hitting the Chiefs 7-4. Kullgren and Schmidt paced the offense with two hits apiece and each drove in a run, and Rekos, Carta, and Libero added one hit each.

NHS earned the No 4 seed and will host No 5 Immaculate of Danbury in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday, May 22 at 4:30 pm.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.