NHS Softball Confident As Playoffs Play Out

By Andy Hutchison

If the results of the regular season and Tuesday’s South-West Conference playoff opener are any indication, Newtown High School’s softball team stands to be a force to watch for in this year’s playoffs.

Newtown boasts a 16-4 overall regular season record and, as the SWC tourney’s No. 2 seed, crushed No. 7 Brookfield 8-0 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round game at home. The Nighthawks advanced to play the winner of No. 3 Lauralton Hall vs No. 6 New Milford on Thursday (after The Bee went to press).

Newtown split a pair of games with Hall in the regular season and beat New Milford twice. With a win in Thursday’s semifinals, the Nighthawks would advance to Saturday’s conference championship game, likely against top-seeded Masuk.

A date with Masuk would mean a rematch with Rachele Fico, a record-setter who is commonly referred to as the best pitcher around this season. Fico threw a perfect game during the Hawks’ regular-season finale May 15, and it marked Fico’s fifth flawless game in a row. Whether or not Newtown and Masuk both reach the conference’s pinnacle game, the Hawks could still see Fico again in the Class LL State Tournament. 

The Nighthawks have had some offensive success against the Louisiana State University-bound athlete who is only a junior, but Fico posses a challenge most teams aren’t accustomed to seeing.

“She’s definitely the best pitcher we have seen,” Newtown junior Melissa Fracker said.

Even so, the Hawks don’t lack confidence despite the prospect of facing Fico’s 60-plus mile an hour pitch. NHS coach Bob Guererra said her tosses are doubly difficult to hit because of the speed and movement she puts on the ball.

“She’s a good pitcher. I would take nothing away from her but we’ve all seen her a million times so hopefully we can chip away at her,” Fracker said.

As Gurerra pointed out, this past Thursday marked the first time the Hawks had seen Fico in close to a year. The recent reorientation could bode well for a hard-hitting Nighthawks team if they face Fico again this spring.

Guererra said he tells his players: “You’ve got to be excited about the challenge of hitting against that girl.”

The Nighthawks have hit the ball well throughout most of the spring, led by Katie Bowen who boasted a .478 batting average through the 20 regular season games; Nora Lynn Shimko who hit .400, and Jenna Legros (.390).

The pitching has been strong too, with Bowen, Legros and Stacy Broughton combining to allow less than a run per game.

“I honestly feel we’re as good as anybody in the state because we’ve faced the best,” said Guererra, pointing out that the Hawks narrowly lost to Trumbull, 2-1, which, along with Masuk, are the top two Class LL teams.

The Hawks played a solid all-around game in the playoff opener. Bowen struck out nine batters in earning the shutout and helped her own cause with a pair of runs batted in. Kelly Tenney and Joanna also knocked in two runs apiece and Legros and Fracker also knocked in runs.

NHS hopes the success continues deep into postseason..

“We’re a great defensive team and a great offensive team. There aren’t many flaws so we can go all the way,” sophomore catcher Ashley Kuligowski said. “As our coach always says ‘we have so much potential.’”