A 4-1 win over Stamford will send the Newtown Hawks 10-and-under travel softball team to the New England Regional tournament in New Hampshire this weekend.

The Hawks finished second in the Babe Ruth Softball state tournament at Liberty Field last weekend and after a tough 2-1 loss to Norwalk to open play, the locals rallied back with a 10-0 win over Hamden, an 8-1 win over Cheshire and the crucial 4-1 win over Stamford.

The Hawks used outstanding pitching and solid defense to hold opposing teams to a combined eight runs over their five tournament games.

“Our pitching has been our strength all year and it was no different this weekend,” said Newtown head coach Mark Macchiarulo.

In the opening round game Karlie Kuligowski went five innings, giving up only two runs but suffered the tough 2-1 loss to Norwalk. A triple by Morgan Macchiarulo pushed across Mikayla Kuligowski for Newtown’s only run of the game.

“Karlie was so tough in game one,” said coach Macchiarulo. “Whenever she needed a big pitch she made one. I just wish we could have provided her with more run support.”

Mikayla Kuligowki led the offense, going 3-for-3 at the plate.

In the losers bracket, Newtown squared off with Hamden and jumped out early on consecutive hits by Mikayla Kuligowski, Karlie Kuligowski and Danielle Shine to take a 1-0 lead in the first. With Gillian Galante on the mound handcuffing Hamden’s batters, Newtown continued to awaken its offense. In the second inning, Galante, Abi Kuligowski, and Katie Mossbarger loaded the bases and thus Shannon Mullins’ single and Kayla O’Grady’s double sent three over the plate.

In the third inning hits by Galante, Abi Kuligowski, and Kayla O’Grady drove in runs to extend Newtown’s lead to 7-0. While Galante cruised on the mound, Aimee Alexander and Mullins drove in Newtown’s final runs en route to a convincing 10-0 win.

“The girls needed a big offensive win like this,” said assistant coach Frank Galante. “It’s good to see them rebound so quickly and so aggressively after such a tough loss to Norwalk.”

The offense and strong pitching continued in game four, an 8-1 win over Cheshire. Once again Karlie Kuligowski and Galante handled the pitching duties, giving up just a single run in six innings. Offensively Mossbarger, Kathryn Kerins and Emily Davis led the charge with two hits apiece and four of Newtown’s eight RBI.

“This was the kind of win we like to see,” said assistant coach Mark Kuligowski. “It was a complete team win with everyone in the lineup hitting, running the bases aggressively, and playing strong defense.”

The win versus Cheshire set the stage for the Hawks most critical match-up of the tournament, a battle with perennial powerhouse Stamford. A win assured Newtown of a trip to the Regional Tournament, and a loss would send then home.

“Stamford is always good,” said coach Macchiarulo. “They have a big program with roughly three times as many girls playing softball as we do here in Newtown so we knew we would have to play at the top of our game to win.”

Newtown and Stamford played two tough scoreless innings before the locals pulled ahead, scoring two runs in the top half of the third inning when consecutive singles by Karlie Kuligowski and Shine were followed by a two-RBI single by Emily Woznick.

“We needed to get out on top against this team,” said coach Macchiarulo. “Emily Woznick delivered a clutch two-out single that made a big difference for our team.”

No one knew it at the time, but that clutch single by Woznick would turn out to be the game-winning hit for the Hawks.

Newtown pitcher Morgan Macchiarulo made the runs hold up by striking out 14 batters over six innings.

“I told Morgan before she went out in the first the inning that we needed her to send a clear message to the Stamford hitters,” said coach Macchiarulo. “The message, very simply, was that today was not going to be an easy day.”

The Hawks held onto a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning when Abi Kuligowski worked out a walk and later scored on an RBI double by O’Grady.

“Abi’s run was critical in that it gave us a little breathing room,” the coach added. “She is our most patient hitter, knows the strike zone better than anyone on the team, and is very comfortable taking pitchers deep in the count.”

One additional insurance run later and the Hawks had a 4-1 win and a guaranteed trip to New Hampshire.