Hawks Softball Team  Second In Fastpitch Tourney

The Newtown Hawks 12U Softball team finished second in a field of 13 teams playing for the Fairfield County Fastpitch Softball League Championship in Southbury during the weekend of July 24-25.

After beating the Stamford Stars in the first game of pool play, the Hawks stumbled and lost to the Ridgefield Rebels before getting back on stride against the Stamford Blues team and completing pool play 2-1 for a seventh-place seed going into the single elimination portion of the tournament on Sunday.

Against Stamford Stars, the offense was led by Katie Laaksonen and Sydney DiMartino, each of whom had two hits and a run batted in. Liz Townsend had an RBI double and Caitlyn Linden and Lauren Wilcox contributed RBI singles in a 10-8 win. Wilcox struck out 11 over six innings of work.

In the loss to the Rebels, the offense was led by Townsend with three doubles and three RBI, but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels won the game 8-4.

The last game of pool play saw the Newtown bats come alive again as they mercy-ruled the Stamford Stars by 11-2  in six innings. Townsend’s bat stayed hot with two hits and two RBI. Other contributors were Linden with two hits and an RBI, Laaksonen with a double and two RBI, Wilcox with two hits, Sarah Spillane and Katie Reilly with RBI sacrifices, and Kelly Merrick with a single. The team showed some bunting ability with DiMartino putting down two basehits and Shannon Lynch and Haley Ryan each adding another. Wilcox again took the mound and compiled eight strikeouts.

In the first game of elimination on Sunday morning, the Hawks faced the Trumbull Seahawks and came away with a hard-fought 2-1 victory. The lone runs were scored with great base running by Linden after singling to lead off the second inning and by Wilcox in the top of the seventh with another leadoff single partnered with aggressive base running. The Hawks played stellar defense with six strikeouts by Wilcox and 14 infield putouts.

The win gave Newtown a rematch against the Stamford Stars. Stamford jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, but the Hawks battled back, keeping the game close all the way to an 8-6 victory, despite being down to nine players. With the game tied 6-6 after six innings, the Hawks came to bat in the top of the seventh. A walk to Reilly followed by a Spillane single set up DiMartino’s run-scoring sacrifice fly to right field. Lynch then singled home Spillane and the Hawks took the field to protect the two-run lead.  Wilcox answered by striking out the side for the victory.

The win earned the Hawks a berth in the championship game against the Darien Tidal Wave who entered the elimination round as the No. 1 seed, received a bye and beat the Fairfield Lights to advance.  Ryan scored the Hawks’ first run in the second after bunting for a base hit. In the third, the Hawks went up 3-2 after Wilcox walked and scored on Laaksonen’s double and Ryan stepped to the plate and knocked in Laaksonen with a hard hit single up the middle. With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Darien team strung together six hits to take a four-run lead. The Hawks went to bat in the top of the seventh and Wilcox and Laaksonen hit linedrive singles to get on base. But, the team fell short and lost the game 7-3.

During the tournament, the battery of Wilcox and Laaksonen put up 47 strikeouts over 31 innings. The team’s final tournament of the season is the Central Valley Fastpitch League Tournament (CVFL) in Southington, July 30 through August 1.

The Hawks thank their sponsors: Papa Al’s, Bill Hart Mortgage Lender, Hawleyville Wines, Diamond Avenue Self Storage, Burgerittoville, Freedom Fence, Dina and Associates, wubbaworld.com, Newtown Chiropractic Drs Richard and Aaron Coopersmith, Home Quest, Dr Baum, The One-Eyed Pig, and My Place Restaurant.