Date: Fri 09-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Quick Words:

Byrne-DeCarlo-Strikeout

Full Text:

Sam Byrne Snaps 13-Year-Old NHS Strikeout Record

Set In 1984 By Kim DeCarlo

B Y K IM J. H ARMON

Senior pitcher Sam Byrne was within two strikeouts of breaking a Newtown High

School record that stood since 1984 and all she was thinking about was the

game.

It was a big game - a South-West Conference battle with Jonathan Law of

Milford. A win would add further credence, further legitimacy, to the

Nighthawks' early season success.

All Sam needed was two strikeouts to get to 512 and eclipse the mark of 511

set by Kim DeCarlo from 1981 to 1984 and all she thought about was the batter

. . . the game . . . getting the win.

The first batter went down.

Then the second - Jessica Graham - followed.

And just like that, the record was hers, but it took a heartbeat - right about

the moment her catcher raised her hands and the rest of her teammates started

streaming towards her - to really dawn on her.

"I was more nervous about it on Wednesday," said Sam, now 17, "but I didn't

think about it on Thursday because it was such a big game. When I got the

strikeout and everybody got excited, then I got excited."

Sam did have a shot to break the record the day before, against Stratford, and

even though she was mowing batters down like blades of grass, she was doomed

because the 'Hawks scored 21 runs and forced the stoppage of play after five

innings. Sam fanned nine batters, six in the first two innings, while throwing

her second career perfect game and fourth career no hitter.

After Jonathan Law - a loss, coming off a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of

the sixth - and wins over Foran, Pomperaug and Immaculate, Sam has 81

strikeouts in 1997 and now 524 for her career. She also boasts an 42-27 career

record and 2.14 career ERA.

Her numbers have always been good, but not as good as they have been this

year. A 8-3 record with 1.73 ERA, 81 strikeouts in 73 innings, and a .179

batting average for teams hitting against her, speaks volumes about that.

"Without a doubt," said head coach Bob Zito. "Her pitch selection is so much

better and her control - especially with her drop - is so much better."

Sam admitted, "I think this is (the best I've been). This (past) summer really

helped a lot. In the past, our team hasn't been that good and that can kind of

bring you down. This summer the team was good and it really helped."

DeCarlo Set The Mark

Kim DeCarlo was the first pitcher to dominate at Newtown High School and for

four years she was one of the best in the now defunct Western Connecticut

Conference.

She may have also been the first to be the exclusive starter for a full,

four-year career and, under coach Bob Sveda, and was so dominant in her era

that she was able to lead Newtown to three WCC championship appearances in her

career and helped Newtown win one title in 1982.

As a freshman, DeCarlo was 12-7 and tossed the first no-hitter of her career

in a 9-0 win over New Milford in which she needed to strike out just two

batters. That year - after a 6-2 decision over Masuk that made up for a 15-5

thrashing at the hands of the Pantherettes earlier in the year - DeCarlo and

the then Lady Indians went to the WCC championship game where they lost to

Immaculate on a squeeze play.

DeCarlo grew as a pitcher in a short period of time. As a sophomore, she led

the team to a 15-5 record and 8-2 victory over Immaculate in the WCC

championship game which gave coach Bob Sveda his fourth title in seven years.

DeCarlo finished 14-3 and threw two no-hitters in a six-day span.

As a junior, DeCarlo finished 14-5 and despite the fine mark, the Lady Indians

missed a shot at the WCC championship and then were eliminated by Notre Dame

in the state tournament.

A disappointing finish.

As a senior, DeCarlo helped lead the Lady Indians to an 18-3 mark. Two of

those losses, though, were to the Lady Bobcats of Brookfield, the second being

a 12-6 decision in the WCC title game.

She finished her career with 511 strikeouts . . . a mark that is now only

second-best in school history. And Sam Byrne's record - still climbing - has

the potential of lasting as long as DeCarlo's.

Or longer.

"When I talk to my dad about (the record)," said Sam, who plans on attending -

and pitching at - Southern Connecticut State University next year, "he tells

me that, too, but it really hasn't hit me yet."