Sluggers Hopeful Success Carries Over Into Playoffs

By ANDY HUTCHISON

Published: May 18, 2012 12:00 am

By Andy Hutchison

There was plenty of winning-way inspired goofing around and laughing inside the home teamâs dugout on May 9. Itâs easy to let loose and be happy when wins are piling up. Newtown High Schoolâs baseball team had just finished off a 3-0 shutout of Masuk of Monroe, the teamâs 11th win of the campaign. It would end up being the first of three consecutive shutouts heading into Wednesdayâs scheduled clash with New Milford (after The Bee sports section went to press).

Newtown went on to blank Immaculate of Danbury 14-0 on May 11, then toppled Stratford 8-0 on Monday to improve to 13-5 overall (9-3 in the South-West Conference) with two games to play before the SWC playoffs get underway.

If itâs true what they say about pitching and defense being the recipe for success on the diamonds, the Nighthawks are in great shape. They have had seven shutout wins this year. The hitting has been a big part of the success as well. Newtown has outscored the opposition a collective 114-54, and has posted double-digit scoring efforts four times.

Of course, even when the Hawks havenât won, the players have been in good spirits, senior captain David Lucia says. âItâs a great time,â he said. âEverybody loves each other. We have fun no matter what.â

The winning ways certainly donât hurt.

Mike Davis pitched a complete game four-hitter with six strikeouts in the win over Masuk. Evan Noonan, Justin DeVellis, and Rich Sandler all drove in runs.

Against Immaculate, four was the magic number as the Hawks scored four runs in three consecutive innings â the third, fourth, and fifth. Brandon Marks (four innings) and Jon Hull (three frames) combined on a three-hitter. Sandler and DeVellis both drove in two runs. Davis collected three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Kyle Wilcox had a pair of two-baggers. Andy Kelley also had two hits and two runs scored.

In the win over Stratford, the Hawks plated five in the second inning and never looked back. Wilcox tossed six shutout frames of three-hit ball. Mike Koch closed out the win with a hitless seventh. Wilcox struck out eight batters and Koch fanned two.

DeVellis, Allwein, and Wilcox all had two hits, and Allwein knocked in two runs. Chris Tenney and Allwein both scored two runs. Lucia, Davis, and Noonan all doubled in the win.

âAll the way around, weâve been getting a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys,â Newtown Coach Matt Memoli said.

The Nighthawks, after the New Milford game, were scheduled to close out the regular season against Pomperaug of Southbury, one of just two conference teams to defeat the Hawks this spring, on Thursday.

Newtown has also lost to SWC rival Bunnell of Stratford and nonconference foe Staples of Westport out of the FCIAC.

âIf we can find a way to win games where the other team is just as talented as us, thatâs going to be special for us in the conference [playoffs] and in the [state playoffs],â Memoli said.

The postseason gets underway with SWC quarterfinals on Monday, May 21. With a win, the Nighthawks will play in the May 22 semifinals for the right to compete in the May 24 championship game before the state tourney gets going.

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My darling, You were the best GRANDmother a child could ask for. You created so many great memories & traditions that I have passed down to your Great grandchildren. You brought joy into every room you stepped into. Your laughter, singing, whistling and the signature Rockettes high kicks, is something I will always hold in my heart. There was something about walking into your home and being greeted by your beautiful face. *kiss on each check* followed by HELLOOOOOO Darling! The classical music playing softly in the background and your love and comfort made your home, a safe space. Somewhere, where love knew no boundaries. It was so much more than a home. I aim for the same in my home, and play the classic music 24/7, but it will never be the same. I pray I can be 1/4 of GRAND, you put in GRANDmother. You were so resilient. You found the positive in every situation. I look up to you so much. I remember begging Mom and Dad for years to change my name to “Carmen”. They didn’t officially change my name, but eventually started calling me “Carmenita” as I am a little you. THE HONOR. You were there for me, no matter the day or hour. You were always the one who would talk me through whatever hard situation I was going through. When my baby passed away, I refused to talk to anyone for 3 weeks. Except for you. You said to me “Better days are coming, babes. There’s always a rainbow after the storm”. Of course, you were right, because you are GRAND. I picture you in heaven dancing and laughing with him. Uncle Jay playing the money game with him. To know you are with your children again & with mine does bring me some joy. Twas the night before Christmas & New Year’s Eve, will never be the same. Another tradition you created. A memory that will last forever. Not just with me, but for generations to come. It may not be the same, but we won’t let it die. It will live on, in your name. To be your first GRANDchild was a blessing. I could write an entire book about you & all the amazing things about you. Even though we were robbed of time together & it makes me angry, I know I will see you again. This isn’t a goodbye, but a “see you later”. Just like we ended every phone call. Ciao, darling. I love you. MWAH MWAH! Love your GRANDchild, Kimberly aka Carmenita

Carmen Accashian

Unfortunately, I think this is likely to get worse, not better... Based on both public comments and private conversations, I’m increasingly concerned that our newly elected First Selectman intends not just to install these cameras, but to expand their use for full-blown enforcement and fines. Try getting a straight answer out of him about the long-term plan and you quickly realize how vague the responses become. Tyler is absolutely right to raise the privacy issue. These systems don’t just “catch speeders” — they quietly build a database of where we drive, when we drive, and who is in our vehicles. Once that infrastructure is in place, it becomes very easy to justify expanding its scope: more cameras, more locations, more uses, and eventually more automated enforcement. If Newtown is going down this road, residents deserve clear, written answers to some basic questions before anything is expanded: What limits will be placed on how and where cameras are used? Will footage and plate data be used only for speed enforcement, or for other investigations too? How long will data be stored, and who can access it? What safeguards will prevent vendors and individuals from abusing this information? Without firm, enforceable rules in place, “just a few cameras to slow traffic” can turn into something very different over time. I support safe roads — but not at the cost of unchecked surveillance and vague promises from our leaders. You try getting straight answers out of our First Selectman, myself and others have not been able to...

Discusses Traffic Cameras

I had to hold back a laugh at the idea that 7:30 pm is apparently such a late-night hardship that we’re already talking about moving meetings earlier. For a lot of residents, 7:30 is the earliest they can realistically get to Town Hall after work, family obligations, and the rest of real life. Shifting BOS meetings to 7:00 might make the calendar look tidier for those in the building, but it makes participation harder for the people who pay for the building. If the new First Selectman’s week is already booked solid and evening meetings feel like a strain, that’s not a reason to move the goalposts on public access—it's a reminder that the job is supposed to be demanding. Public service means accommodating the public, even when it’s inconvenient.

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Real people were just in a frightening car accident. To immediately frame their misfortune as rhetorical ammunition against new housing — affordable housing included — feels less like concern for “health and safety” and more like opportunistically using a scary moment to support a pre-existing position. If we’re going to debate this proposal, we should do it honestly: with data on traffic volume, accident history, engineering recommendations, and the town’s housing needs, not by seizing on a single crash as proof that 300 apartments are inherently unsafe. Newtown deserves a thoughtful, fact-based conversation about growth, safety, and affordability — one that doesn’t turn other people’s bad day into a political talking point.

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To add context that did not occur at the meeting would not be an accurate representation of the meeting and would, in fact, be editorializing to shape public opinion. The editorial staff here do not consider ourselves to be final arbiters of what the truth is (and if we did, it would make us partisan and biased), and we would need to provide a source for any dissenting information (sourcing all information in an article is literally Journalism 101). There were no such sources present at the meeting in question, and so it would not be appropriate to include such information in an article about the meeting. Dissenting voices appear in meeting stories when there were active participants with dissenting opinions, such as during public participation or the words of a council member who disagreed. It should be noted that the Interfaith Council, like many local boards and commissions, conduct meetings that are open to the public. This was not an article on the actions of the Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants, or on immigrants, or on ICE's actions in the community, where including other voices or perspectives would be appropriate. We appreciate your opinion, but we stand by our meeting coverage and consider this discussion closed.

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Sluggers Hopeful Success Carries Over Into Playoffs

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