NHS Softball Team Heads Toward Postseason

By Andy Hutchison

With their state tournament ticket punched with eight wins under their belts, Newtown High School’s softball team was jockeying for South-West Conference tournament playoff positioning as the regular season closed out this week.

The Nighthawks, among four teams vying for the final three conference playoff seeds, were scheduled to play their final game which counts toward the SWC standings on Wednesday (after The Bee sports section went to press), against one of those other three playoff-hungry teams, New Milford.

Newtown unofficially but apparently clinched at least the eighth seed, members of the coaching staff said on Tuesday, and could possibly earn the seventh or even sixth spot as the team owns tiebreakers over Bunnell of Stratford and Pomperaug of Southbury, the other squads hoping to make the tourney.

Newtown, on May 9, lost a 5-4 nail-biter to Masuk of Monroe in a nonconference game (the Hawks had fallen 13-0 to Masuk in their SWC meeting early in the year). On May 11, the Nighthawks dropped a 14-3 decision to Lauralton Hall of Milford in another SWC game. The Hawks then fell behind 4-0 in the first inning to visiting Stratford on Monday, but rallied for a six spot in their half of the first en route to a 16-4 triumph on Monday.

With that win, which followed not long after a seven-game winning streak that was ended by Masuk, the Hawks carried a 10-8 overall record (9-5 SWC mark) into the final two games of the campaign. After the New Milford game, the Hawks and Lauralton were slated to meet on Thursday in a nonconference game that counts only toward the state standings.

In the rematch with Masuk, the Hawks proved how far they’ve come since starting the season with just one win in their first six games, including that drubbing at the hands of Masuk back on April 11. This time around, Newtown did fall behind 4-0, but battled back to within 4-3 in a three-run fourth inning. Nora Murphy smacked a two-run double and Mady Hauck added an RBI single. Masuk answered with one run in the fifth, and the game came down to the final at bat.

Newtown got back to within a run in the top of the seventh and final inning when Jess Gibbons hit an run-producing double. NHS had runners at second and third with two outs, but couldn’t push across the tying run.

Against Lauralton, the Nighthawks fell behind early. Lauralton put up eight runs in the second inning and never looked back. Gibbons, Dani Shine and Murphy all drove in runs in the defeat. Gibbons and Emily Woznick both had two hits.

After spotting Stratford four early runs, Newtown clamped down and turned the game around quickly by plating six runs in the bottom of the first inning at Treadwell Park. Woznick and Shine had sacrifice fly balls to pull NHS to within 4-2. Karlie Kuligowski had an RBI single, Murphy belted a two-run home run, and after Hauck got a base hit, Macy Holdcraft singled home the final run of the inning. Newtown continued to pile on the runs in the ensuing innings and ended the game in the fifth with a 12-run mercy-rule triumph.

Gibbons belted her sixth and seventh homers of the season to highlight a four-RBI performance. Shine had two hits and a two RBI, and Murphy finished with three hits. Kayla O’Grady had a pair of hits, including a triple, and scored three runs. Hauck finished the game 2-for-3 and Holdcraft had two hits and two runs batted in. Newtown pitcher Gillian Galante earned her tenth win with a six strikeout performance.

The SWC playoffs are scheduled to begin with quarterfinal round action on May 22.