By Kim J. Harmon

Thanks to more than a week of rain earlier in the month, there has been a flurry – no, make that a blizzard – of activity as fought hard to wrap up the regular season before the post-season tournaments and championships began this week.

It was especially difficult for both the Newtown High School baseball and softball teams, which had to squeeze in four games in a week before commencing with the SWC quarterfinals on Tuesday. The softball team, in fact, wrapped up the regular season on Monday against Lauralton Hall and then had to face Hall again the following day in the SWC tournament (see related story).

But the regular season is all done, kaput, finis, and here is how it went …

GIRLS LACROSSE

Newtown 18, Notre Dame 1

Newtown 16, Brookfield 15

What a way to close out the regular season.

Having lost out on its bid for an undefeated season about 11 days before, the Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team solidified its No. 1 ranking – and, at the same time, made a statement – with a thrilling, 16-15, win over Brookfield at Blue & Gold Stadium last Saturday night.

The Lady Nighthawks fell to New Fairfield, 12-11, back on May 9 and last Saturday – on Senior Night – were hosting one of only two teams that had defeated the Lady Rebels this year. As one would expect, it was amazingly frantic but a five-goal effort by Lauren Ciccomoscolo and a four-goal effort by Karli Beitel helped lift the ‘Hawks to the win.

Rachel Maley scored two goals and assisted on two others while Jen Greenwood notched a goal and an assist. Courtney Gleason scored and Moira Collier had an assist while goaltender Kerrie Canavan made six saves in the cage. Erica Vacaro, Rachel Eastman and University of Connecticut recruit Carly Curran sparkled on defense.

Those efforts helped offset four-goal games by Ashley Prizio and Alex Grainges.

With the win, the ‘Hawks improved to 14-1 overall. According to laxpower.com, the locals are ranked eighth in the state and 67th in New England and were slated to host an SWC semi-final game on Thursday at Blue & Gold Stadium.

Newtown 18, Notre Dame 1

GOALS: Newtown – Karli Beitel 3, Kim Solheim 3, Courtney Gleason 3, Rachel Maley 2, Lauren Ciccomoscolo 2, Betsy Vendel 2, Jen Greenwood, Katie Sudby, Lauren Clark; Notre Dame – Capelli. ASSISTS: Newtown – Katie McNulty 2, Beitel, Maley, Greenwood, Gleason, Moira Collier. SAVES: Newtown – Kerrie Canavan 4; Notre Dame – Schele 4.

 

Newtown 16, Brookfield 15

GOALS: Newtown – Lauren Ciccomoscolo 5, Karli Beitel 4, Rachel Maley 2, Katie Sudby 2, Jen Greenwood, Courtney Gleason; Brookfield – Ashley Prizio 4, Alex Grainges 4, Marcy Colurich 3, Becca Rodgers 2, Ali Trever, Laura Kruczkiewicz. ASSISTS: Newtown – Maley 2, Greenwood, Moira Collier; Brookfield – Gabby Wartman 2, Colurich, Trever, Grainges. SAVES: Newtown – Kerrie Canavan 6; Brookfield – Lexi DeStefano 6.

BASEBALL

Stratford 7, Newtown 3

Masuk 7, Newtown 2

Newtown 13, Brookfield 0

Newtown 4, Joel Barlow 3

The Newtown High School baseball team needed a win in the worst way and with a season-ending doubleheader last Saturday against Brookfield and Joel Barlow, the opportunity certainly was there.

After dropping a 5-4 decision to Wilton on May 5, the ‘Hawks found themselves stuck in a dismal two-week period that saw them suffer five consecutive losses and with the South-West Conference tournament looming the locals needed a way to turn things around.

A 13-0 win over Brookfield in the first game of the doubleheader and a 4-3 win over Joel Barlow in the nightcap certainly helped, but the effects were not long-lasting as the ‘Hawks fell, 7-1, to Stratford in the SWC quarterfinals on Tuesday (see related story).

But on Saturday, the locals had it going. Junior Dan Murdoch spun a one-hit shutout, walking one and striking out eight as Steve Vichiola (double, two RBI), Joe DeVellis (double, RBI), Seth Hull (triple, two RBI), Brian Cullinan (two RBI), Pete Oggeri (RBI), Brian Shimko (RBI) and Nick Urso (RBI) powered the offense.

Things were considerably tighter in the nightcap as senior Mike Chapin took to the hill, but Chapin combined with Jesse Furphy on a five-hitter with Chapin picking up his first win of the year and Furphy nailing down the save. Vichiola banged out a pair of doubles and Alex Dolan tripled while Mike Tibbetts, Vichiola and Chapin all drove in runs.

The sweep helped the ‘Hawks forget about the 7-2 loss to Masuk and 7-3 loss to Stratford suffered just a couple of days before and improved the locals’ record to 13-7 overall, 9-5 in the SWC.

Stratford 7, Newtown 3

BATTERIES: Newtown – Ryan McGrath and Pete Oggeri; Stratford – Mike Martonak and John Sulzicki. WP: Martonak (6-0). LP: McGrath (1-1).

 

Masuk 7, Newtown 2

BATTERIES: Masuk – Ted Hurvul, Nick Potolicchio (10) and Joe Klein; Newtown – Steve Marks and Pete Oggeri. WP: Hurvul (8-0). LP: Marks (4-3). SO: Hurvul 11, Marks 6. BB: Hurvul 5, Marks 4. 2B: Alex Magoulas (N). RBI: Masuk – Jason Appleby 2, Roberto Muniz, Mike Cosmedy, Paul Friedman, Vin DeRosa; Newtown – Oggeri.

 

Newtown 13, Brookfield 0

BATTERIES: Brookfield – Brett Balzi, Osgood (4), Wes Yusko (6) and Greg Patella; Newtown – Alex Magoulas and Seth Hull. WP: Magoulas (N). LP: Balzi (B). SO: Magoulas 6. BB: Balzi 3, Magoulas. 2B: Steve Vichiola (N), Joe Devellis (N). 3B: Hull (N). RBI: Newtown – Brian Cullinan 2, Hull 2, Vichiola 2, DeVellis, Pete Oggeri, Brian Shimko, Nick Urso.

 

Newtown 4, Joel Barlow 3

BATTERIES: Joel Barlow – Jake Raiff, Seth Rosenberg (6) and Greg Colby; Newtown – Mike Chapin, Jessie Furphy (6) and Pete Oggeri. WP: Chapin (1-0). LP: Raiff (0-3). SO: Chapin 4, Raiff 2. BB: Chapin 4, Raiff 2, Furphy. 2B: Steve Vichiola (N) 2. 3B: Alex Dolan. RBI: Joel Barlow – Matt Lisi; Newtown – Mike Tibbetts, Vichiola, Chapin.

SOFTBALL

Stratford 2, Newtown 1

Masuk 4, Newtown 1

Brookfield 3, Newtown 1

Lauralton Hall 19, Newtown 4

Three great pitching efforts – two by freshman Jenna Legros – went by the wayside and the Newtown High School softball team closed out the regular season on a five-game losing streak.

Legros fired a four-hitter and whiffed 12 batters, but dropped a 2-1 decision to Stratford last week. Then a few days later she whiffed 12 more batters and dueled Ashley Castellano of Brookfield for 14 innings before finally falling, 3-1. And sandwiched in between those games, Stacy Broughton battled freshman phenom Rachele Fico before finally falling, 4-1, when Masuk scored three runs in the top of the seventh.

The only incongruity was a befuddling 19-4 loss to Lauralton Hall in the season finale on Monday afternoon.

That five-game losing streak dropped the ‘Hawks to 10-10 overall, 9-7 in the South-West Conference, saddling them with a sixth seed and – just a day later – a return engagement with Lauralton Hall. That one, however, went quite differently (see related story).

Fico and Castellano are two of the top pitchers in the SWC and put on quite a show at Newtown High, but Broughton and Legros did their best to match them pitch-for-pitch before their luck finally ran out.

Fico – who has nailed down 10 no-hitters, fanned more than 300 batters, and allowed about one hit for every 10 innings of work – had a little trouble with Newtown batters despite striking out 20 on the afternoon. In the bottom of the first, Melissa Fracker belted a long fly ball that the Masuk leftfielder was unable to track down and in the bottom of the sixth Katie Schmidt lashed a double down the leftfield line to break up the no-hit bid.

But the ‘Hawks could only push across one run, unearned though it was, in the third inning when Legros reached on an error, took second on a sacrifice by Nora Lynn Shimko and then third on passed ball before scoring on a groundout by Fracker. That run was almost good enough as Broughton scattered four hits through the first six innings, allowing only a run-scoring double in the second.

A triple in the top of the seventh broke the game open for the Lady Panthers.

Castellano was equally dominating last Saturday in a 14-inning affair that took nearly three-and-a-half hours to finish. That’s because Legros matched Castellano pitch for pitch, working herself out of a few tight jams in the extra frames to give her team a chance to scratch across the winning run.

But it never came … not for Newtown, at least. The Lady Bobcats took advantage of some questionable defensive decisions in the top of the 14th inning, scoring twice to escape with the 3-1 win.

And two days later, the ‘Hawks closed out the regular season with a 19-4 Senior Day loss to Lauralton Hall as Broughton was hit pretty hard by the Crusaders and the defense was a bit sloppy.

Stratford 2, Newtown 1

BATTERIES: Newtown – Jenna Legros and Ashley Ferris; Stratford – Potter and Vena. WP: Potter. LP: Legros. SO: Potter 15, Legros 12. BB: Potter 6, Legros 2. 3B: Ferris (N). RBI: Stratford – Herman; Newtown – Ferris.

 

Masuk 4, Newtown 1

BATTERIES: Masuk – Rachele Fico and Caitlin Vicarri; Newtown – Stacy Broughton and Ashley Ferris. WP: Fico (19-0). LP: Broughton. SO: Fico 20, Broughton 2. BB: Broughton 4. 2B: Karen Borrs (M), Katie Schmidt (N). 3B: Alyssa Pagano (M). RBI: Masuk – Pagano 2, Borrs, Haley Dorne; Newtown – Melissa Fracker.

 

Brookfield 3, Newtown 1

BATTERIES: Brookfield – Ashley Castellano and Caitlin Smith; Newtown – Jenna Legros and Ashley Ferris. WP: Castellano. LP: Legros. SO: Castellano 17, Legros 12. BB: Legros 4. 2B: Jonna Barry (N). RBI: Brookfield – Smith.

BOYS LACROSSE

Brookfield 13, Newtown 5

Newtown 7, Notre Dame 4

Brien McMahon 13, Newtown 0

With one chance to keep its season alive – and a few days after being hammered by Brookfield – the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team defeated Notre Dame, 7-4, to earn the sixth seed in the South-West Conference tournament.

Grant Speer scored four times and Travis Speer scored twice as the Nighthawks grabbed the win to improve to 6-9 overall, 6-3 in the SWC. Kevin Regan also scored while Will Mahony registered a pair of assists and Zach D’Agostino notched one.

Drew Harmata stopped eight shots in the cage.

It was a much better effort than the one the ‘Hawks turned in against Brookfield the day before. The Bobcats rolled to the win behind a four-goal effort by Zach Isaacs and two-goal efforts by Justin Holmes and Sean Tarrant. Grant Speer powered the ‘Hawks with three goals while Mahony and Collin Babbage added solo goals.

One of the best efforts of the season, oddly enough, came in a 11-0 loss to Brien McMahon in the season finale Monday night at Blue & Gold Stadium. Division I Brien McMahon is ranked fourth in the state and 10th in New England and has scored 184 goals, but was held somewhat in check by a solid Newtown defensive effort.

Brookfield 13, Newtown 5

GOALS: Newtown – Grant Speer 3, Will Mahony, Collin Babbage; Brookfield – Zach Isaacs 4, Justin Holmes 2, Sean Tarrant 2, Greg Moro, Billy Magin, Colin Fitzgerald, Joe Del Visco, Scott Lutrus. ASSISTS: Brookfield – Isaacs, Tarrant, Fitzgerald. SAVES: Newtown – Drew Harmata 11; Brookfield – David Holmes 13.

 

Newtown 7, Notre Dame 4

GOALS: Newtown – Grant Speer 4, Travis Speer 2, Kevin Regan; Notre Dame – Anthony Capelli 2, Frank Distante, Brian Chaves. ASSISTS: Newtown – Will Mahony 2, Zach D’Agostino; Notre Dame – Shaun Wrinn, Kevin Coniff. SAVES: Newtown – Drew Harmata 8; Notre Dame – Dom Savinelli 18.

BOYS TENNIS

Weston 7, Newtown 0

The 2006 regular season ended quietly for the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team in a 7-0 loss to Weston last week.

The Nighthawks – saddled with a season-ending injury to its No. 2 singles player, Chris Meier – faded towards the end of the season but managed to even out its record 7-7, qualifying the ‘Hawks for a trip to the CIAC Class L state tournament.

The Trojans pretty much dominated the match with the ‘Hawks, but on a couple of courts it wasn’t so easy.

“Despite the one-sidedness of the result,” said head coach Marty Margulies, “we were able to put up a better fight against Weston than most SWC schools were able to do and the third singles (Mario Roehrs) and first doubles (Mike Coster and Jim Wilkins) matches were exceptionally close.”

Roehrs dropped a tough 6-3, 6-4 decision to Will Goss at No. 3 singles while the No. 1 doubles tandem of Mike Coster and Jim Wilkins dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to Taylor Stein and Matt Meizlish. The rest of the ‘Hawks enjoyed little success against their opponents.

The locals hoped to make some noise at Bethel High School this week at the South-West Conference individual tournament.

Weston 7, Newtown 0

SINGLES: Ben Dabush (W) def Drew Adamek 6-2, 6-1; Brandon Zaharot (W) def Max Margulies 6-1, 6-0; Will Goss (W) def Mario Roehrs 6-3, 6-4; Jason Kirschenbaum (W) def Alex DeBrantes 6-0, 6-1. DOUBLES: Taylor Stein/Matt Meizlish (W) def Mike Coster/Jim Wilkins 6-3, 7-5; Alex Lapa/Drew Jamner (W) def Adam Wenick/Evan Batzer 6-0, 6-1; Tim Silver/Alex Toutoung (W) def Peter Griffiths/Kyle Kearney 6-0, 6-1.

GOLF

Newtown 173, Immaculate 187

Newtown 166, Stratford 198

Newtown 170, New Milford 174

Pomperaug 153, Newtown 166

Leave it to Pomperaug to throw cold water on the Newtown High School golf team.

The Nighthawks – after two losses in a row – were sitting at a modest 5-4 overall about midway through the season when someone turned on a switch. After a loss to Brookfield at Sunset Hills back on May 8, the ‘Hawks won their next five matches before finally being stopped – by Pomperaug – on Tuesday afternoon at the Newtown Country Club.

The ‘Hawks are 10-5 overall and have just one match remaining, a visit with Bethel next Tuesday at Rock Ridge Country Club.

Billy McCann and Steve Oberstadt continued to lead the locals on the course, with McCann carding a 3-over 39 in a 173-187 win over Immaculate at Richter Park last Wednesday as Oberstadt fired a 4-over 40 in a 166-198 win over Stratford at Mill River last Thursday.

Both rounds earned medallist honors.

And on Tuesday, McCann’s 38 at Newtown County Club helped the ‘Hawks stay in the hunt against Pomperaug, but the Panthers were simply too strong as Sam Pelletier (36), Chris Blake (37) and Zach Sommers (39) all broke 40.

Pat Daly has been solid throughout, as well, figuring into the scoring in the last three matches with Matt Taylor also having an impact. Evan Gregoire had a chance to contribute, too, in last week’s win over Immaculate on a tough Richter Park layout.

Newtown 173, Immaculate 187

INDIVIDUALS: Newtown – Billy McCann 39, Dave McLaughlin 43, Steve Oberstadt 43, Evan Gregoire 48; Immaculate – Nick Daven 44, Thomas Cook 44, Dan Curtis 48, Ryan Soares 51. COURSE: Richter Park. MEDALLIST: Billy McCann (N).

 

Newtown 166, Stratford 198

INDIVIDUALS: Newtown – Steve Oberstadt 40, Pat Daly 41, Matt Taylor 42, Billy McCann 43; Stratford – Kieran Cuffley 43, Kenneth Knowles 49, Louis Palmerini 52, Sean Driscoll 54. COURSE: Mill River. MEDALLIST: Steve Oberstadt.

 

Newtown 170, New Milford 174

INDIVIDUALS: Newtown – Steve Oberstadt 41, Billy McCann 42, Pat Daly 43, Matt Taylor 44; New Milford – Karl Knipple 39, Ryan Poetl 40, Taom Scozzafarra 45, PJ Arnold 50. COURSE: Candlewood Valley Country Club. MEDALLIST: Karl Knipple (NM).

 

Pomperaug 153, Newtown 166

INDIVIDUALS: Pomperaug – Sam Pelletier 36, Chris Blake 37, Zach Sommers 39, Jim Widman 41; Newtown – Billy McCann 38, Steve Oberstadt 42, Pat Daly 43, Matt Taylor 43. COURSE: Newtown Country Club. MEDALLIST: Sam Pelletier (P).