Newtown High School’s baseball team, after winning a thrilling walk-off game in the second round of the Class LL state tournament, was held off by visiting Amity of Woodbridge in a 4-3 quarterfinal-round loss on June 1. The defeat ended a tremendous season that saw the Nighthawks go 18-2 in the regular campaign en route to a No. 2 seed in the state bracket.

Coming off a 9-1 victory over No. 31 Middletown in the first round, the Nighthawks came from behind for a 2-1 walk-off extra-inning victory over visiting and No. 15 Naugatuck in the second round on May 30.

Pinch runner Brett Melchionno scored all the way from first on a bloop single to shallow left-center field off the bat of Luke Melillo in the bottom of the eighth inning. Melchionno was pinch running for Shane Demers, who had walked, and hustled home to push the Nighthawks into the next round. Coach Ian Thoesen’s decision to send the runner paid dividends.

“He got a great jump. I’m very proud of him,” Thoesen said.

Trailing the Greyhounds 1-0 in the sixth, the Nighthawks tied the score when Melillo worked a bases-loaded walk.

Sammy Smith led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to left center, Todd Petersen walked on five pitches, and pitcher Josh Taylor helped his own cause by putting down a perfect bunt, up the third baseline, for single to load the bases.

Newtown failed to take the lead on a squeeze play, but Taylor and the Nighthawk defense kept the Greyhounds at one run.

Newtown catcher Matt Bradbury picked off two base runners, including one off second, prior to a Naugatuck hit, saving a run.

“It’s stuff we work on. I tell the guys ‘you’re going to win games and you’re going to lose games with the little things,’” Thoesen said.

Petersen made a diving grab of a line drive, with a runner on, in the top of the eighth.

“Big catch right there because I think that ball would have been in the gap,” Thoesen said.

Left fielder Harry Lucas charged in and made a sliding catch to end the top of the eighth.

“I’m so proud of the way they battled. They’re like family. They pick each other up,” Thoesen said.

The Nighthawks were on the winning end of all six one-run nail-biters, including a pair of walk-offs, during the regular season.

Tenth-seeded Amity appeared certain to be headed to victory behind the start of pitcher John Lumpinski, who limited the Hawks to a single over the first three innings. The Spartans put together threats to no avail in each of the first three frames. Double plays got Newtown starting pitcher Smith out of trouble in each the second and third innings.

A conventional 6-4-3 DP got the Hawks out of a two-on, one-out jam in the second. Amity loaded the bases with no outs in the third, using a quiet rally to do so; a walk, hit batter, and bunt single jammed the bases. A line drive to third baseman, Taylor turned into a rally-squelching double play.

In the fourth, the Spartans finally capitalized. A hit batter, walk, sacrifice bunt, RBI single, and sacrifice fly gave Amity a 2-0 lead that seemed even bigger the way Lumpinski was dealing.

But Newtown’s bats heated up in the fourth and fifth innings. Petersen led off the fourth with a crisp single to center. After a force out on a grounder, Demers walked and Melillo grounded a single to load the bases. Bradbury’s sac fly to right center cut the lead in half.

After a one-two-three top of the fifth, the Hawks went ahead in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Stroili hit a one-out single to left center and Petersen smacked a clutch, two-out home run to left for a 3-2 NHS lead.

In the sixth, a hit batsman, error, two singles, and walk with the bases loaded gave Amity two runs and a 4-3 lead.

The Hawks got a base runner in the sixth when Melillo walked, but he was caught stealing. NHS did not threaten in the seventh.