Despite multiple comeback efforts, Newtown High School's baseball team came up short in a 7-5 defeat to visiting New Fairfield, in the South-West Conference tournament quarterfinals on May 21.

The Nighthawks, who were 15-5 overall and 11-2 in SWC play this spring, will look to rebound in the state playoffs. The Rebels, who posted 11-9 and 7-6 marks in the regular campaign, advanced to the semifinals.

The top-seeded Nighthawks fell behind 3-0 in the second inning, and closed to within 3-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. They saw the eighth-seeded Rebels reclaim their three-run cushion in the top of the fourth, but battled back with a trio of runs to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom the fourth, only to see the Rebels score single runs in the fifth and sixth before hanging on.

"We kept coming back but every time we came back we handed it to them - so it hurts, it definitely does," Newtown Coach Matt Memoli said.

In the third, Connor Barrett and Mason Melillo singled, and a two-out Jack Procaccini single and a balk made it a 3-2 game.

After the Rebels went ahead 5-2, Newtown's Ben Harrison started the three-run fourth with a single and scored on Jake Oliger's double. After Dylan Tyrrell was hit by a pitch, Barrett knocked in a run with a single, and Sam Czel's sacrifice fly to deep left field tied the game.

Newtown nearly had a seventh-inning scoring rally in it, setting the table by loading the bases with no outs, but couldn't capitalize.

"What else could you possibly ask for?" Memoli said of the last at bat opportunity, adding that as disappointing as the setback was, he liked the fight in his team.

The fact the Rebels were the last team in the SWC bracket and the Nighthawks were tops, meant little to the Newtown coach, whose team blanked New Fairfield 4-0 on May 12.

"It doesn't matter - especially in our conference. All these teams are so even," the coach said.

The Nighthawks will have to wait for about a week and a half to return to action when the state tournament gets underway. They'll have to stay sharp with practices and scrimmages after a couple of days off Memoli said.

"I think we'll be fine. We have a good team. We have a great group of hard-working kids," the coach said.