The Thunder U16 softball team competed in the Danbury Summer Crush Tournament at Hatters Park in Danbury, June 25 and 26. The tourney began with an 11-4 win over the CT Raiders and a tough 4-3 loss to the Xtreme Chaos. The Thunder then bounced back for an 11-1 win over the North Columbia Chaos.

The Thunder's 2-1 effort on Saturday earned it the third seed among 12 heading into elimination play.

In the quarterfinals, the Thunder trailed 3-1 after three innings to the Cheshire Flames Black, but erupted for six runs in the next inning en route to a 7-4 win. Liv Mubarek (Newtown) was aggressive on the bases ad scored from second base on a passed ball.

In the semifinal game, the Thunder faced a red hot CT Raiders squad which had won four games in a row after losing to the Thunder the day before. After quickly falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, the Thunder roared back with three runs in the bottom of the first and tied the game in the third. The Raiders scored two more in the fifth, but the Thunder came back yet again with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take an 8-6 lead. The resilient Raiders scored single runs in the sixth and the seventh innings to send a tie game into the bottom of the seventh. After a one out double by Fisher and a two-out single by Tess Mubarek, and after Lauren Welch (Monroe) got hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded for Gaby Hirsch (Monroe). Hirsch lined a pitch up the middle for the walk-off hit to send the Thunder into to the championship game.

The Thunder fell 8-0 to the Shoreline Sting in the title contest.

Pitchers Kaysie Fisher and Jackie Moccio (both of Newtown), and Michelle Cohen (Berlin) combined for a 3.34 ERA over 35 2/3 innings in the tournament. The Thunder coupled its strong pitching with exceptional defense, turning six double plays in six games. The defense included stellar play from behind the plate from Tess Mubarek, Cam Gruner (Trumbull), and Kenny Saunders (Newtown).

The offense was led by Moccio with nine hits, Samantha Wisnefsky (Southbury) with eight hits, Fisher with six hits, Amanda Petrizzi (Fairfield) and Hirsch with five hits, and Welch and Tess Mubarek, each with four hits. Erin Burns (Newtown) led the team in RBI with six during the tournament.

"We have such a great balance offensively and defensively," Head Coach Mary Sigillo said. "I am extremely proud of how our team competed for six games in warm weather conditions. Having three great pitchers and three great catchers gives us a competitive advantage over other teams."