Newtown High School softball player Bri Pellicone collected her 100th career base hit as a Nighthawk during the home opener, on April 1. That was a nice milestone and all, but the contact she made on five foul balls followed by a pitch she did not swing at that made the biggest difference in the Hawks earning an exciting 7-6 walk-off win over St Joseph of Trumbull.

With the bases loaded, one out, and game tied, Pellicone fouled off five consecutive full-count pitches before taking one just out of the strike zone. As she trotted to first base Lila Accousti came across home plate with the decisive run, giving first-year Head Coach Megan Goyda her first notch in the win column.

“It’s fun — it’s a memorable one. We had a lot of different kids do a lot of great things today,” Goyda said.

Pellicone said she was calm despite the pressure situation and her goal was to make good contact and get a hit, or use patience and draw a walk. Her ability to fight off a handful of pitches to stay alive in the at bat, and then not swing at a close pitch, was impressive.

This game featured a combined 23 hits, 13 walks, and one hit by pitch — there were runners on the base paths throughout the afternoon — and it took nearly two-and-a-half hours to complete despite clean fielding and only one error. When all was said and done the teams made it an even split of 11 apiece for a combined 22 runners left on base. The first inning set the tone.

St Joes jumped out to an immediate 3-0 lead only to see Newtown counter with a four-spot in the bottom half of the opening frame. After the Nighthawks missed a bases-loaded opportunity in the second inning, Newtown pitcher Maddie Thoesen worked out of a bases-jammed situation of her own in the top half of the next inning.

The Cadets tied things at 4-4 with a run in the fourth when a run came in on a wild pitch. Thoesen stranded two in scoring position to escape with the score still deadlocked. In the bottom of the fourth Thoesen smashed a double and Pellicone collected her 100th hit when her opposite-field liner found the right-field corner for a go-ahead triple. Gabby Ansman bounced a hard-hit RBI single up the middle for a 6-4 Hawk advantage.

Thoesen worked a perfect top of the fifth and Newtown couldn’t add to the lead despite two base runners and no outs in the last of the frame. In the sixth, St Joes scored twice to tie things at 6-6 and left a couple of runners in scoring position. The Cadets worked around a two-out triple by Gillian Boughan in the bottom of the sixth.

St Joes threatened to reclaim the lead in the seventh but Thoesen worked around an infield single, stolen base and runner-at-third situation following a throwing error by recording three strikeouts.

Newtown went to work in the bottom of the seventh with Accousti hitting a clean single up the middle and Julia Berry beating out a bunt single to set the table. After a groundout/force out at second base the Hawks had runners at first and third. Thoesen got ahead in the count and was granted an intentional pass to load the bases. Pellicone and her patience did the rest.

Newtown had 13 hits. Berry, Newtown’s leadoff batter, collected three of them; Addy Cordova had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run; Thoesen ripped two doubles, had an RBI, and scored two runs; Pellicone worked a trio of walks to go along with her RBI hit, and scored twice; and Accousti had three hits, a walk, RBI, and run scored. From the pitcher’s circle, Thoesen struck out eight and walked five.

Newtown lost its opener, in a 1-0 nail-biter at Trumbull on March 30. Thoesen was sharp and, in fact, had a perfect game going through four innings. As much as Goyda might have preferred to earn her first win in the first game, there were some silver linings to the outcome.

“I’m glad to get it at home,” said Goyda, adding that her team showed a lot of fight in each of the first two contests.

“I think it sets the tone that no matter what happens they can get it done,” the coach said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.