NHS Baseball —

Hawks Walk Off With Win Behind Strong Pitching, Clutch Hits

By Andy Hutchison

Solid pitching, crisp defense, and timely hits.

That was supposed to be the recipe for success for the Newtown High School baseball team this spring.

Two down and one to go for the Nighthawks.

So far, the Hawks have put together the pitching and timely hitting they need in order to thrive, but the early-season defense has been shaky.

On Monday afternoon, the Nighthawks got stellar pitching from starter Charlie Lobosco and reliever Mike Tobin and enough clutch hits to overcome four errors in an exciting 3-2 walk-off win at home over South-West Conference rival Brookfield High.

The Nighthawks improved to 2-1 in the young season and Brookfield dropped to 0-2.

Entering the campaign with six starters gone from last year’s 14-win team, and no bona fide sluggers in the lineup, NHS Coach Carl Strait anticipated that his team would have to scrape together 3-2- and 2-1-type wins in order to be competitive in the SWC. The Nighthawks, sure enough, have two such wins already, including a 3-1 season-opening victory over Pomperaug on April 4. The only loss was an 8-2 setback to nonconference opponent Fairfield Ludlowe this past Saturday. Four unearned runs opened the floodgates in that loss.

Strong pitching (Lobosco had eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched and Tobin fanned three batters in 2.1 innings of work for the win) helped Newtown escape jams created by errors on Monday. Brookfield scored one unearned run.

“The unearned runs are definitely killing us,” Strait said after Monday’s game. “But it’s part of high school baseball, and it’s still early. It’s still April — it’s still the first week.”

All-in-all, it has been a good start for Newtown, and the somewhat rebuilding team only stands to get better as the season unfolds. Monday’s win should give the team a spark, considering the Hawks trailed throughout the afternoon and had to fight back to come out on top. Kyle Kromberg went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, including the decisive run.

“We’re really coming together as a team,” Kromberg said.

The Hawks trailed Brookfield 2-0 in the fifth but scored single runs in each the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Newtown had a pair of two-out hits in its final at bat to win the game. Jake Devellis doubled just out of the reach of Brookfield right fielder Kevin Collins and scored the winning run on Kromberg’s single through the hole on the right side of the infield. The Newtown players celebrated with high-fives at home plate.

“It was amazing. It was really nice,” Kromberg said of the finish to the game.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, with two runners on base, Newtown catcher Brandon Rosenberger smashed a ball that appeared headed down the left field line. Brookfield third baseman Mike Palicz made a diving stop and accurate throw across the diamond to end to retire Rosenberger, likely save two runs, and get Brookfield pitcher Tyler Bickelhaupt and the visitors out of the inning unscathed.

After Brookfield picked up its second run on an errant throw home during a pickoff attempt in the fifth, Newtown’s offense started to break through. In the bottom of the fifth. Devellis stole second base and was knocked in on a hit by Kromberg to slice the lead in half at 2-1.

In the sixth, Rosenberger had a chance at redemption after being robbed of that hit two innings prior and came through. He blooped a single to right center field to knock in the tying run with two outs. Brookfield center fielder Scott Benzing made a sliding attempt but could not make the catch.

“I thought he was going to get it. I guess it was lucky for me,” Rosenberger said.

Fair is fair, considering the Newtown catcher was denied earlier in the game.

Rosenberger is a sophomore and in his first week of varsity action. He is optimistic about the prospects for a good season after the first few games.

“I think we have great potential — we have a good team. We have a chance against anybody,” the catcher said.

Kromberg, the leadoff hitter, and Rosenberger and Devellis, who hit sixth and ninth in the order, respectively, combined for most of Newtown’s offensive output on Monday.

“It’s nice to see production from the top and bottom of the order,” Strait said.

The Nighthawks’ season continued at home against Bunnell on Wednesday and the Hawks visit Bethel Friday, April 11, before returning to NHS to entertain Weston on Monday.