Six Straight! … NHS Softball Team Earning Lopsided Wins

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s softball team carried a six-game winning streak into Wednesday’s scheduled game at Joel Barlow (after The Bee sports section went to press). The Nighthawks are not just winning — they are doing so convincingly of late, outscoring their last four victims a cumulative 42-6.

The Nighthawks, following back-to-back shutouts — a 12-0 win at Kolbe Cathedral on April 27 and a 9-0 blanking of Notre Dame-Fairfield on April 29 — went to Bethel and earned a 13-4 win on April 30 then returned home to crush Oxford 8-2 on May 4.

The wins over Bethel and Oxford did not come as easily as it may seem. Deadlocked in a 2-2 game with Bethel in the sixth, Newtown took the lead and broke the game open with six runs — all with two outs. Jenna Legros delivered a two-RBI single, Ally Modzelewski had an RBI triple and Rachel Ruiz added a run-scoring single in the inning.

The Nighthawks plated two-out runs early in the game as well, as Megan Gibbons knocked in Ashley Kuligowski twice, with a triple in the first and a double in the third.

Kuligowski, a catcher, was in her first game of the season after breaking her throwing hand during preseason when it was hit by a foul ball. She played shortstop in this game before strapping on the catcher’s gear for the next game. Kuligowski was 2-for-2 in chances in the field and, most importantly, was 5-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs batted in to lead Newtown’s 17-hit attack. Talk about a strong return to the lineup.

“You really don’t know how big a void that is until she has a day like today,” Coach Bob Guererra said after the win at Bethel.

Having Kuligowski back to hit in the No. 3 hole is key for Newtown, but the Hawks are producing up and down the lineup with several newcomers helping the cause.

Sophomores and first-year varsity players Megan Gibbons and Colleen Cunningham bat fourth and fifth, respectively, and have fit in nicely.

Gibbons had three hits and a pair of runs driven in and Cunningham added a two-hit performance in the win at Bethel.

“I am having fun and it really feels great to be doing well,” said Gibbons, a third baseman.

Cunningham, a first baseman, said the new players benefited from the team’s trip to Disney World in the second week of the season. Beginning last year, the Hawks head south to compete with other teams who make the trip for a chance to bond and get away from the often rainy Northeast to get regular practice into their schedules. “We got to know each other,” Cunningham said.

Marley Koschel and Legros both had two hits in the win over Bethel and the Hawks picked up where their hot bats left off against Oxford back at home on Monday. Oxford took a 2-0 first-inning lead, but NHS responded with four runs in the bottom half of the opening frame. Gibbons smacked a two-run triple to spark the rally.

Nora Lynn Shimko, Christine Beck and Legros all had RBIs in a three-run third as Newtown pulled away. Legros struck out ten batters in the win.

“Everybody’s just stepping up and really working together as a team,” Kuligowski said.

In 26 at bats each, Cunningham and Shimko are both hitting .385 to lead the team. Gibbons is batting .345. The speedy Modzelewski, Newtown’s leadoff hitter, leads the team with ten runs scored. Ruiz and Shimko have crossed home eight and seven times respectively. Legros has pitched 61 of her team’s 68 innings and has allowed only 11 earned runs and struck out 90 batters.

NHS was slated to visit Weston on Thursday and host Immaculate under the lights at Treadwell Park Friday at 7 pm.