As Newtown High School’s softball team headed into its final five games of the regular campaign this week, the Nighthawks had beaten every South-West Conference foe it had faced (with just two they’d yet to play).

The Nighthawks, coming off a 7-4 win over Notre Dame-Fairfield, under the lights at Treadwell Park on May 11, had an overall record of 11-5 (9-1 in SWC play). The Hawks, who had defeated Pomperaug of Southbury in a nonconference clash, fell to the Panthers in their second meeting, a 3-2 game on May 4.

Given the team’s overall success this spring, Coach Bob Guererra has guarded optimism as it heads toward the playoffs.

“They’re a great group of kids. I’m just trying to get a fighting spirit in them to drive them to the finish line,” said Guererra, explaining that his team has to find a way to put opponents away rather than take its foot off the pedal.

Against Notre Dame, Newtown built a 6-0 lead and saw the Lancers score a run then load the bases with one out in the fifth inning. Pitcher Lauren Wilcox had two of her ten strikeouts to escape the jam.

After the Hawks got the run back in their half of the fifth, and Wilcox shut Notre Dame down with a one-two-three sixth inning, the Lancers scratched out three runs in the seventh, with the help of a couple of rare fielding errors, and brought the potential tying run up to bat before Wilcox prevailed.

In the game before, Newtown built a huge lead before holding off Bethel for a 12-7 victory. These bumps in the road aren’t costly against teams Newtown has an advantage on, but it might be a different story against tougher competition in the postseason.

“If you have the hiccup in the playoffs you’re going to go home,” Guererra said. “We’re going to try to improve every single game.”

In the Notre Dame game, Mikayla Kuligowski led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, stole second base, and scored on a Katie Laaksonen single. The Nighthawks had a five-run second inning to pad the lead. Megan Goyda tripled and Kamdynn Moroney delivered an RBI single. Mackenzie Macchiarulo and Haley Ryan had hits, and Kuligowski hit a two-run single. Sara Kennedy drove in a run, and Emily Woznick delivered a run-scoring single.

After the Lancers got their run in the fifth, Macchiarulo got on base with a two-out bunt single and advanced to second base on an errant throw. Jill Lasorsa smacked a first-pitch single through the hole into right field to plate Macchiarulo to make it a 7-1 game.

Things got a little tense in the seventh before Wilcox sealed the win.

“There’s a lot of pressure, but I have to stay mentally tough,” Wilcox said of facing situations in which opponents put players on base, and even load the bases.

In the win at Bethel on May 8, Laaksonen homered, singled, and drove in two runs; Kennedy was 3-for-3 and had two runs scored; Woznick singled, doubled, and knocked in a run; Goyda and Emily Bell both had two hits and two RBI; and Wilcox had a two-run triple.

Wilcox and Gillian Galante combined on a no-hitter and struck out ten batters in a 13-0 win over Stratford on May 6. Woznick hit a three-run homer, singled, and drove in four runs; Bell doubled, singled, and knocked in a pair; Lasorsa had two hits, including a triple, and drove in a run; Goyda had a pair of hits and an RBI; and Galante contributed a double, single, and two runs batted. Kennedy added a pair of hits. The game was a six-inning, run-rule triumph.

Newtown is scheduled to take on nonconference foe Norwalk and SWC rival New Fairfield in a split double header at Treadwell Park on Wednesday (game times are 4:30 and 7 pm).

After a visit to New Milford on Thursday (4 pm), the Hawks go to Masuk of Monroe on Monday for 4:15 pm first pitch, then close out the campaign with a Tuesday, May 19, rematch with New Milford (7 pm at Treadwell). New Fairfield and New Milford are the only team’s the Nighthawks hadn’t yet faced. They came into the week trailing only Pomperaug (another team with one loss in the SWC) by virtue of the Panthers’ win over NHS, in the conference standings.

“We’re as good as anybody in the conference. If we play our game we’ll be tough to beat,” Guererra said of his team’s potential for success in the playoffs.