By Kim J. Harmon

From 1-19 to 8-12.

Even if it wasn’t as high as new coach John Larkins hoped at the beginning of practice back in April, it was still a pretty nice climb for the Nighthawks to make following their dismal 1999 campaign.

The ‘Hawks, who had been in the running for a South-West Conference and CIAC Class L tournament berth midway through the season, fell into four-game slide that effectively eliminated them from both. But pride was still a factor and they finished up the regular season with wins over Weston (3-1) and Kolbe Cathedral (10-1).

Overall, the ‘Hawks were 8-12. In the SWC, they were 5-10.

In the win over Kolbe, Kevin Carolan, Steve Bertè and Nick Savino all had two hits. Bertè and Pete Engel both doubled and Bertè finished with a pair of RBI.

In the win over Weston, the ‘Hawks needed just three hits to score three runs and edge the Trojans. Bertè was 1-for-3 with a first-inning two-run single and Collin Anderson was 2-for-3 with a single, triple and RBI. Weston had just four hits itself, all of them singles.

The ‘Hawks hit the ball well for most of the season, with Gregg Burkhart (.366), Bertè (.362), and McCarthy (.333) leading the way. McCarthy led Newtown with 20 RBI with Bertè driving in 13 and Les Russell driving in 12.

McCarthy, the junior catcher, had the monster season, however. Batting .333 (20-of-60), the General banged out seven doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Besides his 20 RBI, he also scored 14 runs and finished with a .617 slugging percentage.

Lacrosse

The Nighthawk girls were set to square off against Hall of West Hartford on Thursday at Bruce Jenner Stadium in the first round of the CIAC state tournament. The Nighthawks finished with a solid 12-3-1 record to earn the right for a first round home game.

The boys, meanwhile, were all set to travel to Guilford on Saturday for a first round game. The ‘Hawks qualified for the CIAC Division II state tournament by virtue of  21-9 win over East Lyme a couple weeks ago.