NHS Sluggers Walk Off With Tourney Win

By Andy Hutchison

Down to their final two outs, Newtown High School’s baseball team prevailed in a dramatic, come-from-behind, walk-off victory over visiting Stamford in first round Class LL State Tournament action on Tuesday afternoon.

Catcher Brandon Rosenberger came through with a clutch two-strike, two-run double to lift Newtown to a 4-3 win under on and off sprinkles and an overcast sky. Fittingly, the sun started to come out and bathed the field just after one of Newtown’s brightest moments of the season.

Newtown, the tourney’s No. 6 team, which had gone 15-5 in the regular season before being eliminated in the first round of the South-West Conference Tournament, advanced to play the winner of No. 11 Norwalk and No. 22 Glastonbury in the second round on Thursday (after The Bee went to press). Stamford (9-11 in the regular campaign) was the No. 27 team and nearly pulled off the upset.

The game was full of close and key plays in the field, on the bases, and at the plate.

Stamford scored first with a run in the fourth inning and the Nighthawks answered with a two-out rally to tie the score in the last of the inning. Joe Fedak bounced a single into center field to extend the inning and later scored on John Fracker’s single.

Stamford plated a pair of runs in the fifth for a 3-1 advantage and Newtown got to within a run in the fifth when Kyle Kromberg walked, came up with two of Newtown’s six stolen bases to swipe second and third (Kromberg had three of his own) and scored on Bryan Czel’s single.

“What a close game,” Rosenberger said. “They put up a good battle. We pulled it out.”

The Nighthawks got two men on with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Andy Lapple had an infield single and stole second. George Zaruba hit a slow grounder to short and reached on a fielder’s choice when Lapple slid under a tag attempt at third. With runners on the corners, and Stamford clinging to its 3-2 lead, starting pitcher Steven Hagedus was pulled and replaced by Tom McIntosh who had the upper hand on Rosenberger before the NHS catcher came through with a hit off the base of the left field wall.

“It was just a competition — your versus me, let the best man win. And it was nice to see Brandon come through because he’s been working so hard. He deserves it,” Newtown Coach Matt Memoli said.

Newtown had strong starting pitching from Chris Haylon. The NHS starter and reliever Kyle Wilcox, who pitched two innings for the win, combined to hold Stamford to five hits.

Stamford had a chance to get some insurance in the sixth, but pitcher Wilcox escaped a first and third, one-out jam by inducing a double play grounder.

In the bottom of the sixth, Newtown pinch runner Kyle Packer stole third and tried to score on a wild pitch but was tagged out by Hagedus covering home. Stamford loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh but couldn’t add to its lead in this edge-of-your seat thriller.

“It was fun. It was very fun for me to watch and you love to see your team battle and be able to come out on top in such a well-played game like that,” Memoli said.

“It was one of the best games I think I’ve ever been a part of,” Kromberg added.

Stamford Coach Fred Kelley concurred that it was a good game, but certainly would have preferred to be on the winning end.

“It’s a lot of fun to be a part of,” Kelley said. “It’s just that we had the victory snatched away and that hurts a little bit.”