The Newtown U14 traveling softball team may have finished fourth in the recent Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Tournament in Danbury, but is certainly priding itself on a couple of things – most notably, an extra inning victory over the premier Connecticut Impact.

While losing to the Impact, 10-1, in a preliminary seed game, the Hawks were anxious for another crack at the premiers.

And after 90 minutes (the ascribed limit to any tournament game), the score was knotted 10-10 and the game was sent into extra innings. In the ASA tournament, extra inning games used a triebreaking system which starts each team off in each half inning with a runner on second.

Well, the Impact scored once in the top of the seventh. But the Hawks equaled that in the bottom of the frame. In the top of the eighth, the Impact was kept off the scoreboard largely because of a brilliant play by catcher Christina Wolf, who scrambled to snare a short foul pop and then fire to Bria Innaurato at second to nail that courtesy runner for a double play.

Things came to a head in the bottom of the frame. Wolf started the inning off at second and reached third on a single by Ashley Ferris. A walk then loaded the bases.

A passed ball scored the game-winner.

“Christina was definitely our MVP,” said head coach Rich Van Waalwijk, who indicated that besides her play in the eighth inning – and the bases-loaded double play (involving Ferris and Ali Legros) she was involved with in the third inning – Wolf also went 3-for-5 with five RBI.

It was the highlight of the weekend for the Hawks, who opened the tournament (in the seed games) with a 24-3 win over Danbury. The Hawks banged out 20 hits (in just 44 at bats) while Becky Narel and Jenna Van Waalwijk combined on a four-hitter.

The Hawks then lost to the Impact, 10-1.

That might have set them back, since the Hawks lost to the Sting Gold, 8-1, in the first round of the tournament. The Hawks held their own for three innings, but the Gold scored four runs in the fourth, three more in the fifth, and one in the sixth to put the game away.

That loss dropped the Hawks into the loser’s bracket, but that’s when they started to shine. With the stirring win over the Impact (in which Van Waalwijk allowed just three hits in five innings), the Hawks went on to defeat Danbury (20-3) and Sting Blue (7-2).

In the win over Sting Blue, Van Waalwijk pitched a complete game, allowing just six hits and two earned runs over six innings of work. She walked three batters and whiffed five others.

At the plate, Ferris was 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI and Lisa Alberico was 3-for-4 with three runs scored.

“By then,” said coach Van Waalwijk, “we couldn’t do it anymore. With the heat, our girls were fried out there.”

And Sting Gold ended the Hawks’ tournament run with an 11-1 win.

“If we were fresh,” said coach Van Waalwijk, “we would have given them a run. But to come in fourth and knock out two premier teams is great. I’m proud of the girls.”

With the tournament over, the Hawks returned to the Connecticut Valley Fastpitch League (CVFL) schedule and upended Seymour, 14-7, as Narel went 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple and five RBI.

Ally Kirk (whose services were sorely missed during the ASA tournament) was 3-for-3 with three RBI while Narel and Van Waalwijk combined on the mound to scatter seven hits and strike out five batters.