Softball Team Wins Cheshire Flames Invitational

The Newtown Hawks U14 softball team won the Cheshire Flames Invitational held in late June and early July. The Hawks played six games in two days to earn the championship.

In the first game the Hawks lost to the first-seeded Connecticut Mirage of Avon, 11-2. Lauren Wilcox struck out seven batters, and Mali Klorczyk and Brianna Baronowski  had singles and Haley Ryan had two hits.

The Hawks kept a positive attitude and rebounded to beat Milford in game two, 6-3. Ryan got on base in each at bat and had two singles. Baronowski had two singles and two runs batted in. Caitlyn Linden singled and drove in a run, and Shannon Lynch had a single and double and drove in a run. Wilcox pitched well with seven strikeouts and Linden was very strong on defense with three highlight catches at shortstop.

Newtown then upended the Cheshire Flames 14-2. Ryan had three singles a double and an RBI.  Klorczyk, Linden and Kelly Merrick had two hits apiece and each drove in runs. Lynch, Katie Reilly, and Hanna Bigwarfe had singles. Wilcox was dominating with nine strikeouts. 

On day two of the tourney, Wilcox and Annie Hoffman combined to no-hit Hamden, 12-0. Ryan had three singles, two stolen bases, and two RBI. Merrick and Klorczyk each had a single and two RBI.  Bigwarfe had a single, RBI, and a stolen base. Tina DeMaio had two singles, two RBI, and a stolen base. Tegan Doherty walked and stole a base.

In the second game of the day, the Hawks beat the Cheshire Flames 16-5. Reilly had a triple, single, and four RBI. DeMaio had a home run and a single. Linden had three singles and three runs batted in, Klorczyk scored four runs with a single and three stolen bases. Ryan had three singles. Merrick singled and stole two bases. Hoffman walked four times and scored twice. Hoffman and Doherty combined for seven strikeouts in a well-pitched game.

The second win over the Flames put the Hawks in the championship game against Milford. Wilcox pitched seven incredible innings in the sweltering heat for a 1-0 win. In the first inning, Klorczyk singled, and later advanced to third on a delayed steal. With one out, Merrick grounded out to drive in Klorczyk for the only run of the game. Wilcox allowed only three singles and Milford left a batter at third in the seventh inning. Reilly was strong behind the plate. Klorczyk started a double play from center field in the first inning. Ryan was involved in five defensive plays at second base, including catching a fly ball to secure the win in seventh. In addition to the heat, the team battled injuries to their first basemen, pitcher, catcher, and No. 4 hitter and prevailed thanks to a strong team effort.

Hawks thank sponsors: Steven C. Landin D.M.D, Newtown Family Podiatry, PC, Newtown Savings Bank, Pediatric Heart Specialists, LLC, Toll Brothers, Design 2 Creation, The Cook House, The Inn at Newtown.