By Kim J. Harmon

It has been a pretty productive summer for the Newtown Hawks U12 traveling softball team.

Okay, the Hawks might not have earned a Babe Ruth state championship like their U10 counterparts, but they are still playing well in the Central Valley Fastpitch League (CVFL) with a few more regular season games and the league tournament still coming up.

With an early stumble at the Stratford Tournament at the beginning of the season (and then the Babe Ruth state tournament, where the Hawks were 1-2) all figured in, the Hawks are 8-7 overall and 6-4 in the CVFL with a game against the Connecticut Thunder scheduled for Tuesday.

The Hawks dropped a tough decision to Watertown last Friday, but rebounded with a win over Naugatuck on Saturday and a revenge-type win over Watertown on Sunday. So, it was a pretty successful weekend.

But let’s head back a month or so and take a look at the Hawks’ season from the beginning.

They opened with a 12-6 loss to Stratford as Karli Beitel, Val Nezvesky, Ali Legros and Annie Grills singled. A 15-2 loss to Stratford followed as Grills, Beitel, Jenna Van Waalwijk and Lisa Alberico singled.

Then the Hawks found a groove and reeled off four wins in a row – three of them by just one run and the other by only two runs.

In an 8-6 win over New Fairfield, the Hawks did most of their damage with a seven-run second inning. Jenna Van Waalwijk, Grills and Nezvesky each went 2-for-3 at the plate while Van Waalwijk and Kayla Koschel combined on the mound for the win. In an 18-17 win over Naugatuck, it was all about the lucky number seven. The Hawks needed just seven hits and scored seven runs in the seventh inning to rally for the victory. Nezvesky singled, doubled, and tripled while Alberico doubled. Every player on the team scored at least one run.

In a 16-15 win over Norwalk, Beitel and Nezvesky each homered while Emily Nezvesky and Meredith Palo collected two hits apiece. Sammie Ciaccia, Jenna Van Waalwijk, and Koschel all had hits. Ciaccia also scored three runs. In a 6-5 win over the Stratford Breakers, Koschel singled twice and Alberico singled once. A four-run, fourth inning gave the Hawks a 6-3 lead and they were able to hold on from there.

The Milford Seahawks stopped Newtown’s rally, pinning a 20-7 loss on the Hawks. Jenna Van Waalwijk and Beitel each went 2-for-3 as the Hawks put together a 10-hit attack. The Hawks dropped another, an 11-3 decision to Cheshire, despite two-hit efforts from Ally Kirk and Grills. Jackie Us, Kate Koskowski and Val Nezvesky also had hits.

The Hawks got back to winning, defeating New Fairfield, 20-18. Grills, Alberico, Val Nezvesky, Jaclyn Van Waawijk and Ciaccia all had two hits. One of Grills’ hits was a triple while Us was 1-for-2 with a home run.

After dropping a game to Watertown on Friday, the Hawks came back to beat Naugatuck, 7-5, on Saturday. Jenna Van Waalwijk and Koschel combined on a five-hitter, whiffing 10 batters along the way. Val Nezvesky was 2-for-3 with three RBI while Van Waalwijk and Grills each had a hit and an RBI.

Then the Hawks exacted their revenge and hammered Watertown, 15-4, on Sunday and the attack came from all sides.

Koschel was 3-for-4 with two singles and a double and then pitched five innings of one-hit softball. Grills was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI and then, from behind the plate, gunned down three would-be base stealers. Van Waalwijk was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. And then Nezvesky, in the field, stole the show with seven putouts – at least two of which were spectacular.

That brings the Hawks to this point, with the start of the CVFL Tournament a week away.