LANCASTER, New Hampshire – They barbecued, they swam, they went bowling and to the movies, they rode go-karts and they danced at the street fair and in the midst of all that the Newtown Hawks 10-and-under travel softball team had time to compete in the New England Regionals in Lancaster, New Hampshire.

The Hawks won two and finished fifth out of 12 teams in the double elimination tournament.

Heavy rain on Friday wiped out the official opening day of the tournament and so the Hawks were required to play three games on Saturday. The locals opened up with a 4-3 win over Keersage Mountain, the New Hampshire state champions, but then suffered a 5-0 loss to Rochester, New Hampshire, under the wilting sun.

After a rejuvenating lunch and a stroll through the street fair of Lancaster – where the team displayed their dancing abilities to Cotton Eye Joe – the locals captured an emotional 7-6 win over Winchester, Massachusetts to stay alive in the tournament.

The girls ran out of steam, though, on Sunday morning and their run – and fun – in the Regionals came to an end with a 12-0 loss to host team Lancaster.

In the win over Keersage, Maggie Kennedy twirled a gem, striking out four and inducing many weak ground balls which the double play combination of Taylor Brady at shortstop and Morgan Macchiarulo at second base converted into rally ending innings. Natalie Galante had two hits and two RBI and Jessica Gibbons had two hits, including a double to lead the offense.

In the loss to Rochester (the game was played immediately following the win over Keersage) Kelly Brassard was a dynamo, making several outstanding plays in the field and getting on base in an effort to spark the team. Karlie Kuligowski and Kelly O’Sullivan also played well in the field. 

In the win over Winchester, Alexa Powell led the team to the emotionally charged victory.

With Winchester scoring three runs in the top of the last inning to take a 6-2 advantage, Powell came on in relief to stop the bleeding and allowed the Hawks a chance to rally. In the bottom of the frame, Abi Kuligowski worked out a walk and Shiela Smith – who was an ironwoman behind the dish, catching every inning of the four games – also walked. The top of the order – Brady, Kennedy and Gibbons – was then able to push across a run and Monica Macchiarulo, who was stellar all tournament at first base, drove a ball deep into the gap clearing the bases to tie the score.

And after two walks followed to load the bases for Powell, who calmly strode to the plate, fouled off several pitches, worked the count full, and took ball four to drive in the winning run. 

Melanie Rotante was the lucky 13th member of the team, but was unable to accompany the team due to personal commitments. The team was coached by Mark Macchiarulo, Dan Kennedy and Ed Brady.