VARINA, Virginia – Different state, different field, different finish.

The last time the Newtown, Connecticut, and Gorham, Maine, 14-and-under travel softball teams were in the same tournament – in Stamford – Gorham captured the New England Regional championship.

Although Newtown and Gorham did not square off in the Regionals, they did square off at the 2006 Babe Ruth 14U National Invitational Tournament in Varina, Virginia, and with a dramatic 2-1 win in the quarterfinals (Newtown’s second win over Gorham in the tournament) the Hawks assured themselves of returning home with the third-place trophy.

A 3-0 loss to Cashie, North Carolina in the Loser’s Bracket finals finally ended Newtown’s run in the nationals.

“Throughout the tournament our girls played well,” said manager Nancy Bowen. “Every single player reached first base safely and scored at least one run for the Hawks. We relied on our short game when we needed to and our defense and pitching was solid throughout. Good pitching challenged our hitting, but we got huge hits when we needed it from Caitlin Cosgrove, Rachael Ruiz and Kate Bowen (.387 average).”

After opening the tournament with a 10-0 win over Varina, the Hawks dropped a tough 4-2 decision to a strong Concord, New Hampshire, team that battered the Hawks twice at the New England Regionals, out-scoring the locals 24-3.

In this one, the Hawks scored twice in the opening frame as Bowen and Ruiz roped back to back singles and later both scored on a hard hit infield ball by Marley Koschel which was misplayed by the Concord shortstop.

Cosgrove and Ashley Kuligowski each collected singles as well to spark the Newtown offense. Bowen pitched a complete game, scattering three hits and striking out 10 Concord batters. Kuligowski had a great game behind the dish as she threw out two runners attempting to steal second and third.

The Hawks followed up with a 13-0 win over Blue Ridge, Virginia. The locals scored one run in the second as Laura Newberry singled and later stole home on a passed ball, but the Hawks would break the game open in the fourth inning as they exploded for eight runs. Koschel and Kuligowski led off the inning with back to back walks and Newberry followed with a run-scoring single. Christine Beck followed with a walk and Nicole Elias ripped a single up the middle to score both Newberry and Beck. Elias would later score on back to back singles by Ally Modzelewski and Bowen. Both Modzelewski and Bowen would then score on a hard single by Cosgrove.

The locals completed their scoring attack in the fifth inning as Newberry led off with a walk, moved to second on a infield ground out by Kaitlin Marsden and later scored on a single by Elias. Modzelewski followed with a walk as Bowen singled up the middle to score Elias. Ruiz flied to center with a ball that was misplayed, allowing Modzelewski and Bowen to score.

Bowen finished the day with three hits while Elias, Newberry and Modzelewski (double) each had two for Newtown. Bowen pitched four innings, allowing only one hit, no walks and striking out five batters. Modzelewski pitched a perfect inning in relief to record the save.

The Newtown defense was once again flawless behind big plays by infielders Beck, Ruiz, Kuligowski, Newberry and outfielder Koschel. Kuligowski made a great play at the plate as she received a ball from Emily Krewson in left field (backing up a misplayed ball) and made a tag during a collision at home.

It turned out to be the last out of the fourth inning.

The Hawks concluded pool play with a 5-1 win over Southern Plains, Colorado. Newtown scored first in the opening stanza as Modzelewski led off with a walk, moved to second on a misplayed ball hit by Bowen, advanced to third on a perfect bunt by Ruiz and scored on a Cosgrove single.

Krewson scored in the third as she led off with a single up the middle, moved over on a hit by Modzelewski, and reached home on a sacrifice fly by Ruiz. Marsden scored a run in the fifth on a groundout by Bowen and would score again in the seventh on a groundout by Modzelewski. Both times it was Elias (the first time with a bunt and the second time with a single) who advanced Marsden on the base paths.

Elias would score on a Colorado error.

Modzelewski earned the win with five strong innings of one-hit ball. Bowen pitched two perfect innings in relief, striking out five batters to earn the save. In the field, Ruiz – behind the dish – threw out a runner attempting to steal and made a huge catch on a tough pop up to end the fifth inning. Krewson made two great catches in left while short stop Newberry and third baseman Beck were outstanding.

That win clinched a spot for the Hawks in the double elimination phase of the tournament and they opened with a 3-0 win over Gorham. Bowen went the distance, scattering four hits, walking one and striking out 15.

In the second, Newberry led off with a single, stole second and scored on a fly ball by Beck which resulted in a Gorham error. In the sixth, Modzelewski reached first on a fielder’s choice, Bowen singled to move Modzelewski to second and Caitlin Cosgrove smoked a ball that was too hot to handle by the second baseman, allowing Modzelewski to score. Bowen would later score on a spinning ball hit by Kuligowski, which resulted in another Gorham error.

That was all the scoring the Hawks needed as their defense held strong behind catches by out fielders Ruiz and Koschel. Ruiz also sparked the offense with a triple.

After winning the opener at 10 am, the locals was called to play at 12 noon and suffered a 13-2 loss to Cashie, North Carolina. The Hawks scored their only runs in the second inning as Beck ripped a two-run single to score Koschel and Kuligowski. Beck finished the day with two hits while Bowen, Koschel and Kuligowski collected singles.

In the field, Marsden made an exceptional catch in right to spark the defense.

Immediately following a tough loss to North Carolina, the Hawks were called to play a hard hitting Jefferson Parish team from Louisiana and though the tired Hawks gave up four runs in the first, they persevered in the heat and the adversity of the tournament bracketing to post an 8-7 extra-inning win.

The locals started rallying with two runs in the third as Elias led off with a hard double. The Louisiana defense was sharp as the threw out a speedy Ally Modzelewski and also doubled up Elias advancing to third, but the determined Hawks rallied with two outs as Bowen, Ruiz and Cosgrove (RBI scoring Bowen) ripped consecutive singles. Koschel reached base on a error, scoring Ruiz, while Kuligowski singled home Cosgrove.

The Hawks were still down 5-2, but their spirits were lifted and strong defense and solid pitching would prevail. They took the lead in the fifth inning with a five-run explosion. Kuligowski and Newberry led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Marsden later loaded the bases after getting plunked with a pitch. Newberry would score on an infield grounder by Elias and Beck would scored on a hard hit ball by Bowen. Ruiz followed with a two-run single and Bowen would finish things off, scoring on a hard hit ball by Cosgrove.

The locals took the lead into the seventh inning, but Jefferson Parish would tie it up and send the game into extra frames. There, Modzelewski reached base on an infield error and would later score the winning run on a mishandled ball of the bat of Cosgrove.

Bowen went the distance for the Hawks, scattering six hits while striking out six. Defensively, Modzelewski made a great catch at second base. At the plate, Cosgrove banged out three hits while Ruiz, Kuligowski and Newberry had two hits each.

“I’m extremely proud of our team and the determination they showed in playing three games in a row in the hot Virginia weather,” said Bowen. “They showed great courage in the comeback win over a strong Louisiana team. It was a great day for Newtown softball.”

But it was the dramatic 2-1 win over Gorham, Maine, that highlighted the tournament for the Hawks.

Gorham took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Newtown would tie it up in the second. Although Gorham pitcher Kelsey Crowe – a six foot tall, fast ball specialist – appeared strong and in control in the first inning, Koschel was able to draw a walk to start the second inning then stole second and advanced to third on an overthrow by the catcher. Koschel would then score to tie up the game on a hard hit misplayed ball off the bat of Newberry.

With the score tied 1-1, the Hawks relied on their short game to manufacture the winning run. Koschel laid down a perfect bunt down the first base line, which Gorham had no chance of making a play on. With Koschel safely at first with no outs, Kuligowski – a righthanded hitter – stepped to the plate batting lefty and dragged an exceptional bunt down the first base line. Kuligowski reached first safely and as Koschel attempted to advance to third, the throw was off target and Koschel raced the rest of the way with the winning run.

“I cannot say enough about the bunting ability of Marley and Ashley,” said Bowen. “We worked hard on the short game during the weeks before the tournament. Both Marley and Ashley take pride in their ability to bunt for base hits from both sides of the plate and their efforts literally won the Gorham, Maine game for us.”

Bowen went the distance for the Hawks, limiting Gorham to just two hits while striking out five and issued no free passes. At second base, a heads up Modzelewski turned her own double play in the seventh inning as she snagged a line drive and threw to first to catch the Gorham runner off base and seal the win for Newtown. Newberry made an awesome over the back catch from shortstop running a long distance to catch the ball in short center field.

At the plate, Koschel was 2-for-2 while Modzelewski and Kuligowski each singled and Elias doubled.

The win put the Hawks in the Loser’s Bracket finals, but a 3-0 loss to Cashie, North Carolina ended the chase for a national title. Bowen toed the slab again for the Hawks and held Cashie scoreless until the seventh inning when it finally pushed three runs across the plate. Bowen finished with nine strikeouts.

Ruiz was the only Hawk to register a hit off an exceptional North Carolina hurler.

The Hawks finished 6-3 overall and earned a third place finish in their first appearance in a national tournament.

“From start to finish it was just a phenomenal experience for the players, coaches and parents,” said manager Nancy Bowen. “The banquet night and ceremony was a special event where the town of Varina made each player feel honored to be not only at a national tournament, but be part of Babe Ruth softball. The volunteers from Varina went above and beyond to welcome us with all their efforts and their genuine warm southern hospitality.”

Newtown players exchanged pins with their opponents throughout the tournament and made friends with other teams, especially the host team from Varina and the Southern Plains team from Colorado. During the tournament the Colorado squad cheered for the Hawks and the Hawks returned the favor later in the day.

“It was really a fun experience based on the spirit of sportsmanship and softball competition,” said Bowen.

The team was coached by Nancy Bowen, Tom Bowen, Kevin Kuligowski and Ed Beck.