A no-hitter is an amazing accomplishment, but it doesn’t always translate into a victory.

Colleen Cunningham found that out last week when she fired a no-hitter for the Newtown Hawks 10-and-under travel softball team and only ended up with a 4-4 tie against the Prospect Panthers.

Cunningham whiffed 16 batters and helped herself by snatching a pop-up on one of the two other outs in the six-inning contest. Emma Herring made a nice play in the field to record the other out.

On offense, Natalie Dunn doubled in a pair of runners in the second inning and later drove in a run on an infield groundout. Taylor Johnson reached base three times – once with a single – and scored a pair of runs. Herring contributed a run-scoring single.

The Hawks led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but failed to hold on to that lead.

The locals did post a 13-8 win over Brookfield last Tuesday. Cunningham and Johnson dominated on the mound, combining to whiff 16 batters while the Hawks scored eight runs in the second inning and never looked back.

Jackie Kissack went 3-for-3 with two RBI while Rachel Camejo belted a three-run double and scored a run. Katelyn D’Andrea and Erin Begg laid down bunt singled, with D’Andrea driving home two runs. Natalie Dunn, Brittany Soucar and Cunningham had timely hits.

On Saturday, though, the Hawks fell to Brookfield in a game shortened to four innings.

Dunn went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI while Johnson singled twice and scored three runs. Cunningham and Camejo each had a single and two RBI as Megan Gibbons, Begg, Soucar and Herring collected hits. Marissa Cascella drew a walk.

Herring pitched two solid innings, striking out four batters and allowing just one run.

U12 Hawks Win

Last Three Games

With some solid pitching, the Newtown 12-and-under travel softball team collected wins in its last three games to boost its record to 5-2 in the Central Valley Fastpitch League.

Megan Sajovic and Kate Bowen took turns shutting down Branford (17-2), Fairfield (9-0) and Beacon Falls (11-0).

In the win over Branford, Bowen pitched three strong innings with three strikeouts and four assists (allowing one run along the way) and Sajovic finished up with four strikeouts in two innings. The offense was paced by Kaila Harrington, who banged out two triples and drove in five runs. Nora Lynn Shimko belted a home run and scored three times. Sajovic had a pair of singles while Caitlyn Cosgrove, Allie Modzelewski, Christine Beck and Rachel Ruiz all collected hits.

Solid defense by Laura Newberry at third and Shimko behind the plate took care of the few bunts and runners on base.

In the win over Fairfield, Bowen struck out eight and allowed only two hits. Shimko clubbed a homer while Newberry and Sajovic both collected doubles. Anne Marie Davis, Monique Samuelson, and Harrington all had hits.

Beck, Harrington and Ashley Kuligowski supported their pitcher with solid defense.

In the win over Beacon Falls, Sajovic fired a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts. Samuelson led the offense by ripping a home run and a single, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Beck, Newberry, Sajovic, and Shimko each delivered two hits and scored twice.

In previous action, the Hawks suffered a 10-1 loss to Southington. Southington scored most of its runs in one bad inning. On the offense, Harrington had a base hit and drove in the only run. Sajovic also hit well. Newberry led the defense with five put outs, catching a rocket line drive, and Shimko - from behind the plate - threw out two runners at second

In a 12-3 win over New Fairfield. Sajovic whiffed 10 batters, gave up only two earned runs and played great defense. Samuelson scored three times to spark the offense as Newberry had three hits, scored four runs, and collected three RBI. Shimko banged out a triple and Bowen and Ruiz had strong games in the field.

In a 7-0 loss to the Stratford Seahawks, the Hawks had trouble capitalizing on their hits against a strong pitcher. Beck had a pair of hits as Bowen was on base three times with a hit, a walk and an error. Kuligowski, Cosgrove, and Samuelson all contributed hits. In the field, Newberry had six put outs from third, holding runners two times. Ruiz and Kuligowski each had two strong plays from second and Modzelewski had a great play from right field to catch a runner at first.

And in a 5-3 win over Beacon Falls, Bowen pitched an outstanding game with 12 strikeouts and two put outs. Modzelewski had a great game with a play from right field to first on the defense and also supported the offense with a double and run scored. Samuelson tripled and scored.

Errors Plague

U14 Hawks

Against a strong opponent, a team needs to be near perfect in order to pull off a win. The Newtown Hawks 14-and-under travel team was not near perfect against Cheshire last weekend, committing early errors and falling, 8-6.

It was just the second loss in eight games for the Hawks.

The locals banged out eight hits in the game, with Joanna Barry drilling a long triple to deep center field, Rachel Nicolosi smacking a double into the right center field gap and Katie Schmidt, Jaclyn Van Waalwijk, Jen Blauvelt, Nicole Alberico and Kelly Tenney all singling.

The Hawks scored four runs in the sixth inning and one run in the seventh to rally back from an 8-1 deficit.

In the sixth, Nicolosi led off with a double, Schmidt walked, Van Waalwijk singled to drive in two runs, Blauvelt singled and Barry followed with a triple to score two more runs. In the seventh, Sarah Greenfield reached first on an error, Alberico followed with a single and made a spectacular head first diving slide into second base as she took advantage of a Cheshire wild throw back into the infield. Then with runners on second and third, Greenfield scored on Nicolosi’s ground out to short. The next two Hawks grounded out and struck out, ending the game.

Defensively, Melissa Fracker made a great running catch in center field. Stacy Broughton, Jen Blauvelt and Mariale Renna pitched well for the Hawks.

Next up for the Hawks will be the Connecticut Babe Ruth State Tournament this weekend in Hamden.