By Kim J. Harmon

When the weather took a turn for the worse, so did the game.

Just as thunderstorms rolled into the area, the Newtown High School softball team (#2) saw a 0-0 South-West Conference quarterfinal game slip right through their fingers as Masuk (#7) exploded for four runs in the top of the fourth en route to a 5-1 win.

While sophomore Lisa Morgan – whose earned run average is about half a run per game – started out exceptionally well, the Lady Panthers finally caught up to her. Kelly Milone bombed a double over Christina Wolf’s head in right field to get things started and then Kelly Caulfield smashed a double past Erin Murdoch at third to keep things going.

After the Lady Panthers grabbed a 3-0 lead on a single by Brooke Lawson and then loaded the bases, the game was halted because of rain. Less than 15 minutes later, the players were back on the field and a quick single by Kelley Larson through the hole at shortstop brought home the fourth Masuk run.

In the bottom of the sixth, Trina Ramsdell singled and later scored on a single by Ashley Ferris.

In the top of the seventh, though, the Panthers chalked up another run on a homer by Brittany Tartaglia. The Panthers collected 12 hits against the usually stingy Morgan (13-5) and five of those were for extra bases.