Errors, Lack Of Hitting Doom NHS Softball Team

By Andy Hutchison

Three Newtown High School errors spearheaded a pair of two-run rallies by visiting Pomperaug, making the difference in a 4-2 Panthers’ win over of the Nighthawks in the South-West Conference Tournament quarterfinals on May 25.

Newtown, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, took a 1-0 lead into the third inning but saw Pomperaug score twice, aided by a pair of infield errors, for a 2-1 lead. An inning later, the Panthers, with help from another NHS fielding miscue, tacked on two more runs. The insurance paid off as the Nighthawks scratched out another run, in the fifth, but got no closer.

Catcher Jess Gibbons singled and scored in the first, then tripled and scored the second Newtown run. That was just about all the offense the usually potent Nighthawk hitters could generate against Pomperaug pitcher Jordan Marquis.

“They came to play and they won, so don’t take anything away from them,” is one way of looking at the outcome, Newtown Coach Bob Guererra said. The other, he pointed out: “We didn’t come to play — I mean it seemed that way.

“We made too many errors to win, and we didn’t hit to our capability,” the coach added. “It’s a deadly combination. If you can’t defend, and give up five outs in an inning, how can you expect to win a game?”

The defending SWC champs, who got to last year’s state title game, will now turn their attention on the Class LL state playoffs, which get underway for Newtown on Tuesday, May 31.

“We’re hoping that this loss will inject some kind of … motivation in them to play better next time,” Guererra said.