The Newtown Hawks Blue 9U District team won the Al Leonard Tournament held in Bethel in mid June. Newtown’s team is led by Head Coach Chris Evans and coaches Jordan Levy, T.J. Garvin, and Kevin Kuzma. Team members include Felipe Costa, Chris Evans, Chris Fairbairn, Braxton Kuzma, Mason Leonard, Owen Leighton, Jacob Christos, Austin Luczak, Kolby Conklin, Quinn Garvin, Hudson Levy, and Jackson Christos.

The tournament was single elimination after pool play. Eight teams from around the state battled for the title (Pomperaug of Southbury, New Fairfield, Danbury, Newtown, Redding/Easton, Brookfield, Bethel, and Norwalk).

After a forfeit win over Redding/Easton Newtown had a 9-8 loss to Danbury. Hawks Blue collected eight hits in this high scoring game. Conklin started on the mound for Hawks going 2.2 innings. Costa, Luczak, and Jacob Christos each contributed in relief for Hawks Blue. Evans and Luczak combined to catch a runner stealing second. Despite hot bats and great defense the Hawks came up a run short and landed in fourth place for standings.

In bracket play Newtown got the chance to face off against Easton/Redding and posted a 10-3 win. Costa started on the mound, letting up only one run in 3-plus innings. Christos and Luczak pitched relief to help secure the win. Hawks Blue fired up the offense in the first inning scoring a run when Evans came home on a wild pitch. The Hawks notched five runs in the third inning. Players who contributed RBIs were Garvin, Conklin, Leonard, Levy, and Luczak. The defense didn’t make a single error in the field as Jacob Christos, Leighton, and teammates came up with all of the plays.

Newtown defeated the Pomperaug Panthers 3-1 in the second game of bracket play. The Hawks took the lead in the seventh inning and held on. Conklin started on the mound and pitched for four innings, and Luczak pitched the final three innings. Luczak, Evans, and Levy all had hits. The game was tied going into the seventh inning. Luczak and Levy both brought in runs to put the Hawks on top. Luczak ended the game with three strikeouts in a row. With the win, the Hawks advanced to the pinnacle game.

In the championship, the Hawks matched up with the Danbury Hatters again and, once again, it was a nail-biter. This time a low-scoring battle and Newtown won a 1-0 thriller. Three Hawks pitchers (Levy, Jackson Christos, and Costa) combined for the shutout victory. The pitching was strong on both sides; the Hawks struck out 13 and the Danbury Hatters pitchers sat down ten. The Hawks did not commit a single error with plays by Fairbairn, Leonard, Levy, and Kuzma. Evans was behind the plate and did not allow any steals at home. Fairbairn and Leonard caught one of Danbury’s runners stealing third helping to prevent any runs being scored. Fairbairn, Luczak, and Leighton all had hits. Things started to look good for the Hawks in the top of the third when Luczak tripled on a line drive to center field and scored on an error by the catcher.

Costa was brought into the game to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. There were runners on second and third and Costa came through in the clutch with three strikeouts in a row to secure the title.