NHS Softball—

Hawks Reel Off Seven Wins, Then Lose Heartbreaker

By Andy Hutchison

The Newtown High School softball team, after dropping its first two games of the season, went on to win seven in a row and came oh-so-close to making it eight straight this week.

The Hawks scored double digits in three of their wins and shut out two opponents, but those winning ways came to a halt in a tough-to-swallow 2-1 loss to undefeated Trumbull at home on Tuesday afternoon.

A player tagged out in a rundown and line drive double play may have cost the Nighthawks a pair of runs. And Trumbull’s eventual winning run scored after Breanne Joyce reached base on a controversial call. After hitting the ball, Joyce hesitated until a coach told her to run. Newtown’s coaches and players pleaded with the umpire to reverse the call since they saw the ball bounce off her leg after the swing.

What should have been a foul ball and a dead play in the eyes of everyone on Newtown’s side, resulted in a single.

Umpires met but did not reverse the call, much to the dismay of the Nighthawks. Joyce eventually scored the decisive run on a two-out hit in the top of the seventh inning.

Trumbull pitcher Magen Dargen won a pitching duel with her counterpart Jenna Legros. Dargen had five strikeouts and scattered eight hits. Legros fanned nine hitters and allowed just five hits.

Four of Newtown’s hits were triples, including Joanna Barry’s tying hit to deep left in the last of the sixth. Ashley Kuligowski worked a walk leading off the Newtown half of the sixth, but was caught in a rundown later in the inning. In the fifth, Nora Lynn Shimko was doubled off third on a hard line out.

The Hawks just did not get the breaks on Tuesday, although right fielder Melissa Fracker made a nice sliding catch to save at least one run. Trumbull improved to 10-0 overall and Newtown stood at 7-3 heading into the middle of the week.

Newtown has played well of late and found ways to win close, low scoring games and blowouts.

On April 8 the Hawks battered Pomperaug 12-1 and the next day scratched out a 2-1 win over New Milford. Fracker and Katie Bowen knocked in seventh-inning runs to make a winner of pitcher Stacy Broughton, who allowed just two hits in the win over New Milford.

Then came an 8-0 shutout of Joel Barlow on April 16 in the Hawks’ first game back after their trip to Florida. Legros tossed a perfect game (see related story).

The Hawks won four games in four days beginning with the Barlow game. Newtown beat Weston 13-1. Legros scored four runs, Barry hit a home run, Katie Schmidt scored three runs and Shimko drove in four runs.

Next came a 1-0 win over New Fairfield. Schmidt hit a sacrifice fly for the lone run, in the bottom of the seventh. Legros allowed just one hit and struck out 10 batters in that win.

The Hawks proceeded to travel to Greenwich and top the Cardinals 7-3 the next day (this past Saturday). Bowen had 10 strikeouts and the offense was led by Kuligowski and Schmidt (two runs batted in apiece) and Legros who had three hits and scored a pair of runs.

Newtown handled Kolbe Cathedral 15-1 on Monday to cap the seven-game winning streak. Broughton improved to 3-0 and allowed her first earned run of the season. She struck out eight batters and improved to 12-2 in her career. Schmidt belted a pair of triples and knocked in four runs and Tenney batted in three.

Through this past weekend’s action, Bowen was hitting .400 in 25 at bats, Shimko was hitting .348 in 23 at bats and Fracker was batting .346 in 26 at bats. Bowen had eight RBI and Barry and Schmidt had each knocked in six. The team was hitting .293 and pitchers Legros, Broughton, and Bowen — through the first 10 games — have combined to allow just 15 runs (and only 11 of those are earned).