By Kim J. Harmon

HAMDEN – Megan Sajovic had been playing with fire all night . . . but with the bases behind her all loaded up with Stamford runners, a full count on the batter, and Newtown clinging to a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth, the young pitcher wasn’t about to get burned.

Because it was at that point that Sajovic fired a knee-high fastball past a young girl named Casey (oh, no – not from Mudville) and lifted the amazing Newtown 10-year-old all stars to their second consecutive Babe Ruth Softball state championship.

“These kids are still so innocent – still here just to play a softball game,” said head coach Nancy Bowen, who guided the 10s to a state and New England Regional championship in 2001. “They just went out there and gave it all they got.”

Sajovic – a unanimous choice as tournament Most Valuable Player – certainly gave it all she got. While she certainly did play with fire by walking seven Stamford batters and allowing four others to reach base, she settled down when she had to settle down – allowing no hits and striking out nine.

“Megan showed a tremendous amount of guts out there,” said coach Bowen.

Newtown held tight to a 3-1 lead it had crafted with two runs in the first inning and one more in the second, but it looked as if everything was going to unravel in the top of the sixth . . . especially after Sajovic walked the first batter and then saw the next reach base on a fielder’s choice.

With runners on first and second, the 10s finally nailed down the first out of the frame when second basemen Kate Bowen scooped a grounder and flipped to Kaila Harrington at first base. But that put runners on second and third – and it got worse when Sajovic walked the following batter to load the bases.

Things were getting especially tense, but shortstop Nora Lynn Shimko made the biggest play (other than the final strikeout) of the inning. Playing up, she was able to grab a slow rolling grounder and throw down to catcher Caitlin Cosgrove for the force out at home.

Two outs.

But there was still one batter to go – and Sajovic took care of her with a few well-placed, gutsy pitches.

Besides her effort on the mound (no hits and 18 strikeouts in 12 innings of work – which was enough, on its own, to earn her the MVP), Sajovic also led the offensive effort in the tournament with a pair of triples and a .545 on base percentage. Marley Koschel led the team with a .727 on base percentage while Bowen (who struck out 14 batters in nine innings of pitching) and Elissa Robertson both had .600 on base percentages.

Harrington (.545), Cosgrove (.545), and Laura Newberry (.500) also had a part in the offensive effort.

“Everyone got on base at some point in this tournament,” said coach Bowen, “and everyone did something great for the Hawks.”

Perhaps the most inspiring effort came from Robertson – the one they call Nails. Besides doing the little things to help the Hawks win (like stealing signs), she also played the championship game while nursing an ear infection – an infection that ended up sending her to the hospital with a 103-degree fever that was not responding to antibiotics.

“You can see why we call her Nails,” said coach Bowen. “She is so courageous!”

The Hawks eased their way through the early stages of the tournament with wins over Oxford (2-0), Stamford (5-1), and Norwalk (12-0).

In the win over Oxford, the Hawks – who struck out 16 times – managed just three hits, but scored once in the first inning (thanks to a fielder’s choice grounder by Sajovic) and once in the sixth (thanks to an error and a single by Koschel).

In the first win over Stamford, it was Sajovic’s two-run triple in the first inning that made the difference. Shimko (sacrifice fly) and Newberry (single) also drove in runs. While Sajovic and Bowen combined on the mound for the win, Robertson made four outstanding defensive plays at third to stop Stamford bunt attempts. Ally Modzelewski played well at second.

In the win over Norwalk, Shimko, Koschel, Harrington and Cosgrove put together four consecutive singles to score three runs. But in the fourth, the Hawks blew the game open with an eight-run explosion. Monique Samuelson had a key single to set the stage for a three-run triple by Sajovic. Annemarie Davis, Newberry and Modzelewski also drove in runs.

The Hawks – who resumed their Central Valley Fastpitch League schedule this week – will now prepare for their trip to the New England Regional tournament in Merrimack, New Hampshire next weekend.

U12s Defy

The Odds

Oh, it was no illusion – that was the Newtown 12-year-old all stars playing Norwalk for the Babe Ruth Softball state championship.

“A lot of people didn’t give us much of a chance,” admitted head coach Al Legros, who had to wonder himself when the Hawks failed to hold a 6-2 lead and lost their opening round game. “But we have some dedicated girls and they gave it a good shot.”

A good shot, sure, but it wasn’t quite enough as Norwalk eliminated Newtown, 2-0, on Monday night.

“It was a big transition for us,” said coach Legros. “We played some teams who were throwing a little slower and then Norwalk brought out this pitcher who was throwing fire.”

Yep – Stephanie Kurose of Norwalk fired a no-hitter and allowed just one runner to reach base. But she was matched pretty well by Renna and Legros, who combined to allow just one earned run in the game.

Valerie Nezvesky (shortstop) and Rachel Nicolosi (second base) sparked the defense, which played exceptionally well against undefeated Norwalk. The Hawks accepted the runner-up trophy – which many considered quite an accomplishment.

“The girls were happy (with how they played),” said coach Legros, “but they were a little sad because they were hoping to win a state title.”

After losing 9-6 to Stamford in the opening game of the tournament, the Hawks battled back through the loser’s bracket and with wins over New Milford (22-4), New Canaan (12-5), Stamford (12-5), and Hamden (10-7) they found themselves in the championship against Norwalk – knowing, though, that they had to win twice if they were going to grab that championship trophy.

In the loss to Stamford in Game #1, Newtown took a 4-0 lead in the first inning as the first seven batters reached base. But a seven-run outburst by Stamford in the fourth turned the tables on the Hawks.

In the win over New Milford, Jenna Legros was 3-for-4 while Sammie Ciaccia, Rachel Nicolosi, and Val Nezvesky had two hits apiece. Jaclyn Van Waalwijk had a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth to put the game away for good. Stacy Broughton, Kelley Tenney and Kyla Miles all hit well while Mariale Renna, Broughton and Legros combined on a one-hitter.

In the win over New Canaan, the Hawks scored five quick runs in the first inning with the help of RBI singles from Ciaccia, Nezvesky and Tenney. Nicolosi added an RBI single in the second inning while Fracker tripled. Overall, Broughton banged out a pair of hits and drove in two runs.

In the win over Stamford in Game #4, Ciaccia doubled and tripled, driving in four runs, to power the offense. Nezvesky and Nicolosi knocked in two runs apiece while Katie Schmidt and Fracker also banged out hits. Renna and Legros were superb on the mound, combining on a four-hitter with six strikeouts. Besides her work at the plate, Ciaccia also made five putouts at third to spark the defense.

“It was a great confidence boost for the girls,” said coach Legros.

In the win over Hamden, a five-run first inning for the Hawks started. After Joanna Barry (walk), Nicolosi (single) and Ciaccia (hit by pitch) loaded the bases, Nezvesky (single), Schmidt (double) and Broughton (sac fly) started knocking the runs in. Later, Nicolosi and Ciaccia had RBI singles that drove in Tenney, Legros and Barry with some insurance runs.

Hamden made a strong comeback in the final inning, but it was cut short on a phenomenal diving catch at first base by Schmidt.

The win lifted the Hawks into the finals, but the dream ended with the loss to Norwalk. The Hawks are coached by Al Legros, Dave Broughton and Wayne Ciaccia.

U14s Make

A Good Run

Bad karma – that’s what it was.

There were problems with the pitching rubber (it was too close to the plate), problems with the umpires (two questionable calls), and problems with their own timing (have a runner called out for leaving too early just moments before a teammate doubles) and, boy, things just did not go well for the Newtown 14-year-old all stars in the first round of the Babe Ruth Softball state tournament.

That’s okay, though. The Hawks chased away that karma and rallied back from a 2-0 loss to Terryville in the opening game and just three days later – after wins over New Canaan (9-1), Weston (11-0), Norwalk (15-4), and Stamford (4-3) – found themselves in the U14 championship round.

Against Terryville.

And the bad karma returned – yep, while committing seven errors on the night, the Hawks struggled against a strong Terryville team and suffered an 8-2 loss on Monday night.

“We played flawlessly throughout the tournament,” explained coach Rich Van Waalwijk, “but in the final we made seven errors. The wheels just came off. What are you going to do? The girls were just fried.”

Terryville did pitch a strong game, allowing just six hits. Ally Kirk, who handled the catching studies so well during the tournament, was 2-for-3 while Lisa Alberico (2 RBI), Becky Narel, Amie Walston and Kaitlin Herwig all singled.

In the 2-0 loss to Terryville last Friday, Narel pitched a complete game gem – allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out four batters. Christina Wolf and Ashley Ferris both had doubles to spark the offense.

In the seventh inning, already down 2-0, the Hawks got a little rally going. Ferris doubled and Narel singled to put runners on first and third. After Narel swiped second, though, a grounder turned into a double play to end the threat.

The Hawks started their rally back the next day with a 9-1 win over New Canaan. Jenna Van Waalwijk and Narel combined on a two-hitter, walking two batters and striking out nine. Wolf was 4-for-4 with a double; Van Waalwijk was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI; Narel was 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and three RBI; and Walston was 3-for-4 with two RBI.

In an 11-0 win over Weston, Narel and Van Waalwijk combined on a brilliant five-inning no-hitter in which just one runner (on a walk in the fourth inning) reached base, The pair combined for six strikeouts. At the plate, Ali Legros was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and Herwig blasted a triple and scored two runs. Narel was 3-for-3 with three singles.

Next up was Norwalk.

“This one kind of scared us a little,” said coach Van Waalwijk. “One kid hit a triple, we made an error, and all of a sudden they scored three runs in the first inning.”

But the Hawks settled down real fast, taking the lead in the second inning and never looking back enroute to a 15-4 win. Van Waalwijk was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Wolf was 0-for-0 with three walks and two runs scored, Ferris was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Legros and Kirk each were 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Kate Kokoski had a pair of singles. Narel, meanwhile, went 3-for-3 with two triples – the second with the bases loaded, a hit that officially ended the game on the mercy rule.

In the field, Sophie Cerreta played outstanding at second base, recording five assists.

The tournament nearly came to an end for the Hawks in the very next game, but another triple by Narel in the top of the eighth scored Ferris with the winning run in a 4-3 decision over Stamford in the finals of the loser’s bracket. Narel finished 3-for-4 while Van Waalwijk and Wolf each had hits.

While the Hawks did score timely runs, it was the defense which made the difference. In the third inning, with a runner on first, Herwig made a spectacular on-the-run catch in left field and in the fifth, with a runner on second, Wolf made a diving pick at third base and threw the runner out at first.

“The defense was unbelievable,” said coach Van Waalwijk. “Those two plays kept us in it. We never would have gotten to the eighth inning if it wasn’t for that.”

The win put them in the championship, but Terryville put a stop to the Hawks’ quest for a state championship.

“It was a good run,” said coach Van Waalwijk, “that’s for sure.”

The Hawks – who return to their Central Valley Fastpitch League schedule (with a vengeance) – are coached by Rich Van Waalwijk, Rich Narel, Cosmos Alberico and Ed Wolf.