By Kim J. Harmon

The religious observances, Easter weekend and subsequent spring vacation curbed some of the sports activity up at Newtown High School this past week, but certainly not all of it.

The baseball team made its second straight trip to Cooperstown, New York, with Pomperaug and this time came away with a win before running its record to 5-0 and the girls’ lacrosse team improved to 6-0 with wins over Masuk and Fairfield Warde.

A little boys’ lacrosse and some softball highlighted an otherwise slow week.

Read on –

BASEBALL

Newtown 3, Pomperaug 2

Newtown 9, Weston 6

Newtown 11, Weston 2

More than 45 years ago, Dick Drott fired seven innings of no-hit baseball and led the Chicago Cubs to a 5-0 win over the Cleveland Indians in the annual Hall of Fame game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York.

Newtown High School junior Dan ‘Doc’ Murdoch was nearly as good last Saturday as he twirled five innings of two-hit baseball, walking four and striking out four, to lead the Nighthawks to a 3-2 win over Pomperaug in their second straight trip to Doubleday Field.

With a doubleheader sweep of Weston on Monday afternoon (9-6 and 11-2), the ‘Hawks improved to 5-0 … their best start in years.

Now, while Drott would go on to have an ignominious career with the Cubs and Houston Astros, finishing 27-46 with a 4.78 ERA, the Nighthawks are expecting great things from their crafty righthander who boasts a slider, curve and knuckle-change in his repertoire.

“It’s an honor to play here,” said Murdoch, “and to pitch as well as I did and get a win out of Pomperaug really sets the tone for the rest of the season.

Murdoch set the tone for the game by firing a first-pitch strike in the top of the first inning last Saturday. A second-pitch strike was an especially good omen as was the shoe-top catch of a sinking line drive in rightfield by Joe DeVellis for the first out.

Pomperaug went quietly in the top of the frame while the ‘Hawks worked out three walks against Panther starter John Sharkey in the bottom of the first. But the walks amounted to little as Sharkey notched a pair of strikeouts.

A hit batsman and a bunt single in the top of the second had the Panthers threatening again, but Murdoch induced two straight flyball outs to Brian Shimko in centerfield to close the door. In the top of the third, Murdoch issued a leadoff walk but a perfect throw from catcher Peter Oggeri to second baseman Steve Vichiola erased a potential basestealer and the Panthers once again went quietly.

In the bottom of the frame, the ‘Hawks continued to have trouble figuring out Sharkey’s curveball as both Mike Tibbetts and Ryan McGrath went down swinging. Vichiola earned a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, but a groundout closed out the inning.

Murdoch recorded his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, but the ‘Hawks went just as quietly in the bottom of the frame.

So, through four innings – on a field that had hosted many of the greatest offensive players in the history of baseball – Pomperaug and Newtown had combined for just one hit, a bunt single. But that was all set to change.

In the top of the fifth, Murdoch got into trouble by issuing a pair of walks while a fielder’s choice grounder in the hole (coupled with an error) loaded the bases for Pomperaug. But Murdoch recorded his fourth strikeout of the game and a grounder to second closed out the inning.

“I was just trying to stay focusses and concentrated on hitting my spots,” said Murdoch. “They have a lot of good bats on that team and I figured let them hit the ball and let the defense get some outs.”

In the bottom of the frame, Nick Urso walked and DeVellis notched Newtown’s first hit of the day with a sharp single through the third/short hole. Tibbetts sacrificed the runners over a base and McGrath – who had gone down swinging on a nasty curveball in his previous at bat – ripped a double just inside the third base line to score the first two runs of the game.

“(Sharkey) had a good curve and was really mixing it in,” said McGrath, “and I was looking for anything close to the plate.”

The ‘Hawks had the upper hand, but only briefly. In the top of the sixth, Murdoch surrendered a leadoff double to Alex Santopietro … a high fly ball that was misjudged, but nevertheless fell safely to the turf.

The double chased Murdoch off the hill after five innings of brilliant pitching.

“Right away he had everything working,” said Oggeri, “but he lost his fastball in the middle of the game and we had to go to the curve. We always have confidence in our pitching, but Doc pitched a great game and it’s too bad we made a couple of bad plays in the field.”

Alex Dolan came in to relieve, but after he uncorked a wild pitch a sacrifice fly allowed Pomperaug to score its first run of the game. Dolan – who is still recovering from a torn labrum – then walked a batter and head coach Carl Strait went to ace Steve Marks to try and close the door.

But a grounder allowed the runner to advance to second and a seeing-eye single scored the tying run. Marks finally closed the door with a strikeout.

The ‘Hawks, though, wasted little time in getting back the momentum. Brian Cullinan worked out a one-out walk and Jesse Furphy followed with a line shot between first and second. Then, with two outs, Tibbetts and McGrath both reached on errors with the second error allowing the ‘Hawks to plate the eventual winning run.

In the top of the seventh, Marks set down the Panthers in order to earn his second win of the season.

“We have been playing and working for this year,” said McGrath. “The pitching has come around, the defense is really improved, and our hitting is solid. It’s come full circle.”

The ‘Hawks followed up the win by pulling off a sweep of Weston on Monday afternoon. Oggeri collected a pair of hits, including an RBI double, to lead the locals to a 9-6 win in the opener while Vichiola went 4-for-4 with three RBI, Shimko went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBI, and Urso went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the locals to an 11-2 win in the second game.

And at 5-0, the ‘Hawks were looking ahead to games with Joel Barlow (on Wednesday) and New Fairfield (on Saturday and Monday) and the possibility of starting the season 8-0 seemed awfully promising.

“Sure,” said McGrath, “it sounds good but we have to win one game at a time.”

Last year, the ‘Hawks qualified for the South-West Conference and CIAC state tournaments for the first time in nearly a decade and after losing just a couple of players, they rolled into the 2006 season poised for something even better.

“I knew this would be our best team,” said Oggeri, who has been there since the start of Strait’s head coaching career. “Ever since I was a freshman, we have been building for this.”

Pomperaug   000    002       0      - 2

Newtown     000    021       x      - 3

BATTERIES: Pomperaug – John Sharkey, Mike Olender (6), Charlie Benson (6) and Bryan Lemay; Newtown – Dan Murdoch, Alex Dolan (6), Steve Marks (6) and Pete Oggeri. WP: Marks (2-0). LP: Olender (1-1). SO: Sharkey 7, Murdoch 4, Marks. BB: Sharkey 6, Benson, Murdoch 3, Dolan. 2B: Alex Santopietro (P), Ryan McGrath (N). RBI: Pomperaug – Bryan Marcinek, Olender; Newtown – McGrath 2.

Weston         010    030       2      - 6

Newtown     000    225       x      - 9

BATTERIES: Newtown – Steve Marks and Pete Oggeri; Weston – Joseph and Waterhouse. WP: Marks (3-0). LP: Joseph (1-1). SO: Marks 7, Joseph. BB: Joseph 5, Marks 3. 2B: Burke (W) and Oggeri (N). RBI: Weston – Meyer 2 Halpern, Joseph; Newtown – Steve Marks 2, Brian Shimko 2, Oggeri, Ryan McGrath.

Newtown     031    241       0    - 11

Weston         000    110       0      - 2

BATTERIES: Newtown – Mike Tibbetts, Mike Chapin (6) and Peter Oggeri, Ryan Clark (5); Weston – Waterhouse, Kannon (5) and Discala. WP: Tibbetts (1-0). LP: Waterhouse (0-2). SO: Tibbetts 4, Kannon, Chapin, Waterhouse. BB: Tibbetts 7, Waterhouse 3, Chapin 2. 2B: Steve Vichiola (N), Tony Gallucci (N), Seymour (W), Meyer (W). 3B: Brian Shimko. RBI: Newtown – Shimko 3, Vichiola 3, Joe Devellis, Oggeri, Nick Urso, Gallucci.

SOFTBALL

Newtown 15, Weston 0

Trumbull 2, Newtown 0

If the first inning was to be any indications, Newtown and Trumbull seemed set for an offensive battle on Tuesday afternoon but Jenna Legros of Newtown and Magen Dargon of Trumbull soon settled down and allowed just six hits between them.

But the Lady Eagles were able to score a pair of runs in a 2-0 win that dropped the Lady Nighthawks to 3-3 on the season. The locals earned their third win with a 15-0 mercy-rule win over Weston on Monday.

Against Trumbull, Legros pitched seven solid innings, walking three and striking out five. The freshman pitcher allowed just four hits, but all went for extra bases – a triple by Melissa Crandall, two doubles by Byrne Katz and one double by Ashley Sullivan.

Crandall’s triple led to the first run in the top of the second and Sullivan’s double scored the second run in the top of the fifth. On the other side of the plate, Kelley Tenney and Melissa Fracker collected the only hits allowed by Dargon, who whiffed 14 batters on the afternoon.

The ‘Hawks had much better offensive success on Monday as Tenney went 4-for-4 with a triple and five RBI. Freshman Nora Lynn Shimko doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs while Katie Schmidt (with two RBI) and Ashley Ferris (with one RBI) also doubled as sophomore pitcher Stacy Broughton fired a two-hitter with eight strikeouts.

The ‘Hawks were in Redding on Wednesday to take on Joel Barlow and will host New Fairfield on Friday before traveling to Seaside Park in Bridgeport on Monday to take on Kolbe-Cathedral.

Weston         000      00    - 0

Newtown     242      7x  - 15

BATTERIES: Newtown – Stacey Broughton and Ashley Ferris; Weston – DiApice, Link (5), Ogiba. WP: Broughton (2-0). LP: DiApice. SO: Broughton 8, DiApice. BB: Broughton 2, DiApice 2. 2B: Nora Lynn Shimko (N) 2, Kate Schmidt (N), Ferris (N). 3B: Kelly Tenney (N). RBI: Newtown – Tenney 5, Shimko 2, Schmidt 2, Ferris.

Trumbull       010    010       0      - 2

Newtown     000    000       0      - 0

BATTERIES: Trumbull – Magen Dargon and Lauren Piorkowski; Newtown – Jenna Legros and Ashley Ferris. WP: Dargon. LP: Legros (1-3). SO: Legros 5, Dargon 14. BB: Legros 3, Dargon. 2B: Katz (T) 2, Sullivan. 3B: Crandall (T).

GIRLS LACROSSE

Newtown 14, Masuk 6

Newtown 20, FF Warde 11

Getting stronger and stronger.

The Newtown High School girls’ lacrosse team certainly had no reason to lack any confidence heading into the 2006 season and wins over top opponents like Cheshire, Joel Barlow and Masuk have only served to justify that confidence.

Except, co-captain Karli Beitel said, “This makes us work harder. We won those games, but we know we can do more and have to work hard against teams like Branford and New Fairfield.”

With a 14-6 win over Masuk last Saturday and a 20-11 win over Fairfield Warde on Tuesday, the Lady Nighthawks – the defending South-West Conference champions – have improved to 6-0 and, according to laxpower.com, are ranked eighth in Connecticut and 32nd in New England.

“We have to keep working together as a team,” said Beitel, “and when we do that it’s our greatest asset.”

The ‘Hawks did not work together all that well on defense Tuesday, but their offense is so explosive – averaging 14.7 goals a game – that the 11 goals they allowed to Fairfield Warde was, at worst, a little disconcerting.

The locals jumped out to a 5-0 lead in only 12 minutes and went up as much as seven goals late in the first half, but the Lady Mustangs managed to stay within range … especially after scoring three of the final four goals of the half.

Jen Greenwood scored five goals and assisted in three others, with four of those goals and all three assists coming in the first 25 minutes. Courtney Gleason scored four goals and assisted on two others, with three of those goals and both assists coming in the second 25 minutes.

Beitel had three assists, but added a pair of goals to give her 17 for the season … and 100 for her career. The senior became the ninth member of the exclusive 100-goal club at Newtown with Casey Kirch (189), Ellie Champagne (148), Tom Ryan (147), Caitlin Collier (134), Charlie Heinzer (123), John Oliver (118), Meg Regnery (110) and Sean Raby (104).

Kim Solheim and Lauren Ciccomascolo scored two goals apiece as Moira Collier and Betsey Vendel notched one goal each.

The win came after a 14-7 win over arch-rival Masuk last weekend, with both teams depleted because of the Easter holiday and impending spring vacation. Beitel scored six times and assisted on two others as Ciccomascolo scored four times. Gleason, Vendel, Solheim and Maley all scored while Greenwood, Carly Curran and Gleason registered two assists apiece.

The ‘Hawks will visit Masuk on Monday night and will host Bethel on Thursday afternoon on the DeGroat/Anderson Athletic Complex.

Newtown 22, Fairfield Warde 11

GOALS: Newtown – Jen Greenwood 5, Courtney Gleason 4, Rachel Maley 3, Karli Beitel 2, Kim Solheim 2, Lauren Ciccomascolo 2, Moira Collier, Betsy Vendel. Fairfield Warde – Katie Morgan 4, Ashley Delvecchio 2, Laura Valentine 2, Megan Miraval 2, Rachel Friedman. ASSISTS: Newtown – Beitel 3, Greenwood 3, Maley 2, Gleason 2, Ciccomascolo, Vendel; Fairfield Warde – Valentine, Allie Davis. SAVES: Newtown – Kerrie Canavan 12; Fairfield Warde – Kathleen Jeske 19.

Newtown 14, Masuk 7

GOALS: Newtown – Karli Beitel 6, Lauren Ciccomascolo 4, Courtney Gleason, Betsy Vendel, Kim Solheim, Rachel Maley. ASSISTS: Newtown – Beitel 2, Maley 2, Jen Greenwood 2, Carly Curran 2, Gleason 2, Kim Solheim, Vendel.

BOYS LACROSSE

Branford 14, Newtown 7

Weston 11, Newtown 3

It has been more than two weeks since the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team opened the 2006 season with a 9-6 win over Immaculate … and the Nighthawks are still looking for another.

The locals dropped an 11-4 decision to Norwalk on April 8, a 15-2 decision to Joel Barlow (ranked 39th in New England and 7th in Connecticut) on April 11, and 14-7 decision to undefeated Branford (ranked 47th in New England and 9th in Connecticut) on April 15 before suffering an 11-3 loss to South-West Conference foe Weston on Tuesday afternoon.

The ‘Hawks are 1-4.

Grant Speer, Brian Reszoly and Collin Babbage scored two goals apiece while Travis Speer added a goal and three assists for the ‘Hawks in their loss to Branford. In the loss to Weston, Reszoly and Travis Speer scored first-period goals to stake the locals to an early 2-0 lead, but the Trojans scored four unanswered goals to take the lead.

Grant Speer scored off an assist from Travis Speer early in the third period, but it was all Weston from then on.

The ‘Hawks will host East Lyme on Saturday at Treadwell Park (faceoff at 7 pm) and will host Masuk next Tuesday, also at Treadwell Park (faceoff at 5 pm).