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A good recipe for success in baseball is solid pitching, strong defense, and timely hitting. The way Newtown High School's baseball team pitched in the South-West Conference tournament it practically didn't matter how much of those other ingredients got mixed in. NHS allowed only one run in three tournament games, culminating with an 8-0 triumph over Bethel in the championship game, at Bethel High, on May 24.

Orlando Swift and Kyle Roche combined to two-hit the Wildcats to lift Newtown to its first conference crown since 2012. The Nighthawks proved you can throw the records out the window, too, as the tourney's seventh seed rode its sharp pitching through a trio of higher-ranked opponents: No. 2 Masuk of Monroe in the quarterfinals, No. 3 Weston in the semifinals, and No. 4 Bethel in the pinnacle contest.

Newtown Coach Ian Thoesen said he told his players, as the regular season wrapped up "get in and we can make a run at it."

That run was a dominant one as the Hawks outscored their opponents a combined 16-1.

"It starts on the mound. Orlando was great tonight," Thoesen said of his pitcher, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, just as Jason Hebner, who earned tournament Most Valuable Player accolades, did in the semifinals, en route to a three-hit shutout.

Swift got a little help as Kyle Roche, who tossed a complete game in a 3-1 win over Masuk to start the tournament, came on in relief and got the final five outs. Swift struck out three batters and Roche fanned two. Newtown's starter, who threw a fastball, curve, and slider, said he ran out of steam and asked to be taken out of the game.

"We've had some struggles this season and we're really turning it on in the playoffs," Hebner said after his outing in the semis. "There's a healthy competition between the pitchers."

"It's our strength," Swift added. "We have a pretty deep staff."

In the title game, Austin Kasbarian had three hits, including a two-run home run, and drove in four; Jack Miller had two hits and three batted in; Todd Petersen had three hits, including a double, and two runs scored; Hebner contributed two hits, a walk, and run scored; Will Huegi had a hit and run scored; and Robert Lombardo scored two runs.

Newtown scored a run in the first inning and four in the fourth to take control.

"They deserve it because they worked hard," Thoesen said of his team winning the championship.

Newtown's coach pointed out that the preparation began with working on the little things, such as bunting, in the cold with snow on the ground as the Nighthawks practiced on the Blue & Gold Stadium turf during preseason.