Newtown High Softball One Step Closer to Title

Following an undefeated regular season, the Newtown High softball team entered the South-West Conference tournament as the resounding favorite to win the title.

In Tuesday's conference quarterfinal game against Bunnell, the top seed wasted no time in making a push toward that feat.

The Nighthawks pounded five hits and plated four runs over the first two innings, handing ace pitcher Katie Bowen all the run support she would need. Bowen allowed just two hits and recorded 14 strikeouts, as Newtown defeated eight-seed Bunnell 5-0 at Treadwell Park.

"We're one step closer to where we want to be," Newtown catcher Ashley Kuligowski said. "Everyone played great and we just wanted to come in here and take care of business and that's what we did."

Kuligowski played a significant role in the Nighthawks' 21st consecutive victory, as she helped build a 1-0 lead after drawing a one-out walk in the first inning. Kuligowski advanced to second base on a wild pitch with two outs, and then scored on a single by third baseman Meghan Gibbons.

While Bunnell escaped further damage in the inning, Kuligowski delivered the crucial hit in the Nighthawks' three-run, second inning. With two runners on base with two outs, Kuligowski stepped to the plate and lined a two-run double to center to give the Nighthawks a 3-0 lead.

Bowen then followed with a run-scoring double of her own to give Newtown (21-0, 16-0) some early breathing room.

"That was huge because then we got the momentum on our side, and we kept it the whole game," she said of the two-out rally.

Kuligowski went 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored on the afternoon.

The four-run lead was certainly enough for Bowen, who already tossed a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Bunnell on April 15. After allowing a one-out double to second baseman Sam Archibald in the fourth inning, Bowen retired ten of the final 12 batters she faced for Newtown's 12 shutout victory of the season.

"She's been the lynchpin for the whole process all season long. I don't suspect that she's going to let up anytime soon the way she approaches the games," Newtown coach Bob Guerrera said of Bowen.

While Guerrera said Newtown exhibited "great intensity" in the early innings, its bats soon cooled down. After Bunnell pitcher Kyla Pataki escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third inning, she allowed just two hits and one run over the final three innings.

Guerrera said with Bowen in the pitcher's circle with a four-run lead, the Nighthawks began to "coast a little bit."

Nonetheless, Bunnell couldn't solve the ace pitcher and Newtown is on its way to the conference semifinals. The Nighthawks will face either fourth-seeded New Fairfield or fifth-seeded Masuk Thursday at DeLuca Field in Stratford.

After Archibald reached on an error to begin the seventh inning, Bowen put the exclamation point on the victory with three consecutive strikeouts.

"It was a great win. We're taking it one game at a time," Bowen said. "We knew coming into this game that we've seen them before, but you can't take anyone lightly. We came in playing our A-game."