No Hits Needed For a Shot at the State Championship

Heading into Tuesday's semifinals of the Class LL state tournament, Katie Bowen was well aware of the challenge in the opposing pitcher's circle.

Newtown was facing Simsbury ace Kathleen Conway, who had allowed just two runs over the tournament's first two rounds.

So when Bowen reached base after getting hit by Conway's pitch in the bottom of the first inning, she knew she had to make the most of the opportunity.

"I knew that I had to make something happen because this was a great pitcher, and I didn't know how many opportunities we were going to get," Bowen said.

With two outs and no one else on base, Bowen stole second and immediately headed to third on a throwing error. But as the throw into third skipped away just as Bowen slid into the base, she alertly picked herself up and motored home for the game's first run.

In the end, it was all Newtown needed.

Despite a no-hit performance from Conway, no.1 seed Newtown advanced to the state championship game with a 1-0 win over no. 5 seed Simsbury at Stratford's DeLuca Field.

"We had two outs and I wasn't expecting all of that to happen," Newtown coach Bob Guerrera said of the dramatic play. "It was 11 seconds of chaos and a run. That was it."

Bowen, who improved to 22-0 on the season, was masterful after escaping two early jams. After allowing consecutive two-out hits in the third inning, she retired the final 13 batters. She gave up just three hits and struck out five over seven innings.

"We always say, even when we're on the winning side, 'good pitching beats good hitting out,' and you saw an example of that today. You can't say enough about how good (Conway) threw the ball, but I think Katie matched her," Guerrera said.

It was a bittersweet ending for Simsbury (19-4), which squandered a brilliant outing from Conway. The senior lefthander struck out 13 of the 19 batters she faced and only one batter -- Bowen -- reached base.

"I never dreamed that she would shut us down that successfully," Guerrera said. "She just kept putting us down and we hung in there."

Simsbury's finest scoring opportunity came in the first inning, when sophomore Julia Dennen lined a one-out triple down the first-base line. The next batter bunted, but Bowen fielded the ball and flipped it to catcher Ashley Kuligowski, who tagged Dennen out as she dashed toward home plate.

Dennen went 2-for-3 at the plate, while senior Madeline McManus accounted for Simsbury's only other hit.

In the seventh inning, Bowen sat down Simsbury in order, leaving Newtown (26-0) just one win shy of its first state title. The Nighthawks will face no. 2 seed Westhill (25-1) Friday or Saturday at DeLuca Field.

"It's going to be one of the biggest games of the year," Bowen said. "I know it's the state championship, but this could've been one of the first games of the year and it would've been a huge game."

Westhill defeated no. 3 seed Southington 3-2 in Tuesday's first semifinal.