Offensive Outburst Carries Newtown Softball Past Stamford

If there is one distinguishable characteristic that sets the Newtown High School softball team apart from its competition, is its ability to strike at the plate from anywhere in the batting order.

"The bottom of the order, the top of the order -- flip a coin or pick your poison. You never know where it's coming from. It always comes from somebody," Newtown coach Bob Guerrera said.

Combine that always-dangerous offense with dominant pitching from senior Katie Bowen and the result is the formula, which last week carried the Nighthawks to their first conference championship since 1989.

Better yet, it now has them on a collision course toward an even greater prize -- a state title.

No.1 seed Newtown stormed past No.17 seed Stamford 10-1 in the second round of the Class LL state tournament on Wednesday, as nine different players contributed to a 15-hit outburst.

"Definitely a huge one," Newtown catcher Ashley Kuligowski said of the win. "It keeps us going and moving in the right direction. We don't want it to end."

Like many of Newtown's (24-0) previous 23 wins this season, the outcome was decided early. The Nighthawks built a commanding 10-0 lead after just three innings, behind 11 hits -- five of which went for extra bases.

"That's huge because it sets the tone for the rest of the game. It kind of takes a lot out of the other team and we just have to provide defense, which we do," Kuligowski said. "Once we get those first couple runs across, it's like, 'ok we're doing our thing here.'"

Kuligowski jump-started the Nighthawks' offense in the first inning, as she hit a one-out bloop single off Stamford pitcher Taylor Zito. Zito then walked the next two batters to load the bases and center fielder Jess Gibbons capitalized, as she ripped a run-scoring single into left field. Rachel Ruiz then followed with a two-run double to extend Newtown's lead to 3-0.

"We're just a very talented group," Guerrera said. "They're good softball players, they hit the ball very well, and they stayed the course with that all season long. We've played good defense, we threw the ball well, we hit the ball well. That's really the story of the tape."

The early run support was more than enough for Bowen, who was again near-flawless in the pitcher's circle. She allowed just two hits and walked one over seven innings to move to 20-0 on the season.

"All year long, she's been solid as a rock," Guerrera said. "The nice thing about Katie is that it doesn't matter if we're up 10-0 or up 1-0, she's tough, she stays gritty and hopefully we can ride her all the way."

Bowen struck out 11 and retired the first 11 batters she faced. After walking Stamford's Nicole Defasche with one out in the sixth inning, Bowen allowed her lone run on the afternoon, as Krista Robostelli tripled to left field.

Bowen also enjoyed a fine day at the plate, as she went 1-for-2 with two walks and one RBI.

The Nighthawks scored five runs in the second inning, which began with a one-out double from left fielder Monica Macchiarulo. After a single and a walk loaded the bases, Meghan Gibbons promptly smacked a two-run single to extend the lead to 5-0.

They carried an 8-0 lead into the third, before Macchiarulo, Kuligowski and Bowen hit consecutive triples with one out to push Newtown's advantage on the scoreboard to 10-0.

Kuligowski went 4-for-4 with one RBI and three runs scored, while Jess Gibbons and Ruiz each drove in two runs.

Newtown is now just three wins from the Class LL state title and its next test will come in Friday's quarterfinal game. It will host No. 8 seed West Haven (17-4) or No. 9 seed Chesire (16-5).

Moving forward, Guerrera said Newtown must guard against being overconfident.

"You're always coaching with guarded optimism," Guerrera said. "You can't come into a game thinking the other team is not going to be good. I tell my team, 'respect all, fear none' and that's the way it's got to go. But you've got to respect them first."