12U Hawks Win USSSA State Championship

Article by Assistant Coach Tom Mulligan courtesy of Newtown softball.

The 12U Newtown Hawks won the USSSA State Championship last weekend (June 1-2) despite coming out of the tournament's Saturday pool play round as only the 7th seed.

On Sunday the Hawks won three consecutive games, beating the 2nd seed CT Mirage, the 6th seed Central CT Comets, and in the finals, the undefeated 1st seed Nightmare 2000.

Single Elimination Round Game 1: Newtown Hawks 11; CT Mirage 1
The girls came out swinging in the first inning in their first game and never looked back as they thumped the 2nd seed CT Mirage 11-1. Kaysie Fisher was outstanding on the mound allowing only 4 hits and striking out 4. Everybody contributed with bat as it was an all-out assault from the beginning. Abby Pereira, Rylee Mulligan, and Kaysie Fisher each had two RBIs to lead the way for the Hawks. Joy Metzger and Rachel Daum also chipped in with two out RBIs to put the game out of reach.

Game 2: Newtown Hawks 11; Central CT Comets 1
Next up for the Hawks were the Central CT Comets. The Hawks jumped out in front of the Comets and never looked back. Shannon Cheh was stellar on the mound giving up only 4 hits and striking out 3. She retired the first 8 batters before the first runner got on base. She was then was quickly erased on a great catch in center field by Liv Mubarek who threw the runner out at first base for a double play. Erin Burns and Rachel O’Grady anchored the corners in the infield with solid play all day.

Championship game: Newtown Hawks 4; Nightmare 2
In the Championship game the Hawks faced the #1 seed Nightmare 2000. The Nightmare, who were undefeated coming into the game, had outscored their opponents 33 to 7 in 5 games. The Hawks fell behind early, 1-0 and 2-1, but the Nightmare could never put together a big inning. Tess Mubarek held the runners at bay with outstanding catching and negated any running game the Nightmare had. Kaysie Fisher was even stronger in this game as she held a strong line-up to 6 hits while striking out 5. Clutch hitting was also key to the game as all of the Hawks runs were scored with two outs. Mulligan’s single in the 3rd put the Hawks on the board scoring O’Grady. In the 4th inning, with the Hawks down by one, Julia Anderson came up with a huge two out, 2 RBI triple to score Cheh and Burns and give the Hawks a lead they would never relinquish. Kaysie Fisher helped her own cause with a big two out single in the top of the 6th to score Mulligan. The Hawks infield of O’Grady, Pereira, Mulligan, and Burns provided outstanding support to Fisher making 11 of the 18 outs.

Congratulations to Head Coach Mary Sigillo on her first Championship win, and to Asst. Coaches Jeff Mubarek, Kurt Daum, Rich Sigillo, Tom Mulligan, and Rob Farmer.

The 12U Hawks would like to thank their sponsors: Dental Associates (Newtown & Brookfield), McGuire’s Ale House, Poland Spring Direct, Harriet Birrittella, Cervalis, and Auerbach Pediatrics.