Sandy Hook, CT — Playing six games in nine days can take a toll on a pitching staff, but consecutive combined shutouts, and three such dominant pitching outcomes during this stretch, by Newtown High School’s hurlers gave the Nighthawks a spark and helped them pull out a couple of hard-fought victories and one blowout win against South-West Conference rivals on the baseball diamonds. Newtown followed up a 5-4 walk-off win over Pomperaug of Southbury on April 17 with a 1-0 road win over Bethel on April 19, then posted a 3-0 blanking of host Joel Barlow of Redding the next day. Newtown made it three straight victories and wins in four of five contests, the lone loss being a well-pitched 2-1, extra-inning setback to host Weston on April 12. The Hawks carried an overall record of 6-3 — featuring five games decided by the slimmest of margins, just one run — into an April 22 visit from nonconference foe St Joseph of Trumbull. St Joes took advantage of Newtown errors to build a big lead before holding on for an 8-4 win. The shutout wins were led by younger players on the roster as freshman James Piccuillo and sophomore Finn Geissler both tossed five innings and sophomore Danny Leyva worked two innings of relief during the Bethel and Barlow games. Newtown Coach Ian Thoesen noted that his young pitchers showed tremendous poise against conference foes. “That’s great to see,” Thoesen said. The Nighthawks played small ball to scratch out a late run against Bethel, a friendly rival against whom they always seem to have close games. Bethel pitcher Matt Foster was dominant until the top of the seventh when Sam D’Aprile hit a ground ball past Bethel’s first baseman and down the right field line for a double. Josh Rosen hit a sacrifice fly to right moving D’Aprile to third. Yarema Stasyshyn executed a suicide squeeze bunt to score the run, and reached first on an error. Geissler started and went five innings, allowing just two hits and issuing a pair of walks, and striking out 11 Bethel batters. Dhilan Amin allowed one hit and one walk in his two innings and posted his second win in relief in as many NHS games. Against Barlow, Danny Leyva pitched two innings and allowed three hits and issued two walks. Jamie Piccuillo got the win, going five shutout frames, and scattering five hits in relief. Piccuillo did not walk a batter and pitched to contact, striking out one. “It’s really cool — just getting the opportunity to pitch,” said Piccuillo, who mixes an array of pitches — a cutter, sinker, changeup, and curve — to keep batters off balance. In the win over Barlow, Newtown scored a run in the second and put up two insurance runs in the sixth. Stasyshyn had a hit and two runs batted in and Evan Nikolis had a hit and RBI. Leyva had a hit, walk, and run scored; D’Aprile had a hit and run scored; and Geissler had two walks and scored a run. Newtown has relied on several freshmen and sophomores in a variety of roles throughout this season. “I just try to help the team whenever they need me,” said sophomore Wes Keayes, who is among a group of rising-in-the-ranks underclassmen who pinch hit, pinch run, and get chances in the field for NHS. Against St Joes and trailing 8-1 on a windy afternoon, the Hawks got back in the game on back-to-back home runs — a two-run shot off the bat of Leyva and a solo blast down the left field line hit by Sam D’Aprile — but the visiting Cadets closed things out to put a stop to Newtown’s winning ways. “I love the way we’re battling,” Thoesen said. Newtown’s sluggers got back to action with games in consecutive days, April 24 at New Fairfield and at home against Kolbe Cathedral the next day. In yet another one-run nail-biter, New Fairfield edged NHS 6-5. The Nighthawks built a 5-0 lead as Josh Rosen belted a two-run homer. Keayes and Jonathan Moseman both doubled; Moseman had two hits and an RBI. The Hawks blanked Kolbe 8-0 as Geissler went five hitless innings, walking one and fanning nine and Moseman pitched two innings of one-hit, one walk, two strikeout ball. Rosen homered and drove in two runs and Geisler doubled. Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at [email protected]. https://www.newtownbee.com/04282023/stellar-shutout-pitching-sparks-baseball-team-during-busy-stretch/