Stratford, CT — Newtown doubled up Bunnell of Stratford 12-6 on May 10, improving to 9-5 this spring. Goyette led the offensive charge with four hits and four RBI, and DeFelice knocked in two. Goyette and Curtis doubled, and Miller tripled. The hitting has been stellar in several games. Pitching, however, has been keep in keeping the Hawks in almost every contest. Thoesen describes Braun and Burns, in no particular order, as 1A and 1B — co aces of the staff, if you will. Newtown’s pitchers earn plenty of praise from pitching coach Matt Paz, who has done a nice job not only with Burns and Braun, but with the rest of the rotation. “Burns and Braun have been very successful this year attacking the strike zone and mixing up their pitches in all situations. Their maturity is what I am most impressed with. Their stats show how unquestionably dynamic they are but its their ability to deal with adversity — errors, questionable calls, noise — that has turned them into elite pitchers and standouts for our pitching staff. Both of them showcase phenomenal control and always keep our team in the game,” Paz said. “Honestly, our whole starting rotation including Zach Kugler have been standouts,” said Paz, adding that Kugler limited New Fairfield to just a pair of runs in five strong innings, outpitching University of Connecticut commit Braden Quinn. “Our starting rotation combined ERA has truly helped lead this team to consistently win and has helped keep us in ball games,” Paz added. Braun has a 1.13 earned run average, Burns a 1.18, and Kugler 2.56 heading into this week’s action. “I could not be more proud of their performance so far this year. I also want to include Zander Kasbarian, who has thrived in his closer role. He, too, has under a 1.00 ERA and has thrived in the highest of pressure situations. Again, very proud of all of them and they will continue to be the staff that helps create a strong team,” Paz added.