PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Western New England College opened its season in fine fashion by compiling a 6-1 record at the Port Charlotte Invitational in Florida during spring break.

WNEC started the new campaign with an impressive 5-4 win over No. 24 SUNY Cortland on Saturday, March 12, then defeated St. Mary's of Maryland 5-2 on Sunday, March 13, and city rival Springfield 9-3 on Monday, March 14. Bowdoin came away with a 13-9 victory on Tuesday, March 15. WNEC bounced back with a 3-2 win over Benedictine (Ill.) on Wednesday, March 16.

Rain washed out action on Thursday, March 17, and Friday, March 18, before Western New England College ended its trip with a doubleheader sweep over Elms (10-5 in 10 innings) and Chicago (23-2) on Saturday, March 19.

Freshman second baseman Ryan Kravontka (Glastonbury, CT) led the Golden Bears with a .542 average (13-for-24) in six games, including a pair of four-hit performances against Bowdoin and Chicago. Senior centerfielder Jeff Maurutis (Milford, CT) was second with a .433 average highlighted by a 5-for-5 outing against Chicago.

Senior leftfielder Chris Mahoney (Yorkville, NY) hit .379 with 11 hits, 11 runs, 11 runs-batted in, and three homers while extending his school record hitting streak to a remarkable 40 games. He had the winning three-run homer against Benedictine, and two homers and five RBI against Elms.

Also hitting over .300 were sophomore first baseman Tom Horgan (Westfield, MA) (.355) and senior catcher Matt Hackney (Bristol, CT) (.308).

Junior pitcher Jason Connelly (Scituate, MA) posted a 2-0 record and 1.62 earned-run-average with 15 strikeouts in 16 innings. Freshman Chris Anderson (Moodus, CT) also had a 2-0 mark with a 2.03 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

Western New England College hit .331 and outscored its opponents by a 64-31 margin. The pitching staff recorded a fine 3.63 ERA with 59 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 62 innings.