Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Sophomore designated hitter Garrison Ward (Wyckoff, NJ) had a bases loaded double to highlight a five-run eighth inning as Western New England College posted an exciting 6-2 victory over Johnson & Wales in a second round game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Friday at Trelease Park.
The win gave the Golden Bears a 27-5 record and school record 13-game winning streak.
Western New England College trailed 2-0 after the first inning before getting a run in the fourth on a single by freshman second baseman Ryan Kravontka (Glastonbury, CT) and triple by senior right-fielder Kyle Hackney (Bristol, CT).
WNEC junior Jason Connelly (Scituate, MA) and JWU senior Dan Howard were hooked up in a classic until the Golden Bears broke through in the eighth.
Senior catcher Matt Hackney (Bristol, CT) led off with a single and scored on some good base-running following a double to left by senior left-fielder Chris Mahoney (Yorkville, NY).
After a single by sophomore third baseman Josh Jacobs (Essex Junction, VT), a sacrifice bunt by Kravontka, and intentional walk to sophomore first baseman Tom Horgan (Westfield, MA), Ward delivered his clutch hit down the right field line. The Golden Bears scored their final run on a balk.
Connelly (7-1)Â settled down after a shaky first and finished with a seven-hitter striking out seven with one walk.
Second-seeded Western New England College will meet top-seeded Suffolk in a winners bracket game Saturday in Nashua, New Hampshire.
