SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior designated hitter Travis Schwamb (West Springfield, MA) knocked in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and junior pitcher Jason Pizzoferrato (Windsor, CT) won his fifth game of the season without a loss as the Western New England College baseball team defeated Roger Williams 6-5 in the second game of a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon (Apr. 19) at Trelease Park.
The Hawks took the opener 2-0 as junior Brian Hurld (South Boston, MA) and sophomore Billy Dunn (Fiskdale, MA) combined on a four-hit shutout.
WNEC snapped Roger Williams' nine-game winning streak as Pizzoferrato got the final out with a runner on third. He allowed eight hits, but fanned seven and walked two.
The Golden Bears scored five times in the fifth for a 5-1 lead before the visitors tied the contest with four runs in the sixth.
Sophomore second baseman Justin Walz (Groton, CT) had a triple, RBI double, and a run, and made a nice defensive play snaring a line drive with a runner on second. Senior shortstop Ryan Kravontka (Glastonbury, CT) also had two hits.
RWU junior Andrew Haycock (Medfield, MA) had a bases clearing double while junior Alex Perry (Glastonbury, CT) had two hits and a run. Junior third baseman Kevin Simpson (Londonderry, NH) had a double and scored twice.
Perry and Kravontka were former teammates at Glastonbury High School in Connecticut along with WNEC sophomore rightfielder Steve Kearney (Glastonbury, CT) who contributed hits in each game.
Perry also knocked in both runs in the opener with a two-run single in the sixth. Simpson chipped in with a single and triple.
Hurld went 6 1/3 innings giving up four hits while striking out six and walking none in running his record to 5-1. Dunn struck out both hitters he faced for his sixth save of the spring.
Senior Chris Anderson (Moodus, CT) took the loss after permitting seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. He is now 3-3 on the season.
Roger Williams has a 24-9 record, including a 16-2 mark in the conference. The Hawks started the day in first place in the league.
Third-place Western New England College moves to 21-9 and 13-3 in conference action.
This was the start of three consecutive doubleheaders for the Golden Bears who visit Colby-Sawyer on Sunday (Apr. 20) and Curry on Monday (Apr. 21).
