Worcester, Mass. – Johnson & Wales University hammered out 17 hits and the visiting Wildcats reached the 20 win mark for the sixth consecutive season by scoring early and later on their way to a 12-5 win over Clark University in non-league baseball action on Monday evening at the Granger Diamond.

The win for JWU sends their record to 20-13 overall and they have now won back-to-back games following a six-game slide.

For the Cougars, meanwhile, they have now dropped three straight following their five-game winning streak and their overall record now sits at 17-21 in advance of their final game of the regular season on Thursday evening.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first when Frank D'Amato doubled in a run and then Dave Matthews delivered and RBI single.

It looked as if the Cougars and starter Brett O'Keefe (Brighton, Mass.) would get out of the second inning unscathed after he recorded two quick outs but Rob Ballinger walked, stole second and raced home on a Lou Umberto single.

Johnson & Wales pushed three more runs across in the third off of reliever Dan Shaw (Arlington, Mass.). The biggest blow came courtesy of Ivan Reyes who drove in two runs with a double down the left field line. Reyes then touched home on a Greg Joubert single to center.

Clark finally got on the board in the fourth when Kyle Bonicki (Waterbury, Conn.) singled and then stole second to get into scoring position for Michael Eglow (Delmar, N.Y.) who drove him in with a base hit to center.

The Scarlet and White inched closer in the sixth when they plated two runs to get to within two at 5-3. Teddy Downing (Cambridge, Mass.) opened up the inning with a walk and then moved to third on the 100th hit of Bonicki' career. After Bonicki swiped second to put two runners in scoring position, David Eschen (New York, N.Y.) drove in Downing on a ground out and James Conway (Newburyport, Mass.) fouled out to right, bringing in Bonicki.

Johnson & Wales answered back immediately, however, getting five runs on five hits in the top of the seventh off of reliever Joe Gouveia (Nashua, N.H.). Reyes drove in one with a single and Joubert knocked in a pair with a double to right to highlight the outburst.

Clark got two back in the seventh on a Jack Paladino (Bedminster, N.J.) RBI single down the left field line and a Downing run-scoring hit to right.

O'Keefe, who was making his 14th appearance but only his first start, takes the loss after allowing four hits and three runs in two innings of work.

Mitch Mondro (Westford, Mass.) was extremely effective in relief for the Cougars, tossing three innings of two-hit relief.

Umberto and D'Amato each had three hits for the Wildcats, while Reyes and Joubert both had three RBI.

For Clark, Bonicki went 2-for-4, including his milestone hit in the seventh – his 21st game this season with two hits or more.

The Cougars will wrap up their season with a road trip to historic Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H. to face Rivier University. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m.