NJIT Blasts Six HRs in Sunday Doubleheader to Take Series From No. 26 Stony Brook

A day after sweeping a doubleheader from No. 26 Stony Brook, the NJIT baseball team earned a split to take the four-game America East series in wild fashion on Sunday at Jim Hynes Stadium on the campus of Kean University.

Stony Brook (20-11, 16-4 America East) took game one 5-2 and led by as many as six early in game two, before a ferocious come back from NJIT (11-19, 10-14 America East) gave the Highlanders a walk-off 9-8 victory. 

All three of NJIT's win's this weekend came by one run.

Game One 
Stony Brook wasted no time on Sunday, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning.

NJIT starter Grant Vurpillat settled in from there and the Highlanders got a solo home run from Luke Longo in the second and another solo shot from Jared Donnelly in the fifth to make it a one-run game.

The score remained 3-2 heading into the final inning when the Seawolves scored two more runs to take a 5-2 lead before sealing the contest with a scoreless bottom half of the inning.

Vurpillat pitched four scoreless innings after the three-run first and Andrew Eppinger came out of the bullpen to pitch a scoreless sixth, but allowed a pair of runs in the seventh.

Offensively, the Highlanders were held to just four hits as Daniel Helfgott and Kevin Putsky each hit safely in addition to Longo's and Donnelly's home runs.

Game Two
The second game appeared to be going down a similar path as the first as the visitors jumped out to another early lead, this time going ahead 6-0 by way of a five-run second and adding a sixth run in the second.

A two-run home run in the bottom of the third from Julio Marcano made the score 6-2, but the Seawolves answered immediately with another run in the fourth to go ahead 7-2 heading into the bottom of the inning. 

Donnelly, who entered the series hitless in his last 15 at bats, stroked an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-3 and Albert Choi followed it up with a two-run double to make it a two-run game.

Freshman Croix Jenkins came out of the bullpen and threw 2.2 scoreless innings to keep the Stony Brook lead at just two and keep the Highlanders in the game.

Choi and Marcano took advantage of Jenkins' performance, hitting back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game, 7-7.

Stony Brook went ahead 8-7 in the top of the eighth, but Donnelly continued his big weekend in the home half of the inning, blasting his second home run of the day (and third of the weekend) over the right-centerfield wall to tie the game heading into the ninth. 

Jake Rappaport, who earned the save in both of Saturday's one-run victories, worked around a one-out single to pitch a scoreless ninth and give NJIT a chance to get the walk-off win in the bottom of the inning.

The Highlanders did just that as Helfgott led off the inning with a hit by pitch and moved to second on a single from Eppinger. Helfgott was replaced by pinch runner Dante Bozzuti, who advanced to third on a one-out walk from Putsky. Stony Brook was able to get the second out, but Bozzuti scored on a wild pitch to give NJIT the 9-8 victory and series win over the first place Seawolves.

Rappaport earned the win as the NJIT bullpen - Jenkins, Tyler Cirone, and Rappaport - allowed just one run in 5.2 innings of work.

The Highlanders had 12 hits in the game two win, with Marcano's three-hit game leading the way. Choi, Helfgott, Eppinger, and Donnelly all had multi-hit games as well.

On Deck
The Highlanders continue their America East slate next weekend with four games at UMBC. The Highlanders and Retrievers are set to play a doubleheader on Saturday and another doubleheader on Sunday in Baltimore.