NJIT Slugs Past Bellarmine to Improve to 2-0

The NJIT baseball team used a six-run seventh inning to come from behind and defeat Bellarmine 9-3 in a neutral site contest hosted by Gardner Webb on Saturday.

The rally turned a 2-1 deficit into a comfortable 7-2 lead for the Highlanders, which will now take a 2-0 record into a Sunday morning showdown with nationally-ranked Virginia. 

NJIT's offense recorded 14 hits on Saturday, led by graduate student Paul Franzoni who was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Albert Choi, Nick Hussey, Jared Donnelly, and Andrew Elcock also had a multi-hit game, tallying two each. 

The Highlanders trailed 2-1 in the seventh when the bats really woke up. Donnelly led the inning off with a single and moved to second on a single from Choi. Julio Marcano then doubled to score both runners and give the Highlanders the lead, before David Marcano tripled and scored on an error to make it 5-2 NJIT. After a single from Luke Longo, Franzoni crushed a triple to left field to score Long and Hussey capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to plate Franzoni. 

NJIT added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth when Franzoni was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Hussey grounded out for his third RBI of the contest.

Croix Jenkins earned the win on the mound, getting out of a jam in the fourth inning and tossing 3.1 scoreless innings to keep NJIT within a run before the aforementioned seventh-inning rally. 

Grant Vurpillat started the game on the mound for the Highlanders was near flawless in the first three innings, before getting into some trouble in the fourth. Jenkins entered the game after Bellarmine took a 2-1 lead and found the bases loaded and two out, but was able to get out of the jam with a groundout to Hussey.

Joe Georgini, who missed the last two seasons due to injury, pitched the final two innings for NJIT. The senior gave up just one run on two hits to help the Highlanders clinch the victory.