NJIT Takes Two from UML to Win First America East Series

The NJIT offense continued to stay hot and the squad got a pair of solid pitching performances en route to a doubleheader sweep vs. host UMass Lowell in America East Conference action on Saturday. The sweep, combined with Friday's doubleheader split, gave the Highlanders their first America East series victory in program history.

NJIT (6-12, 5-7 AE) won the opener 7-3, before holding on to take game two 9-5 over the River Hawks (6-13, 5-5 AE).

Game One
Julio Marcano scored Albert Choi in the top of the first to set the tone for the game as Marcano went on to drive in four runs and Choi was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs.

UML scored a pair of runs in the second, but NJIT answered immediately with two more runs courtesy of a Marcano triple to take the lead again. The advantage was short-lived, however, as the Hawks tied the game with a run in the third.

An RBI single from Choi in the fourth and an RBI double from Marcano in the fifth put the Highlanders ahead 5-3, before a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh made the final score 7-3.

Tyler Stafflinger started the game and tossed five efficient innings to earn his first victory of the season. Stafflinger handed the ball to closer Jake Rappaport, who worked around an error in the sixth and a single in the seventh to help the Highlanders clinch the win and earn his third save of the season. 

Choi and Marcano paced the offense, each going 3-for-4.

Game Two
NJIT rode the momentum from its last two wins, scoring four times in the top of the first and never trailing in the second game of the afternoon. Marcano scored Choi again for the first run of game two and the Highlanders added one more via an RBI from Paul Franzoni and two more off of a UML error.

Jared Kacso took over from there, allowing just one baserunner through four innings as David Marcano's 2-RBI single in the fourth made the Highlanders' advantage 6-0. 

An RBI-single from Daniel Helfgott made the score 7-0 in the fifth, but the River Hawks didn't go down easy, scoring twice in the fifth, twice more in the seventh and once in the eighth to make the score 7-5. 

Rappaport came on with one out in the eighth and was able to end the River Hawks' rally, and NJIT was able to add a pair of insurance runs in the ninth via an RBI-triple from Nick Hussey and an RBI-single off the bat of Kevin Putsky.

Rappaport sent UML down in order in the ninth to earn his second save of the day and America East Conference-best fourth of the season. Kacso went six innings, allowing just two runs on three hits to earn his first victory of the season.

Offensively, Helfgott led the way going 4-for-4, while Hussey (three), Franzoni (two) and Putsky (two) each recorded multi-hit games. 

On Deck
After eight straight on the road, NJIT will return home to host Maine in an America East Conference series next Saturday and Sunday in Union, N.J. The teams will play two games each day with the first pitch of game one coming at 11 a.m.