NJIT Baseball Makes History, Will Play in First NCAA Division I Tournament

Update (May 31, 2021):

The NJIT baseball team (26-22) will play in the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament when the Highlanders visit No. 1 Arkansas (46-10) in the Fayetteville Regional on Friday, June 4 at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.

Video Links: RAPID REACTION with Franzoni and Rappaport, Fifth-year senior Kacso, Hitting Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Coach Papaccio, Freshman pitcher Jenkins, NJIT Watch Party
Photo Gallery: Watch Party 

To see the NCAA Division I bracket, visit ncaa.com/brackets/baseball/d1/2021.

Original Story:

The NJIT baseball team's historic season will move forward as it was announced that the Highlanders earned the America East Conference's automatic bid on Sunday and will play in the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament, beginning Friday at a four-team regional site to be announced on Monday.

Inclement weather forced the tournament to be halted and the Highlanders were awarded the automatic bid as they were the only undefeated team remaining following a pair of wild, come-from-behind wins against Albany and Maine on Thursday and Friday, respectively. 

NJIT, which started the 2021 season 3-12, has won 18 of 22 and will head into the NCAA Tournament on a program-record nine-game winning streak and with 26 victories, also a program-record. 

Victory 25 came on Thursday when the Highlanders battled back from an early 3-0 deficit. Veteran starting pitcher Tyler Stafflinger was able to keep the score 3-0 after NJIT surrendered three unearned runs in the early innings. A fifth-inning home run from senior captain Paul Franzoni made the score 3-1, before a pair of dramatic, two-out, two-run home runs from fellow senior captain Julio Marcano and fifth-year senior Matthew Cocciadiferro gave NJIT a 5-3 advantage with six outs to go. Stafflinger handed the ball to another senior, Jake Rappaport, who worked around a solo home run en route to picking up his program-record 10th save of the season. 

The 26th win had no shortage of drama in its own right. Sophomore Ryan Fischer was brilliant on the mound, dueling with Maine's Alex McKenney in a game that was scoreless heading into the eighth inning. The Black Bears were able to get a run off of Fischer in the eighth, but Rappaport kept it at 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth when the Highlanders' bats woke up. Sophomore Daniel Helfgott tied the game with a sacrifice fly and classmate Luke Longo followed it up with a walk-off RBI single to send NJIT to the Championship. Rappaport earned his eighth win of the season, another program record.

NJIT and Stony Brook attempted to play the Championship Saturday evening, but were only able to get 2+ innings in due to a heavy rain/wind combination. 

On Sunday, the teams returned to Joe Nathan Field on the Seawolves' campus, but were unable to find a window to play the games. 

Sixty-four teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament and will be broken up into four-team regionals at 16 different host sites. Those sites will be announced on Sunday evening at approximately 9 p.m. The Highlanders will learn where they are headed on Monday, when the NCAA reveals the tournament bracket with a 12 p.m. selection show on ESPN2.

Stay tuned to NJITHighlanders.com and the NJIT baseball team's social media accounts all week for more leading up to first pitch on Friday.