Highlander Baseball Makes History with First-Ever NCAA Tournament Win

The NJIT baseball team made more history on Saturday afternoon, earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win in school history in any sport (since moving Division I in 2007) with a 3-2 victory over Northeastern in the Fayetteville Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium hosted by Arkansas.

With the win, NJIT tied the program record for total wins with (27), which dates back to 2006 when the Highlanders finished 27-17 and crowned ECAC Champs in the final season of Division II competition.

NJIT (27-23) will face another elimination game on Sunday at 2 p.m. against the loser of tonight's Arkansas/Nebraska game.  Northeastern, who won the CAA North Division Title and CAA tournament title for the first time in school history, concludes its regional run with a 36-13 record.

Sophomore RHP Ryan Fischer recorded his fifth win of the season, pitching seven strong innings, allowing just one run, on four hits while fanning four Northeastern batters.

Senior LHP closer Jake Rappaport posted his program-best 11th save of the season, pitching the final two innings, allowing one run, one hit and striking out one batter. The veteran reliever sent down the Huskies in order in the ninth inning.

Nick Hussey led the way offensively for the Highlanders, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI while Jared Donnelly went 2-for-3 with one run.  

Five different Highlanders -- Albert Choi, Julio Marcano, David Marcano, Paul Franzoni and Luke Longo each recorded one hit in the victory.  Julio Marcano recorded an RBI with a single in the fifth.

NJIT got on the board first in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch as Nick Hussey, who singled to get on came around to score on a wild pitch, putting the Highlanders ahead. 1-0.

Hussey drove in his first RBI of the game with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right field to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth.

An RBI single to right center by David Marcano in the fifth, NJIT increased its lead to 3-0.

Northeastern plated single runs in the seventh and eighth to pull within one, 3-2, but the Highlanders secured the victory in the ninth, going 1-2-3.