May 10, 2006

Box Score Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - New Jersey Institute of Technology tied a school record for wins in a baseball season, winning the first game of Wednesday night's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference doubleheader, 5-3, over visiting Nyack. However, the Highlanders' quest for a new school record was denied on their first try, as they dropped the second game, 4-3, in action at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.

NJIT picked up its 23rd win of the season in Wednesday's opener, matching the school record set just two seasons ago in 2004 when the team finished 23-24. The Highlanders, 22-20 last season, are 23-17 overall this year, after the split with Nyack.

NJIT ace Chris Legiadre pitched a complete-game win in the first game, raising his season record to 7-3 and his career wins total to 28--one shy of the school-record 29, held jointly by Dan MacDonald (1981-86) and George Olson (1974-77).

Wednesday's doubleheader also completes NJIT's six-year association with the CACC, an NCAA Division II conference. The Highlanders, who are reclassifying to NCAA Division I, will play a Division I schedule next season.

NJIT, which has a non-conference regular season game remaining and is hopeful of an ECAC postseason bid, finished 2006 with a 15-11 record in the CACC. Nyack completes its season 14-29-1 overall and 9-17 in the CACC.

The Highlanders fell behind in the first game, allowing single runs in each of the first three innings, before getting a run of their own in the bottom of the third. NJIT surged into the lead with a four-run fourth inning, as Rob Forbes doubled leading off and scored on a single by Austin DeRogatis, who later came around on Dan Morogiello's RBI single. Craig Binkiewicz singled to drive home Jeff Potter with the go-ahead run and Derrick McCain walked with the bases loaded, forcing in the fourth run of the inning.

Binkiewicz and Garrett Hauck each collected a pair of hits for NJIT in the opener, as five different men scored runs and five different men picked up runs batted in. Legiadre scattered seven hits, allowing two earned runs and striking out three, with one walk.

In the second game, the Highlanders grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but their bats went cold until the bottom of the sixth, by which time Nyack had built a 4-2 lead.

In the first inning, Mike Turner produced both runs with an two-out RBI single that scored McCain and Justin Racz. Turner (2-3) was the only Highlander with more than one hit and his sixth inning was the only extra-base hit for either team.

Nyack got a run in the second and took a 3-2 lead on two runs in the top of the fourth. The first run scored on a two-out single by Jesse Nunez and the second scored on an attempted delayed double steal with runners on first and third. The runner going from first, Nunez, was thrown out in a rundown, but not before Andy Ashlock crossed the plate with the lead run.

Nyack got its fourth run on Christian Guttierez' two-out soft ground single into the shortstop-third base hole that sent home Brad Jacobs.

NJIT fought back to within a run, 4-3, on Hauck's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. Facing Nyack closer Dan Marshall in the bottom of the seventh, the Highlanders got a runner, but could not score, as Marshall earned his third save, holding on for starter Ian Beezub (5-3).

PJ Saporito started and took the loss, falling to 4-4 in his freshman season for NJIT.

The Highlanders are scheduled to wrap up the regular season with a single non-conference game in Dobbs Ferry, NY, at Mercy College on Thursday at 4 pm.