May 22, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Host New Jersey Institute of Technology completed its sweep of the 2006 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Baseball Championship tournament with a 6-3 victory over top seed Molloy Monday afternoon at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.

The second-seeded Highlanders, who completed their season with a 27-17 record, came into the championship round needing just one win to clinch the ECAC title. In Sunday's first-round action, NJIT scored a season-high 18 runs, topping number three Felician, 18-4, in a game shortened to seven innings by the 10-run rule. The Highlanders capped the first round with a 14-4 win over Molloy, which had previously ousted Felician, 10-9, in the second first-round game. Runner-up Molloy, 1-2 in the tournament, completes its season with a 27-25 record.

NJIT, which never trailed after the third inning of its first game and outscored its opponents by a combined 38-11 in the three wins, built a 5-0 lead through the first six innings of Monday's title-clinching win over Molloy.

The Highlanders scored once in the second inning, once in the fifth and then three in the sixth, before Molloy got a pair of runs in the top of the seventh against starting pitcher PJ Saporito (4-5). The NJIT freshman lefthander completed seven innings and faced one batter in the eighth with a final line of 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. Pete Rivera recorded the last six outs for NJIT without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out two.

The Highlanders scored first on a run in the second inning. With one out, tournament Most Valuable Player Mike Turner singled, went to second on a single by Austin DeRogatis and scored on a single by Jeff Potter.

Turner, NJIT's sophomore third baseman, finished the title-clinching game 2-for-3, with two runs scored and an RBI. His three-game totals for the tournament were 6-for-12, with a home run, a triple, nine RBI and seven runs scored. Turner's RBI on Monday raised his season total 42--a new school record, surpassing the old mark of 41, set by Paul Sarlo in both 1989 and 1991.

DeRogatis, the junior first baseman, finished the tournament 6-for-13, including two homers--both in the opening 18-4 win over Felician--while driving in seven and scoring five runs. DeRogatis finished the year with 40 RBI.

NJIT picked up its second run on Monday in the fifth inning, as Potter led off with a walk and later scored on a two-out single by Justin Racz.

Molloy's starting pitcher, Chris Wischerth, nearly matched NJIT's Saporito through the first five innings, but the Lions junior appeared to tire in the bottom of the sixth, as NJIT took a comfortable 5-0 lead, adding three runs, helped along by two Molloy errors.

The Highlanders' only hit of the inning, a single by Rob Pietrocola plated one run, while another run scored on an error and the third run came home on a bases-loaded walk to Racz.

Trailing, 5-0, Molloy broke through for two runs in the top of the seventh, when its first two batters of the inning, Darren Bell and Michael Grasso, hit back-to-back doubles. Grasso later scored on a fielder's choice infield grounder.

NJIT got its sixth run in the bottom of the frame, as Forbes led off with a walk, stole second and crossed the plate on Turner's single to left field.

Molloy completed the scoring with an unearned run in the eighth inning. Patrick Walsh, the last batter to face Saporito, led off with a double, went to third on a fly out and scored on an infield error.

The Lions, who got eight hits in Monday's loss, were paced by Drew Adler and Walsh, the first and second men in the batting order, respectively, who each got a pair of hits. Adler, the junior second baseman, had the game-winning RBI with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly in Sunday's 10-9 win over Felician and he got two hits in each of the Lions' games against NJIT.

Monday's ECAC Division II baseball title included a number of team milestones for NJIT, which captured a postseason championship in the school's final competition at the Division II level. The Highlanders, who are reclassifying to NCAA Division I, will play a Division I schedule next season.

The 2006 ECAC baseball crown was NJIT's first postseason title in Division II (1998 to 2006) and its second ever in baseball, preceded by the 1982 Division III ECAC championship.

As a team, the 2006 Highlanders set new school season records for wins (27), team batting average (.317), home runs (32), team fielding percentage (.944) and double plays turned (23).