Box score Game 1

Box score Game 2


CHICAGO--NJIT used strong finishes to take both ends of a Great West Conference baseball doubleheader, 9-7 and 8-5, at Chicago State Saturday afternoon.

The wins Saturday, combined with a 14-0 win in the series opener on Friday afternoon, lifts NJIT's Great West record to 4-3 and guarantees the Highlanders their first-ever GWC series win with one game still to be played on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday's first game was a seesaw affair. Here is the sequence of leads and ties:

NJIT led 2-0 in the middle of the first; Chicago State tied it at two apiece in the bottom half; and, NJIT went back ahead, 4-2, in the top of the third;

After the teams traded single runs, Chicago State surged ahead, 6-5, with a three-run bottom of the fifth, before NJIT went back ahead, 7-6, with a pair of eighth-inning runs. Chicago State scored a run in the bottom half to tie the score again, 7-7; and NJIT scored twice in the top of the ninth inning, setting the stage for freshman Austin McAuliffe to come in and earn his first college save by blanking the Cougars in the bottom of the ninth to preserve NJIT's 9-7 victory.

In the nightcap, there weren't as many lead swings as in the opener, but NJIT had to rally to win, nonetheless.

The Highlanders led 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning, but Chicago State scored four runs in the bottom half to take the lead. After a scoreless fourth inning for both teams, NJIT tied the score at four with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but Chicago State got the run right back in the bottom of the frame for a 5-4 advantage through five innings.

The Highlanders responded with four runs and an 8-5 lead in the top of the sixth inning and held on for the nine-inning win behind a complete-game effort for freshman RHP Mark Leiter Jr, who picked up his second college win with an ironman effort, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs (five total), while striking out 10 and walking five.

The winning pitcher for NJIT in the first game was freshman reliever DJ Roche, who is 1-0, after allowing one run on no hits and four walks in 1.1 innings. He relieved classmate Tripp Davis, who pitched the first 4.2 innings and allowed five earned runs.

The losing pitchers for Chicago State, now 0-7 in conference play, were Scott Balcer, the fourth of four CSU pitchers in the first game and Michael Carpen (0-2), who gave up three runs on five walks and a hit batsman in two-thirds of an inning as the first Cougar reliever in NJIT's decisive four-run sixth inning.

NJIT, which has won four of its last five games, all in conference play, got 12 hits in the first game, led by CF James D'Aloia, who was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in. C Bryan Bleakley stayed hot, going 2-for-4 and scoring three runs, while driving in one, and 2B Matt Tomczyk also got a pair of hits for the Highlanders. 1B Jeff Peterson (1-for-2) collected two runs batted in, as well.

D'Aloia's two-run ground rule double in the first inning was the only extra-base hit in Saturday's game one for the Highlanders, who also drew nine walks and were hit by two pitches.

Chicago State, which got 10 hits in the game, was paced by RF Patrick Hernandez, who was 3-for-5, including his second home run of the season, a two-run shot with two out in the bottom of the first inning. The other seven Cougar hits came from seven different batters, as only one man who batted for CSU went hitless in the seven-inning game.

The Highlanders got nine hits in game two, as Bleakley and SS Vincent Del Vecchio each picked up a pair of hits, with Bleakley and Peterson accounted for two RBI apiece.

RF Jeffrey Pizzi, who batted leadoff and scored two runs in the night cap, had one of seven extra-base hits for NJIT with a double. John Berner and Peterson tripled, while Pizzi was joined in the doubles category by Bleakley, who hit two of them, by D'Aloia, and by Del Vecchio,

Chicago State's 11 hits in the second game consisted of 10 singles and a solo home run by 1B Christian Prince leading off the bottom of the fifth inning. The homer by Prince, who finished the game 3-for-4, gave Chicago State its short-lived final 5-4 lead before NJIT broke ahead to stay with four runs in the top of the sixth. Three others Cougars had two hits each,

NJIT scored the decisive runs in the first game in the top of the seventh and final inning.

With Balcer on to pitch for Chicago State, Pizzi was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. He then went all the way to third base thanks to a sacrifice bunt by Teddy Bickert and a throwing error on the play. Bleakley, who would finish the day 4-for-9, lifting his season's average to .339, then singled to bring home Pizzi with what proved to be the winning run.

Bleakley eventually scored NJIT's ninth run, as Berner and D'Aloia followed him with bases-on-balls and Marc Prager picked up an RBI ground out with the bases loaded to plate Bleakley.

McAuliffe then nailed down the save for the Highlanders. allowing only a two-out single in an otherwise spotless bottom of the seventh inning.

The decisive frame in the nightcap came in the top of the sixth inning, which began with Chicago State clinging to a 5-4 lead. Starting pitcher James Tucker hit Prager with a pitch leading off. Michael Carpen then relieved Tucker, who walked his first two hitters to load the bases before finally getting the first out of the inning.

Pizzi walked to force home the tying run and Bickert walked, forcing home the sixth and ultimately decisive NJIT run. With the bases still loaded, Bleakley picked up second RBI of the game, third of the day and team-leading 20th of the season on a ground out to first base. Berner followed with an intentional walk to reload the bases and Carpen plunked D'Aloia, sending home Pizzi with the final run of the day.

Handed the 8-5 lead, Leiter made it hold up with four straight goose eggs from innings six through nine. He allowed a hit and walk in the sixth inning, but stranded both runners. The Cougars went down 1-2-3 in the seventh, but they loaded the bases in the eighth on an NJIT error and later a walk and single with two outs But Leiter left them there, getting Hernandez, who had the big hitting effort in the first game, to fly to right field for the third out.

After yielding a leadoff walk to start the ninth inning, Leiter struck out the next two Cougar batters looking for his ninth and 10th K's of the day and then got a fly out to end secure the win.

NJIT's overall record is 8-23, while Chicago State falls to 1-27.

The teams are slated to wrap up the conference series with a single game on Sunday with first pitch slated for noon.