Box score

EDINBURG, TX—Down a run heading into the ninth inning Sunday, visiting NJIT stayed alive with a run in the ninth and then grabbed a come-from-behind 6-5 win with a run in the 10th inning to split the weekend's four-game Great West Conference series at Texas-Pan American.

 

Texas-Pan American, which swept its first conference series last weekend, taking four games from Chicago State, opened the four-game set against NJIT with a 14-7 win on Friday and then a 10-1 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Those two Ws gave the Broncs a seven-game winning streak overall that included six double-figure scoring attacks.

 

But the Highlanders earned a doubleheader split on Saturday, taking the nightcap 11-5 and then guaranteed themselves a happy flight back to Newark from south Texas with Sunday's 6-5 extra-inning victory.

 

The getaway win over the heretofore red-hot Broncs had to be extra satisfying for the Highlanders, considering they lost the last three games in extra innings when they opened Great West play themselves last weekend against Utah Valley.

 

With the completion of two weekends of Great West play, NJIT is 2-6 in the GWC and 8-21 overall. Texas-Pan American is 6-2 in the GWC and 16-12 overall. Each team has 20 regular season conference games remaining on the 2011 schedule.

 

Sunday's winning pitcher was sophomore LHP Tripp Davis (3-4), who pitched the first 9 innings and allowed 2 earned runs (5 total) on 12 hits, with 4 strikeouts and walk. His season earned run average is down to 3.34, which is good at any level, but outstanding in college baseball, which tends to be higher scoring than the professional game.

 

Senior Matt Tomczyk, NJIT's starting shortstop and leading hitter for the season, moved over to pitch the last inning and earned his first college save with a scoreless inning that included a hit and two walks. Tomczyk nailed down the save with a game-ending strikeout that left the bases loaded. Tomczyk had driven in the game-tying run for the Highlanders in the ninth inning.

 

Tomczyk, who did not pitch at all in 2010 and pitched 6 innings in 2009, made his third appearance on the mound in 2011 in posting the save.

 

Texas-Pan American used three pitchers and third, junior RHP Jonathan Sa, took the loss, dropping to 2-1 on the season. He pitched the decisive 10th inning, allowing one run on two hits and a walk.

 

The starter, junior RHP Jonathan Delgado, pitched 8 innings and allowed 6 hits and 4 unearned runs while striking out 9 and walking 2. Senior RHP Arnold Franco pitched the ninth inning and had the blown save, allowing NJIT the tying run on two hits.

 

Eight of the nine men in NJIT's starting batting order got a hit, led by two each for Matt Weckerle and Bryan Bleakley. Tyler Kapp had one hit, but it was good for two RBI in the second inning and he picked up his third run batted in on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

 

Jeff Peterson's double in the third inning was the only extra-base hit for the Highlanders. Peterson was 1-for-4, extending his consecutive-game hitting streak to 11. He has raised his season batting average to .297 from .217 when the streak began and he was 7-for-13 (.539), including 3 doubles, plus 5 walks, in the series games at UTPA. He is batting .424 in 8 conference games.

 

The Broncs rapped out 13 hits, again led by junior C Mike McCarthy, who was 3-for-4 on Sunday.

 

McCarthy who played at Vermont in 2009 when NJIT head coach Mike Cole was an assistant coach with the Catamounts, tormented his former coach's team this weekend, going a combined 11-for-15 (.733), with 8 RBI, 3 runs scored, 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 walks in 4 games.

 

Junior 2B Iradier Hernandez was 3-for-5 and sophomore 1B Angel Ibanez was 2-for-5 in Sunday's losing effort.

 

NJIT got on the board first with a three-run second inning, but UTPA got two right back in the bottom half and then jumped ahead with two more in the bottom of the fifth for a 4-3 lead. The Highlanders plated a run in seventh inning to knot the score, but the Broncs got one in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-4 lead. The Highlanders stayed alive with a run in the ninth and then got the game-winner in the 10th, holding on for the win when UTPA left the bases loaded to end the game in the bottom half of the inning.

 

NJIT has played eight extra-inning games this year, including seven since March 30. The Highlanders are 3-5 in extra innings.

 

The Highlanders got all three of their second-inning runs after the first two batters made outs and were helped along by an error and a passed ball. The first run came home on a two-out error and the next two scored on Kapp's timely single.

 

Texas-Pan Am got its two runs, both unearned in the bottom of the second and then pulled ahead with two runs (one earned) in the fifth. Ibanez had an RBI double to tie the score in the fifth inning and 3B Vincent Mejia drove in Ibanez with the go-ahead run on a single.

 

NJIT tied the game with an unearned run in the seventh inning, which began with a leadoff single for John Bouck, who went all the way to third on an error in right field. Kapp followed with a sacrifice fly RBI to center field.

 

Texas-Pan American reclaimed the lead with a run in the eighth inning, but it might have been more. McCarthy led off with a double and after an out, Colton Van Komen singled, sending McCarthy to third base. The next batter, Hernandez singled, but McCarthy was out at home on throw from DJ Roche, who mostly plays catcher, but who has played outfield following his two pitching starts the last two weekends. Roche, who has an exceptional arm, threw out McCarthy from right field.

 

The next batter, Adrian De La Rosa, singled to drive in Van Komen for a 5-4 lead, but Roche's throw to nail McCarthy would prove critical when NJIT rallied to tie in the next half-inning and then won in extra innings.

 

Trailing by a run, NJIT got a leadoff single from Bleakley to open the ninth inning. Vincent Del Vecchio followed with a sacrifice bunt and, after another out, Austin McAuliffe, normally a pitcher, came in to run for Bleakley at second base. Tomczyk, who has been in the middle of so many big plays in this, his senior year, then delivered McAuliffe with the tying run on a two-out hit.

 

NJIT's Davis, pitching his final inning of the day, retired Texas-Pan Am in order in the ninth inning, sending the Highlanders into their fourth extra-inning contest in eight GWC games to date.

 

Weckerle and Roche opened the 10th inning for the Highlanders with singles and Peterson reached base on an error by the catcher to load the bases. Freshman Scott Brosman, who had replaced Bleakley at catcher, and who had eight previous plate appearances all season, then walked to force in what would be the winning run. The threat of any more scoring ended with a third base-catcher-first base double play and a strikeout.

 

As frustrating as it might have been for NJIT to get only one run despite having its first four runners of the 10th inning reach base, Texas-Pan Am would be even more frustrated in the bottom half of the inning.

 

McCarthy walked leading off and Stuart MacInnes doubled, putting the potential tying run 90 feet from home and the potential winning run on second with no one out. Tomczyk, inexperienced as he is pitching, responded with a strikeout and then got Hernandez, 3-for-4 to that point, to line out. De La Rosa walked to load the bases, but Tomczyk reached down and struck out Jason Webb to end the game.

 

The Highlanders are scheduled for a non-conference home game on Wednesday at 3:30 pm against Fairleigh Dickinson at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The Highlanders were 3-0 winners when the same two teams met on March 4 at Fordham University in the Bronx.