Box Score Game One
Box Score Game Two
NEWARK, NJ—Matt Tomczyk, Tripp Davis, and Austin McAuliffe were the names to remember for NJIT Friday, as the Highlanders swept a Great West Conference baseball doubleheader against visiting Chicago State, 6-1 and 5-4, at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
Tomczyk, the senior shortstop, went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and a run batted in for NJIT in the 6-1 opening game, a seven-inning contest. Then he was 2-for-4, including an eighth-inning double that drove in the winning run in the Highlanders' 5-4 second-game victory.
Davis, the sophomore left-hander, was the winning pitcher in the opener, tossing six innings of two-hit, one-run ball to earn his fifth victory of the season.
And McAuliffe, also a sophomore left-hander, pitched three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to win in the second game. McAuliffe, who has been NJIT's fourth starter in the previous six Great West Conference series, made his first GWC relief appearance of 2011 and picked up his second straight conference win after topping North Dakota as a starter on May 15.
Saturday's sweep for the Highlanders, who are 8-2 in the last 10 games, all GWC contests, lifts their conference record to 12-15 and their overall record to 19-32. Chicago State drops to 3-19 in the Great West and 8-39 overall.
Game One recap
NJIT took the seven-inning opening game, 6-1, behind the combined two-hit pitching of the starter, Davis (5-6), and senior RHP Steven Ace, who finished up with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
The Highlanders, who scored twice in the first inning, were never challenged with Davis in command on the mound. The sophomore left-hander, who struck out five and walked two, allowed his only run when Jonathan Carpen hit a home run over the left field fence with two out in the sixth inning.
The losing pitcher, Chicago State freshman RHP Derek Borst (0-8), pitched a six-inning complete game, allowing 7 hits and 6 runs (5 earned), with a strikeout and a walk.
Tomczyk's 3-for-3, including two doubles, with two runs scored and one batted in paced NJIT. Four different men had one hit apiece for the Highlanders, including DJ Roche, who hit his team-best 16th double and drove in a pair of runs, raising his team-leading season RBI total to 39. NJIT was also aided by four Cougar errors in the first three innings.
Aside from Carpen's homer, the only Chicago State hit was a one-out single in the fourth inning by Jack Bobillo.
The Highlanders scored two runs in the first inning, which began with a Tomczyk double before Teddy Bickert was hit by a pitch. Matt Weckerle dropped down a sacrifice bunt and when the ball was thrown away, he was safe and the runners moved ahead, with Tomcyzk scoring and Bickert heading to third base. Roche followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Bickert.
NJIT scored three more in the third inning and Tomczyk started it with another double. Bickert then singled to right field and Tomczyk scored when the throw in from the outfield got away for an error. After an out, Roche doubled home another run and Roche, who moved ahead on a wild pitch, scored on the next play, an infield bouncer by Jeff Peterson that was thrown away for another error by the Cougars.
The Highlanders scored a run in the fourth inning, as Anthony Caiola led off with a walk, moved up on a sacrifice and then scored on Tomczyk's sharp two-out single to left field.
Game Two recap
The nightcap was a thriller, as Chicago State fought back from deficits twice to tie the score in separate innings. With the score tied at 4-4, the Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning, but McAuliffe, the NJIT pitcher, got out of the jam and the Highlanders scored what would be the winning run on Tomczyk's long double in the bottom half of the frame.
NJIT got 13 hits in Game Two, led by a pair of 3-for-4 hitters--C Bryan Bleakley, who had a double and a run batted in, and 2B Vincent Del Vecchio, who scored two runs, including the game-winner.
Tomczyk was 2-for-4, including the double for the game-winning RBI and was 5-for-7 in the doubleheader, raising his team-leading average to .330. He is 15-for-29 in the last two GWC series. Jeff Peterson, NJIT's sophomore third baseman, was also 2-for-4 in the nightcap, driving in two runs.
DJ Roche, who played left field in the first game, was the starting pitcher/designated hitter in the second game for the Highlanders and he pitched the first six innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs, with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts.
McAuliffe, who pitched the last three innings, allowed just one hit and one walk in upping his season record to 2-6.
Chicago State's starter, junior RHP Steven O'Hair, like Roche, did not figure in the decision. O'Hair pitched five innings and gave up 4 runs on 10 hits. The reliever, junior RHP Andrew Watson, pitched will in his three innings, but took the loss, allowing 3 hits and the winning run. He is 2-2 on the season.
The Cougars got eight hits, all singles, with the best production from the bottom of the order, as the seventh and eighth-place hitters, 3B Shane McGarahan and 2B Gavin Trevino each finished 2-for-4. McGarahan, Albert Carpen (1-for-3), and Jeremy Ratajczyk (1-for-4) each drove in one run.
After two scoreless innings in the nightcap, the Highlanders broke through with three runs after two were out in the bottom of the third. Del Vecchio and Tomczyk, the first two batters, singled. Bickert bunted them ahead and then Weckerle was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. After a popup out, Peterson singled through the left side, chasing home the first two runs. Bleakley, who had doubled in his first at-bat, delivered an RBI single to cap the third-inning scoring.
Chicago State came back to tie the score in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of some wildness from the NJIT pitcher, Roche, and also getting some productive outs. William Hill led off for CSU's only hit of the inning and the next two batters walked. Hill scored his team's first run, coming home from third on a wild pitch. Albert Carpen and Ratajczyk followed with run-scoring ground outs to second base, making the score 3-3.
The Highlanders reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a hard two-out single up the middle by Caiola that drove home Peterson, who had singled with two outs and moved to second on the third hit of the game for Bleakley, also a single up the middle.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Cougars rallied with two outs in the next half-inning. The first two outs came on a double play after a leadoff single by Jonathan Carpen. The rally began with a walk to Albert Carpen ahead of a single by Ratajczyk. McGarahan then dunked an RBI single into shallow left field, knotting the score at four. Trevino singled to load the bases, but Roche got a fly ball for the last out, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth.
In the top of the eighth inning, Tony Sanchez walked leading off for CSU and Albert Carpen followed with a bunt single. McAuliffe got a strikeout, but the runners moved up on a double steal on strike three. The Highlander pitcher then got a ground ball to second base with the infield drawn in, but everyone was safe when Jack Bobillo, pinch running for Sanchez, dove back into third safely ahead of the throw from NJIT's Del Vecchio. McAuliffe escaped the bases-loaded, one-out jam by inducing a 5-4-3 double play.
After McAuliffe's gut check in the top half of the eighth, the Highlander hitters responded by scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom half.
With one out, Del Vecchio hit the ball hard back to the box and got a single when his shot caromed off Watson, the Chicago State pitcher, who couldn't find the ball in time to get the out at first base. Tomczyk followed with a double off the base of the wall in left center field, as Del Vecchio came all the way around, scoring from first base.
Given the 5-4 lead after eight, McAuliffe nailed down his second straight win and first relief victory of the season with a quick 1-2-3 ninth inning, sandwiching two ground outs to shortstop around a strikeout.
The teams are scheduled to complete the series with a single game on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 pm at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
The game is also the last home contest of the season for the Highlander, who will honor their three seniors--Tomczyk, Ace, and John Prestano--in Senior Day ceremonies beginning at 12:45 pm.
