Box Score Game One

Box Score Game Two

 
NEWARK, NJ—NJIT scored a pair of hard-fought wins, 7-5 and 5-2, against North Dakota Friday afternoon and evening to open a four-game Great West Conference baseball series between the teams at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
 
Friday's two wins left NJIT with an 8-2 won-lost record in conference play, while North Dakota fell to 0-10, but it took a two-run seventh inning to separate the two teams in the 7-5 win for the Highlanders in the opener and then NJIT used a three-run eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie in their 5-2 win in the nightcap. Overall, NJIT is 15-14, while North Dakota slips to 4-27.
 
The winning pitcher in the opener was NJIT sophomore right-hander Matt Coughlin (1-1), who tossed three innings of scoreless one-hit relief behind starter Mark Leiter, Jr. who pitched the first six innings.
 
The losing pitcher for North Dakota in the opener was the starter, freshman LHP Ben Clark (0-3), who went 6.1 innings and allowed seven hits and six runs (one earned), with four strikeouts and a walk. Fellow freshman, RHP Brett DeGagne relieved Clark and allowed an unearned run, three hits and walk, with two strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
 
Both starters in the nine-inning nightcap went the distance. For NJIT, junior left-hander Tripp Davis upped his record to 4-1 with nine innings that saw him allow 10 hits and two walks, but just two runs, while striking out 11. North Dakota freshman RHP Andrew Thome held NJIT to two runs through seven innings, before allowing three in the bottom of the eighth to finish with eight innings, nine hits and five runs (three earned), with six strikeouts and a walk.
 
North Dakota actually outhit NJIT in the doubleheader, 21-19, but the Fighting Sioux were hurt by five fielding errors, four in the first game, that resulted in eight of the Highlanders' 12 combined runs being unearned.
 
The North Dakota batters accumulated three hits apiece in the twin bill. They were: senior 3B Kyle Bolander (3-for-7); freshman RF Sam Alt (3-for-8); and, junior 2B Kris Kwak (3-for-10). Freshman C Alex Twenge and junior CF Riley Beck each drove in a pair of runs for the Fighting Sioux.
 
NJIT's hitting star in the two games was sophomore SS Matt Weckerle, who went 6-for-8 and drove in four runs, three on a three-run homer, his third home run of the season, in the fourth inning of the opening game. Freshman CF Ed Charlton was 4-for-8 in the two games, including an eighth-inning two-out double that broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning in the nightcap. He drove in three runs in the doubleheader. And junior 3B Jeff Peterson finished the day 3-for-7.
 
Game 1 recap
NJIT's Coughlin got credit for his first win of the season with a stellar job over the last three innings. Ahead of him, the starter, Leiter, had an unusual outing that saw him pile up nine strikeouts, but give up all five of his run with two outs. Leiter, who went six innings, walked three and allowed 10 hits and five runs (three earned), while Coughlin, who retired the first eight batters he faced, finished three innings, allowing one hit, while striking out two.
 
 
North Dakota had 11 hits in the game, with three players accounting for two hits apiece—DH Zack Trygstad, Alt, and Twenge. Trygstad hit a double and 1B Jeff Campbell (1-for-5) hit a home run, his fourth of the year, a no-doubt-about-it solo shot that tied the score at 5-5 in the top of the sixth inning.
 
NJIT had 10 hits, led by Wecklerle's 4-for-4 that included his home run, a three-run shot that gave the Highlanders a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Charlton was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Other runs batted in came off the bats of DH Anthony Caiola and Peterson, the third baseman,.
 
NJIT, trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of third inning, got a run back in that inning  before surging into the lead with a four-run fourth inning, keyed by Weckerle's three-run shot over the right field fence.
 
However, North Dakota fought back with a run in the fifth and then tied the score on the solo blast into the netting above the left field fence by Campbell, who tied the score at 5-5 on the first four-bagger allowed by NJIT pitching in the first nine Great West Conference games.
 
The Highlanders broke the tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Weckerle singled leading off and LF James D'Aloia bunted him over on a sacrifice. That brought on DeGagne from the Sioux bullpen and his first batter, RF DJ Roche, reached on an infield throwing error. Charlton then drove in the go-ahead run on a single through the left side. After a strikeout and a walk, Caiola singled to right field, plating NJIT's seventh run.
 
North Dakota struck first on a two-out second-inning single to right field by Beck, the ninth hitter in the order. With one out, Alt had singled to right and LF Tyler Ruemmele followed with a walk. A passed ball enabled the two runners to advance a base with Twenge up. Leiter retired Twenge, but the two runners, running on contact, scored on Beck's single before Leiter notched his fourth strikeout in two innings to end the frame.
 
The Fighting Sioux picked up another run in the third inning. Leiter struck out the first two batters, bringing his game total to six, but Trygstad hit a ball deep into the right center field gap that the NJIT right fielder, Roche, ran down, but the ball glanced off his glove near the warning track for a double. The next two batters singled, with the next batter, Bolander, driving home Trygstad with the third North Dakota run.
 
NJIT took advantage of a two-out North Dakota error to score a run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, 2B Mike Rampone singled and Weckerle followed with a bunt single. The next Highlander batter, D'Aloia, bounced into a force out at second base, putting runners on the corners with two out. Roche followed with a hard grounder to shortstop that ate up Tyler Follis for a run-scoring error.
 
The Highlanders surged into the lead with four more unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. 1B Tom Bouck led off with a single. After an out, Caiola hit a bouncer to the right of the second base bag. The second baseman Kwak, moving toward the bag, couldn't field the ball cleanly and everyone was safe. Peterson then doubled into the corner bringing home a run and, after an out, Weckerle cleared the bases, giving NJIT a 5-3 lead.
 
North Dakota got one run in each of the next two innings. With one out in the fifth inning, Bolander walked and after the second out, Ruemmele and Twenge hit consecutive singles, with Bolander scoring on the Twenge hit. The Fighting Sioux evened the score in the top of the sixth inning when Campbell hammered his home run.
 
NJIT broke the 5-5 tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh and Coughlin nailed down the win. He had a 1-2-3 eighth and then he retired the first two batters in the ninth, making it eight batters faced, eight out. Trygstad kept the Sioux alive with a two-out single and Bolander reached on error before Coughlin got the game-ending out.
 
Game 2 recap
NJIT broke a 2-2 with a three-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two outs, D'Aloia singled through the left side and then came off for pinch runner Andrew Benjamin. Roche walked and then Charlton doubled over the right fielder's head, bringing home two runs. Bouck's hard grounder went through the first baseman's legs for a two-base error, allowing Charlton to score the third run of the inning.
 
North Dakota brought the tying run to the plate with two out, but Davis sealed the complete-game win, striking out Follis swinging to end an eight-pitch at-bat that included four foul balls—two with two strikes.
 
Kwak went 3-for-5 and drove in a run for the visitors in the second game, while Bolander was 2-for-3, including a double and a triple. Alt (1-for-3) also doubled.
 
NJIT got two hits apiece from Weckerle and Charlton, each of whom went 2-for-4, with each getting a double. Charlton drove in two runs and Weckerle one.
 
The Highlanders scored the first two runs of the second game in the bottom of the third inning. Caiola got things started on a one-out infield chopper between the mound and second base. Peterson followed with a single down the right field line, sending Caiola ahead to third base. Rampone followed with a fielder's choice ground out that pushed Caiola across the plate with the first run. Weckerle then singled up the middle to drive in the second NJIT run.
 
North Dakota pulled even with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, the second coming on a two-out hit. Davis, who had avoided allowing a run in the second inning despite allowing a leadoff triple to Bolander, couldn't get past a leadoff double by North Dakota's Alt in the fifth. Alt opened the frame by hitting the ball off the left field fence for a double. He moved up on a ground out and then scored on another ground out by Twenge. With the bases clear and two out, Beck doubled and Kwak singled to send Beck home with the tying run.
 
The score stayed at 2-2 with scoreless frames from the bottom of the fifth through the bottom of the eighth, when the Highlanders scored the deciding runs.
 
The teams are scheduled to play another doubleheader on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 11 am. The games were moved up two hours in an attempt to beat the rain that is expected to arrive in New Jersey late on Saturday afternoon.