Box score

BRONX, NY—NJIT, trailing 3-0, scored four times in the seventh inning and then added single runs in the eighth and ninth frames for a 6-3 win over Sacred Heart Sunday on the third and final day of the Frankie Frisch Invitational baseball tournament played at Houlihan Park on the campus of Fordham University.
 
Fordham followed the loss to Sacred Heart with an 8-5 win over Saint Peter's, so the host Rams and Sacred Heart each went 2-1 and NJIT and Saint Peter's were 1-2 in the Frankie Frisch Invitational.
 
The winning pitcher for NJIT against Sacred Heart was senior right-hander Mark Leiter, Jr.  who pitched the first seven innings, allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned), with five strikeouts and three walks. Kyle Burdi, also a senior right-hander, picked up his first save.

Sunday's win marked the second time in as many weekends that Leiter served as a stopper. Last weekend, NJIT lost two games to Presbyterian before Leiter answered with a 1-0 win in the final game of the series. This weekend, the Highlanders lost their first two games, to Fordham and Saint Peter's, repectively, before another strong start by Leiter righted the ship.
 
The comeback win over Sacred Heart left NJIT with a 1-2 record in the three-day tournament and a 5-9 season record to date. The Highlanders lost their first game in the Frankie Frisch Invitational on Friday, dropping an 8-3 decision to host Fordham when the host Rams scored six runs in their last two innings of at-bats after trailing 3-2 through six-and-a-half innings. NJIT then fell to Saint Peter's, 5-3, in game shortened to seven innings by snow on Saturday.
 
Sacred Heart, which beat Saint Peter's on Friday, but was snowed out on Saturday, rebounded from the loss to NJIT with a 9-1 win over Fordham later on Sunday. The Pioneers were 2-1 in the tournament and are 3-8 for the season, but all three wins have come in the last four games.
 
of the season for the Highlanders on two innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Burdi struck out one and walked one.
 
Sacred Heart used four pitchers and the second, sophomore RHP Dan Wertz, took the loss after taking over to start the seventh inning and allowing three hits and four runs (three earned), while walking two and recording just two outs, one on a strikeout. Wertz is 0-1.
 
Pioneer starter Jeff Stoddard, a sophomore LHP, did not figure in the decision, but kept NJIT in check for six full innings, holding the Highlanders to three hits and walk, while striking out five.
 
The relievers who followed Wertz for SHU each allowed a run. Freshman RHP Jesus Medina pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one hit and three walks for his one run and freshman RHP James Cooksey pitched the ninth inning, allowing one hit, one run, and one walk, while striking out one Highlander.
 
NJIT got eight hits, all singles, and seven walks in the game. Freshman RF Jake Stern (2-for-4) was the only Highlander with multiple hits, but freshman C Zach Renna (1-for-2) was the Highlanders' RBI leader for the day, knocking in two. Four other NJIT batters drove in one run apiece.
 
Sacred Heart also had eight hits, led by sophomore CF Keaton Flint, who was 3-for-5 with two runs batted in hitting from the top spot in the batting order. Five other Pioneers got one hit apiece, including LF Billy McDonough (1-for-3), whose double was the only extra-base hit for either team.
 
All the scoring for either team in the first six innings came when Sacred Heart, designated as the “home” team, plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. That 3-0 lead held until the top of the seventh, when NJIT broke loose for four runs and then added to its lead with a run in each of the last two innings.
 
Sacred Heart got the first run of the game when RF Matt Charmello led off his team's half of the fourth inning by reaching second base on an NJIT error, one of three miscues in the game for the Highlanders. Charmello moved up to third base on a wild pitch and then scored the first run on senior C Rocco Gondek's RBI single. The next two Pioneers followed Gondek with bunt singles that loaded the bases with no one out. NJIT's Leiter followed that with a much-needed strikeout, but Flint singled up the middle, driving home two more runs before Leiter induced an inning-ending double play ground ball.
 
Trailing 3-0 going to the seventh inning, SS Nick Swim singled to open the frame for NJIT. After an out, Stern singled ahead of pinch hitter Tom Bouck, who singled to load the bases with one out. Renna drew a bases-loaded walk for an RBI on the first Highlander run. After a strikeout, CF Ed Charlton walked, forcing home the second NJIT run.
 
Medina, the third SHU pitcher, entered with the bases loaded and two out and walked 3B Matt Weckerle, giving NJIT its third run of the inning on bases-loaded walks. The Highlanders then took the lead with an unearned run. 1B Stephan Halibej's foul ball was dropped by the third baseman, as Sacred Heart's only error of the day extended the at-bat. Medina then hit Halibej with a pitch, forcing in the fourth NJIT run.
 
Staked to his first lead of the day, Leiter set down Sacred Heart 1-2-3 to preserve the 4-3 NJIT lead through seven innings.
 
So far in the young season, the NJIT bullpen has faced some difficulty holding late leads. But Burdi, the senior who hadn't pitched since he had a strong 1.1 scoreless innings at nationally-ranked Oklahoma State on February 23, took care of business, earning his first save of the year with two strong innings to finish off the win. His only runner in the eighth inning reached base on an error and he worked around a one-out walk to close out the Pioneers in the ninth inning.
 
The first Frankie Frisch Invitational consisted of four teams—Fordham, NJIT, Saint Peter's, and Sacred Heart playing a round-robin over three days. Frankie Frisch (1898-1973) is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame for his achievements as a player (.316 lifetime batting average; 2,880 hits in 19 seasons; 1931 National League MVP) and manager (16 seasons, 1,138 wins) in the major leagues, He played baseball in high school at Fordham Prep and then in college at Fordham from 1918 to 1919 before embarking on his illustrious pro career. He is arguably the most famous baseball alumnus of Fordham and his fame brought notice to the school when the newspapers of his time nicknamed him “The Fordham Flash”.
 
NJIT's next scheduled game is slated for 3 pm on Tuesday in Hackensack against Fairleigh Dickinson. That is a makeup date for a scheduled March 12 game that was rained out.