Box Score 1 | Box Score 2




NEWARK, NJ—NJIT and Rider played 16 innings of baseball in their Saturday doubleheader at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium and what happened in the top half of the day's last inning flipped the mood of both teams and their fans, when Rider, shut out through eight innings of the nightcap, erupted for eight ninth-inning runs to pull out an 8-5 win and earn a split after dropping the seven-inning opening game, 2-1.
 
Saturday's doubleheader split left the euphoric visitors at 5-14 after they had posted a strong 35-22 overall record a year ago, including 18-6 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. NJIT, denied the doubleheader sweep in the 11th hour, is 5-7 this season.
 
NJIT had taken the seven-inning opening game by scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning and then holding off the visiting Broncs in the top of the seventh after Rider began the frame with two hits.

In winning the opener, NJIT defeated Rider ace Kurt Sowa, a junior right-hander was 2013 MAAC Pitcher of the Year, as well being an All-East honoree by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC), as well as Division I all-state by the New Jersey College Baseball Association (NJCBA, the state coaches organization).
 
The Highlanders, riding another terrific start from freshman RHP Alex Daniele (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 7 K, 3 BB), built a 5-0 lead in the nine-inning second game, breaking what had been a scoreless tie with three runs in the sixth inning and then adding two more runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-0 lead.
 
Sophomore LHP Ian Bentley, who had notched his second save of the season and seventh of his brief career in securing the Game One victory, took over from Daniele to start the eighth inning and pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
 
Bentley got the first out of the ninth inning, retiring Rider's hottest hitter, 1B Justin Thomas, on a fly out leading off. Even with that out, Thomas would finish the day 6-for-8, going 3-for-3 in the opening game and 3-for-5 in the nightcap. In fact, he got another chance in the ninth inning and singled, as Rider sent 12 batters to the plate against two NJIT relievers.
 
The late trouble began for NJIT when the batter after Thomas, CF Nick Crescenzo, hit a hard ground ball that rolled up the arm of Highlanders shortstop Bryan Haberstroh, who played the challenging hop, but took an error when he couldn't corral the carom.

After a hit hit-by-pitch added another base runner, Rider's Ken Kremer, who had started and went 0-for-4 the opening game at catcher, came up to pinch hit in the final inning of the nightcap and hit a line drive that cleared the left field fence for a 3-run homer, trimming the NJIT lead to 5-3.
 
Bentley got the next batter on a ground out, putting him within an out of nailing down a sweep and his second save of the day, but it was not to be.
 
The Broncs got back-to-back singles and then 3B Nick Richter, the leadoff man in the order, absorbed the second hit-by-pitch of the frame, loading the bases. Bentley got close to escaping again, this time a strike away on LF James Locklear. With the count full, all three runners were able to take off on Bentley's release and they all scored when Locklear doubled into the gap in left center field, putting the visitors ahead, 6-5.
 
Bentley gave way to senior LHP Austin McAuliffe, who induced a dribbler toward third base that went for a single and Crescenzo, the next batter, drove the ball near where Locklear's double landed. This time it was a two-run triple before a pop out ended the 8-run rally.
 
Big right-hander Vincenzo Aiello entered for Rider in the bottom of the ninth and retired NJIT in order to pick up his second save. The win went to the third Broncs pitcher, freshman RHP Benjamin Deaver, who had struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth inning and then picked up a win in his first college decision when his team scored eight times in the next half-inning and Aiello moved down the Highlanders for the save.
 
Daniele, the NJIT starter, got his third no-decision in four starts, but with seven scoreless innings, lowered his team-best earned run average to 1.35 in 26 innings, which include 30 strikeouts.
 
Bentley (1-3) was tagged with the loss after being charged with 6 hits and 7 runs (only 2 earned) with a strikeout and two hit batters in 1.2 innings. McAuliffe allowed two hits and a run in a third of an inning.
 
Rider's starter in the second game was junior LHP Zach Mawson, who shut out NJIT for five innings before finishing with a line of 6.1 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), with 3 strikeouts, 2 walks and a hit batter. The first reliever, junior RHP Mickey Donnelly, pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed one hit, with a strikeout. He wasn't charged with a run, but hit a batter and allowed an inherited runner to score. Deaver and Aiello then locked down NJIT over the last two frames to record the win and save, respectively.
 
Rider finished the second game with 11 hits, six of which came in the last inning. Eight different Broncs had hits in the game, paced Thomas' 3-for-5, followed by 2-for-4 for the Game Two starting catcher, Connor Luff. The visitors' extra-base hits were the big Locklear double, another for RF Giovanni Gusson, the big triple for Crescenzo and the home run for Kramer. Only the Gusson double came before the ninth inning.
 
NJIT had seven hits, led by senior leadoff batter LF Teddy Bickert (3-for-4) and freshman 2B Rex MacMillan (2-for-4). The hits for MacMillan were the first in college for the rookie, who had been 0-for-16 in six previous games. 1B Tom Bouck (1-for-3) and RF Matt Weckerle (1-for-3, 2 RBI) hit doubles for the Highlanders.
 
With the starters, NJIT's Daniele and Rider's Mawson, trading zeros heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Highlanders finally broke through with three in the sixth. With one out, C Cody Kramer walked, Bickert singled and Weckerle tripled to drive in two. He then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by 3B Mike Rampone.
 
In the seventh inning, CF Ed Charlton led off the Highlanders' half by reaching base on an error. Bouck walked and then Haberstroh moved the two runners ahead with a sacrifice bunt. MacMillan singled to drive in the first run of the inning and two batters later, Bickert singled home another run. Having taken a 5-0 lead, NJIT left the bases loaded, a seemingly innocuous point that became larger with what soon transpired.
 
Game One recap
 
Both teams got strong pitching, but NJIT prevailed largely on its ability to make just a bit more than visitors out of the few scoring opportunities.
 
Rider had twice as many hits as the Highlanders (10-5), but all 10 Broncs hits were singles and NJIT made timely pitches and defensive plays to strand a total of 11 Rider base runners in the seven innings.
 
The visitors got their only run of the game, unearned, in the top of the fifth inning, tying the score at 1-1. NJIT had scored first, putting a run across in the bottom of the third inning.
 
The Highlanders manufactured what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. 3B Mike Rampone walked to lead off and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt by the next batter, DH Stephan Halibej. CF ED Charlton followed with a sharp single up the middle, easily scoring Rampone.
 
Holding the one-run lead, Bentley, the sophomore lefty, took the mound seeking his second save of 2014. He got it, but it wasn't easy. Rider's first baseman, Justin Thomas (3-for-3) singled through the left side to start the inning. Crescenzo, the center fielder, followed with a chopper in front of the plate that he legged out for another single.
 
With the pressure on, Bentley induced a nicely-turned double play, 2B MacMillan-to-SS Haberstroh-to-1B Bouck, followed by a fly out to right field that secured NJIT's win.
 
Bentley saved the win for senior RHP Matt Coughlin (1-0), who worked the first six innings, allowing eight hits and the one unearned run, with three strikeouts and two walks.
 
The loss went to the Rider junior Sowa (1-3), who tossed a six-inning complete game, allowing five hits and two runs with five strikeouts and three walks.
 
All 10 Rider hits were singles, with Richter and Crescenzo each getting two hits to follow the three for Thomas.
 
NJIT had just the five hits, but two were doubles, one for Rampone (1-for-2, walk; run scored, run batted in) and one for Halibej (1-for-1). The other hits were singles for Weckerle, Charlton, and Haberstroh.
 
The Highlanders used a two-out rally to score the game's first run in the bottom of the third inning. Weckerle singled to center field and, running on contact with two outs, came around on Rampone's double through the left side.
 
Rider's tying inning began with another Thomas single. 2B Greg Fazio followed with a ground ball back to Coughlin, who threw high into center field for an error attempting to get at least a force out at second base. After a fly out, Gussen singled to load the bases.
 
DH Tyler Kaiser hit a ball up the middle that turned into a force out at second base and then a run batted in when he beat the relay at first base, avoiding the double play. Kaiser stole second base, but was one of two runners left on base when Coughlin got the third out.
 
The teams are scheduled for  a single nine-inning game at Rider in Lawrenceville, NJ, on Sunday with a 1 pm first pitch.