Box Score


LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—Visiting NJIT scored four runs in the top of the 10th inning on the way to a 5-1 win over Rider Sunday afternoon on Rider's Sonny Pittaro Field. In taking Sunday's game, the Highlanders won the series two games-to-one after the teams split a Saturday doubleheader in Newark.
 
NJIT's season record goes to 6-7, but the series win vs. Rider stands as a second impressive accomplishment this season for a Highlander program that is in just its eighth year of NCAA Division I competition.
 
A season ago, Rider was the regular season champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, finishing 18-6 in league competition and the Broncs were also 35-22 overall in 2013.
 
Rider, which begins defense of its MAAC title next weekend, is trying to find its way this year, falling to 5-15 after Sunday's loss. However, the Broncs have had six losses this season by one run or in extra innings (or both), so they are not far from having a much better 2014 record.
 
A month ago earlier to the day, on February 23, the Highlanders got what might be their most impressive baseball victory ever at the Division I level. On that day, NJIT won 7-5 vs. Central Arkansas, as the Highlanders topped a program that was 42-22 in 2013 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division I Tournament Regional Championship game.
 
On Sunday, the big story was NJIT's pitching, as it was throughout the Rider series, both good and bad.
 
The starting pitcher for the Highlanders, redshirt senior DJ Roche, did not figure in the decision, but he made what was by far his best start of the season, going the first eight innings and allowing Rider just two hits and a run, while striking out a season-high nine and walking four.
 
Roche, a right-hander who missed all of the 2013 season following Tommy John Surgery on his right elbow in 2012, had not gotten past the sixth inning in any of his previous 2014 four starts. Sunday's nine strikeouts at Rider were one short of his career-best 10, which he did once in 2011 and once in 2012.
 
The win went to junior left-hander Tyler Kapp (1-0), who pitched the last two innings and blanked Rider without a hit, while walking one and striking out one.
 
Roche's strong start came after two fine ones by the two NJIT starters in Saturday's doubleheader. Senior RHP Matt Coughlin won the opening game, outdueling Rider's 2013 MAAC Pitcher of the Year and All-East honoree Kurt Sowa. In that game, Coughlin pitched six innings and allowed just one run, which was unearned, in a 2-1 victory for the Highlanders. Freshman RHP Alex Daniele followed the Coughlin start with 7 innings of scoreless 3-hit pitching a game the Highlanders lost late, 8-5, when Rider scored eight times in the top of the ninth inning.
 
In all, the three NJIT starting pitchers worked 21 innings vs. Rider, limiting the Broncs to two runs (one earned) on 13 hits, with 19 strikeouts. The three starters' combined earned run average in the series was a microscopic 0.43.
 
Even the NJIT bullpen was strong in the two series wins, with every bit of damage coming in the disastrous ninth-inning implosion in Saturday's nightcap. In the opening game, sophomore LHP Ian Bentley pitched a scoreless inning to get his second save of the year in the 2-1 win and Kapp was nearly flawless in a tight spot in Sunday's 5-1 extra-inning win.
 
The losing pitcher for Rider on Sunday was sophomore RHP Vincenzo Aiello (1-1), who was charged with all four NJIT runs (3 earned) in the 10th inning. He allowed two hits and two walks, while striking out one. After saving Rider's win on Saturday with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, he faced three batters in retiring the side in the ninth on Sunday, but could not get an out when he tried to pitch the 10th.
 
The Rider starting pitcher, senior Kyle Kennett, pitched 6.1 innings and allowed a run on four hits, while striking out three and walking three. He was relieved by freshman RHP Josh Sharik, who allowed one hit and no runs in 1.2 innings before handing the ball over to Aiello. Junior LHP Eric Thomas relieved Aiello and was not charged with a run in his one inning, although two of the four NJIT runs in the frame were scored by runners inherited from Aiello.
 
Each team scored a single run in the fourth inning before the Highlanders prevailed with their four-run 10th inning.
 
All 10 hits in the game—eight by NJIT--were singles and all 10 were hit by different people. The runs batted in for the Highlanders were two for DH Stephan Halibej (1-for-4), one for 3B Mike Rampone (1-for-2, 3 walks), and one for CF Ed Charlton (1-for-4, one walk).
 
Rider's hits in the 10-inning contest were a single by 3B Nick Richter (1-for-3) leading off the bottom of the first inning and a single by SS Mike Parsons (1-for-3) that didn't figure in the run the Broncs scored that frame.
 
NJIT's run in the top of the fourth came after LF Matt Weckerle (1-for-5, 2 runs scored) opened the inning with a single to right field and then advanced on a wild pitch. Rampone followed with a walk and Halibej, NJIT's cleanup hitter, moved up both runners with a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Charlton, drove home the run on a ground out to the middle of the diamond toward second base.
 
The Highlander lead was short-lived, as Rider immediately got the run back. 1B Justin Thomas walked to lead off, but CF Nick Crescenzo became the runner at first base after hitting a fielder's choice out. After a pop out, the speedy Crescenzo (20 steals in 2013; 10 in 2014), stole second base and then moved to third base and then home on Roche's only two wild pitches of the game.
 
The deadlock held through nine innings, but NJIT took control with four runs in the 10th. Freshman 2B Rex MacMillan got things started with a leadoff infield single off of Aiello. Fellow freshman Bryan Haberstroh then reached first base on a fielder's choice and MacMillan was safe at second.
 
LF Teddy Bickert followed with a single to center field, loading the bases with no one out. Weckerle then hit to the Rider shortstop, whose throw attempting to cut off the go-ahead run at home went awry, as a run scored and the bases remained loaded, still with no one out.
 
Rampone walked, forcing home another run and chasing Aiello from the mound with NJIT leading, 3-1. Halibej then singled off of Eric Thomas for two more runs.
 
Given the 5-1 lead, Kapp then retired Rider in order to earn his first college pitching win.  That note is misleading, since Kapp had only three college pitching appearances before this year.
 
Kapp, recruited as someone who could both play positions in the field and make spot pitching appearances, played 55 games in the field as a freshman in 2011, was out injured in 2012 and then played the field in 20 games (out of 23 total appearances) in 2013.
 
NJIT, which has played its last four games against teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, will host another MAAC team, Saint Peter's, for a single game on Tuesday at 3:30 pm in Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
 
The Highlanders played Fairfield last Thursday on the field at Fordham and then faced Rider in the three-game series on Saturday and Sunday.