NEWARK, NJ—NJIT freshman right-hander Johnny Malatesta retired the first 23 Wagner batters he faced Sunday afternoon at Riverfront Stadium before the Seahawks broke up the perfect game with a single and then spoiled his shutout on another hit, all with two outs in the eighth inning. But Malatesta, with the help of some timely hitting by his teammates and a 1-2-3 ninth inning of relief from his classmate John Saviano, came out on top 4-1.
 
With the win on Sunday, the Highlanders earn a 2-2 split of the hard-fought, well-played weekend series against the Seahawks. NJIT is 17-13-1 on the season, while Wagner drops to 16-14-1. Malatesta's record is 4-2 and Saviano earned his second save.
 
NJIT is playing its ninth season as a Division I baseball program and when good things have happened to Highlander baseball at this level, it usually involves great pitching.
 
For four years, ending in 2013, classmates Mark Leiter, Jr. and Tripp Davis gave NJIT a chance nearly any time they pitched. Leiter made national news as a senior when he struck out 20 vs. Chicago State, the most in Division I that season, and both are continuing their baseball careers as professional pitchers in the minor leagues; Leiter in the Phillies organization and Davis in the Royals organization.
 
In March 2014, then-sophomore Ian Bentley pitched a 7-inning one-hit shutout against Maryland Eastern Shore and two weeks later, DJ Roche (Class of 2014) allowed two hits and one run in eight innings of a no-decision in a game the Highlanders won in extra innings against Rider.
 
Earlier this season, Bentley tossed a 3-hitter in a seven-inning win vs. Niagara on March 22.
 
For all that, no had ever pitched a no-hitter or perfect game for NJIT in Division I. Indeed, the last time NJIT had a no-hitter was in 1980, when the Highlanders were in NCAA Diviison III and Jeff Pruneau shut down Baruch.
 
Malatesta's performance Sunday will take its place alongside any of the top pitching efforts in Highlander annals.
 
The unflappable rookie was facing a Wagner team that having won 10 of its last 13 games, including two-of-three to begin the weekend series vs. NJIT. 
The second Wagner win in the series was an 18-hit come-from-behind extra-inning victory a day earlier in the second game of a doubleheader.
 
Sunday was a different story. Pitching to contact, the Highlander freshman produced the 23-up, 23-down start with 15 outs in the air, six on the ground and just two via strikeout.
 
The game was scoreless for the first three innings and Malatesta nursed a 1-0 lead through seven perfect innings. The Highlanders added two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, with both runs scoring on LF Matt McKinnon's two-out double into the right field corner. McKinnon's clutch hit took on added importance in the next half-inning.
 
After back-to-back pop foul outs to NJIT C Cody Kramer, LF Anthony Godino broke up the perfect game in the top of the eighth inning, jumping on a high hanger for a clean line drive single to left field on a 1-0 pitch.
 
Malatesta's shutout disappeared when the next batter, C Brendan Benecke singled to left, bringing in Godino, who had advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Then Malatesta got the third out of the inning and his 24th of the game on a fly out.
 
The Highlanders tacked on another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Saviano, who had retired the last 16 Seahawks he faced in relief in the series opener Friday night, came on for the quick save in the ninth inning.
 
Although it was obscured by the brilliance of the two Highlander pitchers, Wagner's starter Paul Mammino (0-2) made a solid showing in his first start of the year. The junior left-hander, who had 13 previous appearances in relief, including a scoreless inning in his team's 7-3 win at NJIT Friday night, pitching 5.1 innings on Sunday, allowing just four hits and one run, while striking out four and walking one.
 
Wagner used three relievers to get through the last 2.2 innings and the first man out of the pen, senior RHP Max Schmardel, was tagged for three hits and three runs in two innings.
 
NJIT finished the game with 10 hits against the four Seahawk hurlers, with senior 3B Mike Rampone going 3-for-4, including a double. Rampone was 7-for-17 in the series and is batting .339 for the season.
 
Freshmen Evan Pietronico, the designated hitter, and McKinnon each added two hits. McKinnon had two runs batted in on his seventh-inning double into the corner and 1B Stephen Halibej (1-for-3, HBP) also drove in a pair.
 
Halibej took over the team RBI lead for the season with 24 in a tight race that has three others with 20 or more RBI.
 
Both starting pitchers rolled through the first three innings, but NJIT finally built a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. CF Ed Charlton was hit by a pitch leading off and Rampone followed with his double into left center field. Mammino retired the next three batters on infield outs, but Charlton came home on the second ground out, hit to the third baseman's backhand by Halibej.
 
The Highlanders got their big two insurance runs for Malatesta in the bottom of the seventh inning. Halibej was hit by a pitch leading off and after an out, Pietronico singled, moving Halibej to second base with one out. 2B Rex MacMillan got down a sacrifice bunt, advancing both runners, but also making the second NJIT out. McKinnon then laced an opposite field line drive down the line, with fair-or-foul being the only question. It landed fair and Halibej and Pietronico, both moving on contact, scored easily.
 
The events of the top of the eighth inning turned NJIT's focus completely to winning and the Highlanders closed the scoring with a run that came after one out, as Rampone singled, SS Bryan Haberstroh walked and Halibej singled up the middle for the fourth Highlander run.
 
NJIT has a busy week ahead, beginning with a 6 pm home game Tuesday in Riverfront Stadium vs. Hofstra. The Highlanders are scheduled for another four-game series next weekend, visiting Fairleigh Dickinson for a doubleheader on Saturday and then hosting a pair vs. the Knights on Sunday.