NEWARK, NJ—NJIT scored in each of the first five innings, including an eight-run bottom of the fourth, and the Highlanders coasted to a 14-6 victory over visiting New York Institute of Technology Friday at Riverfront Stadium, extending the Highlanders' unbeaten streak to six games.
 
NJIT, which swept four last weekend against LIU Brooklyn before tying Saint Peter's in a game called after 10 innings due to darkness on Tuesday, is 11-7-1 following Friday's win. The Bears are 4-9.
 
The Highlanders, who are batting .290 as a team, got a quick start Friday, when senior CF Ed Charlton led off the bottom of the first inning with his team-leading fourth home run, a shot over the left field fence.
 
NJIT added two runs in the second inning, one in the third, eight in the fourth inning, and two more in the fifth inning.
 
The visiting Bears got a run in the second inning and were tied, 1-1; and they scored two in the top of the fourth inning to trail just 4-2. But the Highlanders blew the game out of the water in the bottom of the frame that was mostly a case of NYIT self-destructing.
 
NJIT's eight-run fourth inning came with the benefit of just one hit. The visitors, who committed four fielding errors in the entire contest, compressed all of them into the disastrous fourth inning. On top of that, NYIT's starting pitcher JP Lipovac and reliever Michael Sinnott combined to issue six walks in the frame—one with the bases loaded—and another run came in on a wild pitch.
 
The Highlanders also stole six bases in the first four innings, including four in the big fourth inning.
 
The game was never close once NJIT built its 12-2 lead after four innings, but the visitors scored three in the fifth inning and one in the seventh, while the Highlanders picked up two more runs on the way to the 14-6 win.
 
NJIT's starting pitcher, senior RHP Joe Fasano held NYIT to just two runs through four innings. However, he ran a high pitch count and could not complete the requisite five innings for a win, despite entering the fifth with a 12-2 lead. He departed after allowing two singles to open the fifth inning, followed a three-run homer by Bears 3B Louis Mele.
 
Instead, Highlander freshman Tommy Derer came on to earn his first college victory after allowing a single run in four innings. Derer scattered five hits, but struck out six and did not walk a batter.
 
Derer (1-1, save), NJIT's first Division I baseball player from Philadelphia (Archbishop Ryan HS), has found success early in his college career by throwing strikes and building from that. In six appearances, all in relief, covering 10.2 innings, He has a sparkling 0.84 earned run average and has 10 strikeouts and just two walks.
 
Another freshman, RHP Andres Fernandez, finished up, pitching a scoreless ninth inning for the Highlanders.
 
For NYIT, the starter Lipovac, took the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and five walks. Sinnott pitch two-thirds of an inning and allowed NJIT's lone hit in the fourth, a run-scoring double by Highlander 3B Mike Rampone. Sinnott walked four.
 
Junior Matt Busch allowed two runs in two innings, before Anthony Merchan and Chris Johnson each pitched an inning of relief without allowing a run.
 
NJIT piled up 15 hits in the game, including Charlton's home run and Rampone's double.
 
Rampone, who batted .324 last season, is off to a great start in 2015. He went 3-for-6 Friday, upping his season's batting average to .410, tops on the Highlanders. His double against NYIT raised his total in that department to six.
 
Freshman Johnny Malatesta, who was 3-for-4 on Friday, continues to be a terrific addition to the Highlanders. His batting average is up to .292 and , with a team-leading 13 walks (two on Friday), he owns a .420 on-base percentage.
 
Malatesta, who played second base in Friday's game, has also started at first base and as designated hitter. But his biggest mark has come as an effective pitcher, posting a 3-1 won-lost record with a 3.32 ERA.
 
Three Highlanders had two hits each—Charlton (2-for-4, home run, 2 runs, 2 RBI, walk, hit-by-pitch, 2 steals); LF Matt McKinnon (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI, 2 walks), and RF Jesse Uttendorfer (2-for-4, run, RBI, walk). Freshman DH Evan Pietronico was 1-for-3 with three walks.
 
NYIT had 13 hits in defeat, with 11 different Bears collecting hits. Mele (2-for-3, double, home run, 3 RBI) and DH Gerson Santolongo (2-for-4, RBI) were the only visitors with more than one hit. In addition to the Mele homer, NYIT rapped out three doubles, one for Mele, one for 2B Matt DiBiase, and one for LF Frank Sanacore, who also had a sacrifice fly and finished with two runs batted in.
 
After Charlton's leadoff home run in the bottom of the opening inning, NYIT got a leadoff double from Mele in the second inning and he later scored on Sanacore's sacrifice fly.
 
The 1-1 tie didn't last long, as NJIT added two runs in the second inning, one during a double play with no one out and the another on Uttendorfer's RBI single.
 
The Highlanders made it 4-1 after Rampone led off the NJIT fourth with a single and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to McKinnon.
 
The Bears stayed in the hunt after back-to-back one-out doubles by DiBiase and Sanacore, closing the gap to 4-2.
 
NJIT answered with its eight-run fourth inning that began with Charlton hitting a chopper to third base and reaching safely on an error when the Bear first baseman could not handle the throw across the diamond from third. SS Bryan Haberstroh followed with a walk and then he and Charlton pulled off a double steal, with Charlton continuing home for a run when the catcher's throw to second base sailed into center field for the second of four NYIT errors in the half-inning.
 
The parade of NJIT runs continued, with the eighth one of the inning coming in on Rampone's two-out double down the left field line.
 
After Mele's three-run homer for NYIT, the Highlanders trimmed the Bears' gains with two run in the bottom of the fifth, as McKinnon and Charlton each had run-scoring singles.
 
Sotolongo drove in the last run of the game with a single for NYIT in the seventh inning.
 
The series will  head east to Long Island and NYIT for a noon doubleheader Saturday in Old Westbury. NY.