NEWARK, NJ—Mark Leiter, Jr., who completed a successful four-year pitching career for NJIT in 2013, moved up another rung on the professional baseball ladder, making a strong debut at the Double-A level on June 19 for the Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League.
 
Leiter, who was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round of the June 2015 baseball first-year player draft, signed with the team that year and appeared for three different teams in the Phillies organization.
 
Leiter began his pro career with the Rookie-level GCL Phillies, appearing in 11 games, but also was in a combined five games with Full Season-A Lakewood and Advanced-A Clearwater.
 
He split 2014 between Lakewood and Clearwater, making 27 starts between his two stops.
 
This season he was a swingman in Clearwater, starting eight games and coming out of the bullpen in six, while posting 3-1 record, plus a save, with a strong 1.97 earned run average. Florida State League opponents batted .202 against Leiter, who notched 60 strikeouts with just 15 walks in 68.2 innings.
 
That success brought the call to head north to Reading, which is just two steps below the major leagues, with only Triple-A Lehigh Valley as a remaining stop before Philadelphia and the major leagues.
 
Facing Portland in his Reading debut, Leiter was tagged with the loss in a 3-0 defeat. The 24-year old right-hander pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, while striking out six without issuing a base-on-balls.
 
Coincidentally, the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Fightin Phils is Michael Ventola, who has been the lead play-by-plan voice for NJIT women's basketball games since 2012-13.
 
Leiter, who was a regular in NJIT's starting rotation in all four years, was picked by the Phillies after a senior year with the Highlanders that saw him strike out a school-record 106 in 94.2 innings. Included was a school-record 20 strikeouts on May 3, 2013 vs. Chicago State. The 20 strikeouts were the most in a Division I game nationally in 2013.
 
That feat earned national media coverage and Leiter was named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week. He was a first-team All-Great West Conference honoree, as well as second-team Division I all-state as picked by the New Jersey College Baseball Association.
 
Leiter made 56 starts for NJIT during his four-year career and struck out 364 (school record) in 360.1 innings. He won 18 games and logged 15 complete games.
 
Leiter is one three recent Highlander alumni playing professional baseball. Left-handed pitcher Tripp Davis (Class of 2013) signed as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Royals organization and is with the Royals' Idaho Falls affiliate. Davis has appeared with Rookie, Full Season-A, Advanced-A and Double-A teams in the Kansas City organization.
 
Outfielder Ed Charlton, who completed his four-year NJIT career in May 2015, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round of this June's first-year player draft. He began his season over the weekend with Billings of the Rookie Pioneer League. He went a combined 4-for-8 with two doubles in his first two professional games.

(front page photo credit Tug Haines / Reading Fightin Phils)
 
Update (June 25): Leiter made his second start for Reading on June 24 and was a hard-luck losing pitcher after allowing just one run in 6-2/3 innings. He scattered three hits and three walks, allowing just a lone run in his final inning, the top of the seventh. He exited trailing 1-0, but the opposing team, Akron, put three runs on the scoreboard against the Reading bullpen in the eighth inning and the Fightin Phils went on to a 4-0 defeat, as they were limited to four hits by a combination of three Akron pitchers. Leiter struck out six in the game. His earned run average after two AA games is 2.63.