EMMERSON, GA—The NJIT baseball team opened the 2016 season in Georgia, dropping a pair of games, 8-0 vs. Eastern Michigan and 9-3 in the nightcap against Nebraska at Omaha at the Perfect Game Complex Saturday.

Game One – Eastern Michigan, 8-0

Eastern Michigan (2-1) tacked on a run in the first and third and exploded for six in the top of the sixth inning.  EMU notched 12 hits and added eight runs, shutting out the Highlanders for the first time in the young season.

Senior right-hander Augie Gallardo (1-0) earned the win, pitching five strong innings, allowing two hits and, striking out six.  Lefty Tyler Butzin pitched the final four innings in his EMU debut. securing the save by allowing just two hits while fanning five Highlanders.

Brennan Williams went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI's.  Redshirt junior Marquise Gill recorded two hits, including a double, two stolen bases and two runs scored.

Sophomore right-hander Johnny Malatesta (0-1) started for NJIT and took the loss, pitching 5.1 innings and giving up eight hits and four runs (all earned).  NJIT used two pitchers for the final three innings – Brent Jones and Andres Fernandez.  Fernandez, the third pitcher, was the most effective in relief, pitching two scoreless innings on two hits and a walk.

NJIT combined for four hits in the game – Malatesta going 2-for-4 and freshman catcher Andrew Meiners, making his Highlander debut behind the plate, went 2-for-3.

EMU scored in the first inning on an RBI double by John Montgomery that drove in Williams, who reached base on a double of his own.

The score remained the same until the third inning, when Gill singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Mitchell McGeein single for a 2-0 lead after three complete.

EMU exploded in the top of the sixth with a six-run inning.

Game Two – Nebraska at Omaha, 9-3
UNO struck first in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs.  NJIT added a run in the top of third and UNO put up one of their own in the bottom of the fifth.  The Highlanders scored a pair in the top of the seventh, but the Mavericks scored three in the seventh and two in the eighth to secure the 9-3 victory.

The winning pitcher was Corey Binger (1-0), who pitched 5.0 innings, giving up seven hits, one run and struck out four.  The Mavericks used a pair of relief pitchers— Marcus Ethen and Eric Moreno.  Moreno pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth for UNO.

NJIT's Ian Bentley (0-1) took the loss, pitching 6.0 innings and yielding up nine hits, and four runs, while striking out seven.  Sophomore John Saviano pitched 0.2 innings while freshman Chris Gibbons, in his Highlander debut, closed out the final 1.1 innings, giving up three hits, two runs and fanning two batters.

UNO combined for 15 hits paced, by lead-off man Alex Schultz, who finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and 3B Clayton Taylor, who hit 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.  CF Cole Gruber and Sam Palensky each combined for a pair of hits in the win.

NJIT (0-2) was led by freshman RF Michael Anastasia's 3-for-4 performance and CF Jesse Uttendorfer, who went 2-for-5 with one run.  Five Highlanders – Johnny Malatesta, Bryan Haberstroh, Evan Pietronico, Tom Brady and Rex MacMillan each had a hit in the game.

The Highlanders will conclude their Georgia trip on Sunday at 10:30am against NAIA Point University, from West Point, Georgia.