CARY, NC - For the third-straight season, the NJIT baseball team defeated a Big Ten opponent, taking the first of two games 4-2 against Penn State at the USA Baseball Complex on Saturday.

NJIT (1-2) scored four runs in the third inning and held on for the game one win, before falling 4-2 in the second game of the doubleheader.

Penn State struck first in game one with an unearned run in the bottom of the second, but the Highlanders immediately responded with their four-run third. Nick Hussey singled home the first NJIT run and it was followed by a two-run single from Jack Hay to put the Highlanders in front for the first time of the game. 

Grant Vurpillat pitched the first three innings and was relieved by Jared Kacso, who tossed 2.1 innings out of the bullpen to earn the win. Jake Rappaport pitched a final 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball to earn the save and give the Highlanders their first victory of the season.

Game two saw the Nittany Lions open the scoring again, this time with a run in the bottom of the first inning. NJIT once again scored in the next half inning, with a pair of runs plated by Andrew Elcock and David Marcano, respectively. 

Penn State went back in front with two runs in the home half of the second inning and scored one run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-2 lead into the sixth inning.

NJIT was able to cut the deficit in half with another RBI single from Elcock followed by an unearned run, but that was as close as they'd get.

Hay, Daniel Helfgott and Elcock each tallied a pair of hits in game two. 

NJIT wraps up its season-opening trip to North Carolina on Sunday when it takes on Bucknell at 10am.