VIDEO:
Stony Brook Rewind with Senior Catcher Paul Franzoni
Binghamton Preview with Head Coach Robbie McClellan

NEWARK, NJ - The NJIT baseball team returns home this weekend and hosts Binghamton in a four-game America East Conference series in Union ,NJ. 

Weekend Slate
The Highlanders and Bearcats will meet four times this weekend, with a pair of doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Jim Hynes Stadium, which is on the campus of Kean University in Union. First pitch of the seven-inning game one is scheduled for 2pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday, with a nine-inning game two slated to begin 30 minutes after the completion of the opener. Unfortunately, at this time spectators are not permitted at NJIT home baseball games. 

Watch Live
All four of this weekend's games will be broadcasted free of charge on AmericaEast.TV. Tune to AmericaEast.com/Watch on Saturday and Sunday as NJIT's Mike Ventola will bring you the action.

NJIT Projected Starting Pitchers
Game 1: Tyler Stafflinger
Game 2: Ryan Fischer
Game 3: Grant Vurpillat
Game 4: Jared Kacso

Last Time Out
NJIT hit the road for a four-game series at first-place Stony Brook last weekend and took care of business, bookending the series with a pair of wins to earn the split and remain in contention for the America East Playoffs. Tyler Stafflinger led the way in game one with a complete game shutout as David Marcano returned from an injury to blast a two-run home run for the only two runs of the game. In game four, the Highlanders battled back from behind and took a late lead on a two-run home run courtesy of Paul Franzoni. Jake Rappaport came out of the bullpen and tossed four innings to earn the win, his team-best sixth of the season.

Marcano Magic
Julio Marcano, who was named America East Player of the Week following the sweep of UMBC two weeks ago has been on a tear of late, hitting .500 (13-for-26) in over the last eight games.

Marcano currently is tied for the America East lead in home runs (eight) and sits atop the RBI leaderboard (35), needing just two more to reach 100 for his career and nine more to tie NJIT's single-season record.

Julio is now protected in the lineup by twin brother David, who returned for the Stony Brook series after missing 15 games with an injury. It didn't take long for the Marcano Brothers to factor into a game as David's home run in the first game at Stony Brook scored Julio and helped lead the Highlanders to a 2-0 win.

Julio Marcano's America East Player of the Week Award on May 3, was the first-ever for the NJIT baseball program, which joined the conference last summer. Freshmen Aaron Park and Croix Jenkins have both been honored as America East Rookies of the Week this season. 

Earlier this season, Julio and David Marcano were featured on News12 New Jersey. To see the piece, click here.

America East Playoff Hunt
The America East split into two four-team divisions for 2021, with the top two teams in each qualifying for the America East Playoffs. Here are the standings for NJIT's division:

Stony Brook	28	20	8	0.71
NJIT	32	16	16	0.50
Binghamton	28	14	14	0.50
UMBC	31	11	20	0.35

What's At Stake this Weekend?
NJIT and Binghamton enter the final eight games of the season tied for the second and final playoff spot in their division. If either squad sweeps the series, they would clinch the playoff spot, while winning three of four would put the victors ahead by two games with four to play. The Highlanders and Bearcats would remain tied with a split, but Binghamton would have a leg up entering the final weekend as they'd own the tiebreaker based on a 5-3 season series win.

NJIT Leaders
Hitting
AVG: Julio Marcano (.48)
SLG: Julio Marcano (.621)
OBP: Julio Marcano (.448)
HR: Julio Marcano (8)
RBI: Julio Marcano (35)
R: Albert Choi (34)
SB: Albert Choi 22

Pitching
IP: Ryan Fischer (54.1)
ERA: Jake Rappaport (2.25)
W: Jake Rappaport (6)
SV: Jake Rappaport (7)
K: Ryan Fischer (39)

Next Up
NJIT will return to the diamond next weekend when it wraps up its regular season with four more home games against UMBC.