NEWARK, NJ - The NJIT baseball team hits the road this weekend for a four-game America East series at Stony Brook on Long Island.

Weekend Slate
The Highlanders and Sealwolves will meet four times this weekend, with a pair of doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Stony Brook's Joe Nathan Field. First pitch of the seven-inning game one is scheduled for 12pm each day, with a nine-inning game two slated to begin 30 minutes after the completion of the opener.

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 to watch the Highlanders.

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

Last Time Out
The Highlanders are coming off of their best weekend of the season, sweeping a four-game series from UMBC in Baltimore. NJIT averaged more than 12 runs per game in the series, scoring 10+ runs in three of the games, inclduing a season-high-tying 17 in game one. Jake Rappaport picked up a pair of mound victories in the series and is now 5-0 with seven saves and a 2.08 ERA this season. Following the series, Rappaport discussed the team's big weekend and his individual success this season with NJIT's Mike Ventola. 

Player of the Week
Julio Marcano was named America East Player of the Week following the sweep of UMBC as he slashed .538/.600/1.308,  while driving in 11 runs and scoring 10 in the four games.

Six of Marcano's seven hits last weekend were extra-base knocks, including a pair of home runs to put him in a tie atop the America East home run leaderboard.

Marcano's biggest hit of the weekend came in the ninth inning of game two, when he blasted a three-run home run to tie the game and force extra innings.

This is the first-ever America East Player of the Week award 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. 

Marcano Brothers Featured on News12
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 24 18 6 0.75 NJIT 28 14 14 0.50 Binghamton 24 12 12 0.50 UMBC 27 9 18 0.33

NJIT Leaders
Hitting
AVG: Julio Marcano (.336)
SLG: Julio Marcano (.622)
OBP: Daniel Helfgott (.434)
HR: Julio Marcano (8)
RBI: Julio Marcano (33)
R: Albert Choi (32)
Pitching
IP: Ryan Fischer (49.1)
ERA: Jake Rappaport (2.08)
W: Jake Rappaport (5)
SV: Jake Rappaport (7)
K: Ryan Fischer (35)

Next Up
NJIT will return to the diamond next weekend for four more America East contests against Binghamton. The four-game series will take place in Union, NJ, with a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday that will begin at 11am each day.