VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
STONY BROOK, NY - The NJIT baseball team outlasted host Stony Brook 18-16 on Friday in an America East Conference game that featured a little bit of everything at Joe Nathan Field.
The Highlanders (23-24) and Seawolves (25-24) went back-and-forth in a game that quickly turned into a slugfest before the Highlanders held on to even the series at one apiece.Â
Stony Brook jumped out to an early lead with a first-inning solo home run, but the Highlanders answered with a three-run second thanks to RBIs from
Ray Ortiz,
Jared Donnelly, and
David Marcano. The Highlanders made it 4-1 in the fourth on Marcano's second RBI of the game and appeared to break it open one batter later when
Albert Choi was robbed of an extra base hit with the bases load when he lined out to third.Â
The Seawolves got a run back in the home half of the fourth to make it 4-2 before the offenses took over the game.
Stony Brook re-took the lead with five runs in the fifth, leading 7-4 after five, but a seven-run NJIT sixth put the Highlanders back in front, 11-6. The big inning was highlighted by a two-out, two-run homerun from
Paul Franzoni, his team-best 11th of the season.
The Seawolves got three runs back in the sixth to make it 11-9 only before the NJIT bats erupted again as the Highlanders scored five times in the seventh to go ahead by seven runs. The big blows of the inning were another home run from Franzoni, this time a three-run shot, and a two-RBI double off the bat of Marcano.Â
NJIT led 18-10 heading into the bottom of the ninth and appeared to be well on its way to a comfortable win when the skies opened up and heavy downpours made things tough for NJIT pitchers. Stony Brook was able to get within 18-16 and had the tying run at the plate, but
Alex DiBona was able to get a groundout to end the inning and give the Highlanders a wild win.Â
Franzoni was 3-for-7 with five RBI, while Marcano finished 3-for-6 and knocked in four runs.
Nick Hussey reached base in all seven plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with three walks and a hit by pitch, while
Ray Ortiz found himself on base six times, going 2-for-2 with three walks and a hit by pitch.Â
The Highlanders and Seawolves will close out their regular seasons on Saturday with the rubber match of the series. First pitch is slated for 12pm back at Joe Nathan Field.
