Little Falls, N.J. – Ray Ortiz and
Mattie Thomas each launched home runs while
Holden deJong picked up his second win of the season as the Highlanders picked up their third win in their last four games with a 5-4 victory over Iona on Friday.
Ortiz went 2-for-2 and reached safely in all four plate appearances, including hitting his fourth home run of the season. That was preceded by Thomas' round-tripper to right, his first of the campaign. deJong posted a solid outing, going six innings and allowing just two earned runs while striking out five.
How it Happened
After both offenses were kept quiet through the first two innings, the Gaels were the ones to get on the scoreboard first. A sacrifice fly and an RBI single gave Iona the early 2-0 advantage, but the Highlanders were able to quickly respond. In the bottom half of the inning,
Andrew Eppinger hit a leadoff double and came in to score on an RBI single from
Cole Campbell. Two batters later, Ortiz nearly hit one over the wall in left, reaching second on a game-tying RBI double.
In the bottom of the fourth, Thomas led off by taking a 2-0 fastball over the wall in right for his first home run as a Highlander to give the home side the lead. Ortiz would do the same in the fifth, leading off that inning with a long home run over the batter's eye in center field.
NJIT plated what proved to be an important insurance run in the sixth on an
Austin Francis RBI groundout. That run would end up being the difference, as the Gaels drew within one on a two-run home run in the top of the seventh.
Anthony Anzaldi would come on in the eighth to record the six-out save to give NJIT the win in its home opener.
Up Next
The Highlanders and Gaels will wrap up their series on Saturday with a doubleheader at Yogi Berra Stadium beginning at 12 p.m.
