Little Falls, N.J. – Late inning heroics struck again on Saturday afternoon as
Jack Stead crushed a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning to give NJIT a dramatic 5-3 win over UMass Lowell. The victory clinched the No. 2 seed in next week's America East Tournament and the first-round bye that comes with it.
Prior to the game, 11 NJIT seniors were honored as part of Senior Day:
Jaden Caballero,
Nate DeSchryver,
Michael Doyle,
Andrew Eppinger,
MT Morrissey,
Ray Ortiz,
Noah Pins,
Ty Sallie,
Jack Sylvia,
Mattie Thomas and
Mason Wolf.
How it Happened
The Highlanders jumped out to the early lead right out of the gates, as an RBI single in the first inning from Eppinger gave the home side a 1-0 lead. However, UMass Lowell struck back immediately, scoring a pair in the top of the second on a two-run single to take a 2-1 lead. That score stuck all the way until the seventh inning, as pitching on both sides proved solid throughout the middle innings. The River Hawks added a run in the seventh on a bases loaded walk to take a 3-1 lead and sit six outs from a conference tournament berth.
When momentum seemed like it was starting to swing towards the visitors, it took just one play to swing it right back towards the Highlanders. With one out and runners at first and second in the top of the eighth, a high fly ball to left field was tracked down by
Austin Francis on the warning track. Both runners attempted to steal on the pitch, and a perfect relay from Francis to Stead to
Cole Campbell at first resulted in an inning-ending 7-4-3 double play.
That momentum carried right into the bottom of the eighth. Wolf led off the frame with a long home run over the batter's eye in centerfield to pull NJIT back within a run, 3-2. After a groundout seemed to settle things for UMass Lowell, a single and a walk put pressure back on the River Hawks. Stead came up to the plate and launched the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for NJIT's second late-inning three-run home run in as many days.
UMass Lowell did not go quietly, putting runners on second and third in the top of the ninth against Sylvia. The graduate student was able to dig deep in the high leverage situation, getting the strikeout to end the game and clinch the No. 2 seed in the America East Championship.
Up Next
NJIT will play its first game at the 2025 Northeast Delta Dental America East Baseball Championships on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Highlanders will take on either No. 3 seed Binghamton, No. 4 seed Maine or No. 5 seed UAlbany in that game.
