LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — The NJIT baseball team rallies late but falls short against Niagara, 7–4, on Saturday Afternoon at Yogi Berra Stadium.
After two scoreless innings to open the game, the Purple Eagles broke through in the third inning on an RBI groundout to take a 1-0 lead. The Purple Eagles added two more runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Highlanders answered in the bottom of the fourth when Lorenzo Camilleri lined an RBI single to center to score Ty Sallie before Connor Klock followed with an RBI single of his own, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
The Purple Eagles responded with a decisive four-run stretch across the fifth and seventh innings. A Highlander error in the fifth allowed the Purple Eagles to extend the inning as the Purple Eagles lead was now 6-2. Another RBI groundout in the seventh pushed the Purple Eagles' lead to 7-2.
The Highlanders mounted another rally in the seventh. Camilleri drove in his second run of the day with a single, and Nick Vega followed with an RBI single to bring the Highlanders within 7-4. However, Niagara's bullpen held firm over the final two innings to secure the victory.
At the plate, Camilleri paced the the Highlanders' offense with two hits and two RBIs. Klock also recorded two hits and an RBI while Cole Campbell added two hits on the day to round out the Highlanders' offense.
On the mound, Mark Scamardella took the loss for the Highlanders after allowing five runs, three of which were earned, over four innings. The Highlanders' bullpen of Nelson Smith, Becker Sybirski, and Brendan Opat combined to cover the final five frames.
Next Up
NJIT closes out the series on Sunday, the 15th as the Highlanders take on Niagara for game three of the series starting at 11:30 a.m. at Yogi Berra Stadium.
