America East Baseball News & Notes: NJIT gets weekend sweep

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The past weekend was highlighted by a series sweep by the NJIT Highlanders, who took down Iona, while the UAlbany Great Danes took a series from Longwood University. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend for the league. This will be the final full weekend of non-conference games. In two weeks, UMass Lowell and UMBC will begin league play. Here is how last weekend went for the league.

The Highlanders (5-5) won a pair of one-run games vs the Gaels. On Friday, NJIT used the middle of the game to take game one of the series scoring runs in four straight innings and the Highlanders picked up a 5-4 win. They got a big game from SS Ray Ortiz who went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI. His double in the 3rd drove home a run that tied the game at 2-2. Then, he homered to center field in the fifth to give his team a 4-2 lead. 1st baseman Mattie Thomas also went deep in the fourth to give NJIT a 3-2 lead at the time. Holden De Jong grabbed win #2 on the year with six innings of five-hit, two earned run pitching. Anthony Anzaldi notched his second save with two scoreless innings of relief.

On Saturday, the two teams played a DH and NJIT took game one with a convincing 16-3 win. In the nightcap, they would win another one-run game. This one was 3-2. NJIT would score one in the first, which was unearned, then two more in the third. At the plate, LF Jaden Caballero went 3-for-3 and on the mound, MT Morrissey evened his record at 1-1 with seven strong innings of seven-hit one-earned run baseball. He did not walk anyone and struck out seven. Nate DeSchryver got his first save of the year with two innings out of the bullpen. The three-game winning streak was snapped on Tuesday at home when NJIT lost to Monmouth 8-3.

The Great Danes (3-4) would score 25 total runs in taking three of four from Longwood. Game 1 on Friday was a one-run game with UAlbany scoring in the top of the ninth to get a 9-8 win. A sac-fly by catcher Levi McAllister scored Luke Filippi with the go-ahead run. Thomas Quinn went 1.1 innings out of the Great Danes pen to get the win. He allowed only one hit. On Saturday and Sunday, the Great Danes bats took care of things. They would get HRs from Anthony Scarabino a solo shot and a 2-run bomb from Ryan Ferremi in a 10-7 win. Mark Gajowski got his first win of the year. Sunday was a wild 16-12 game in which UAlbany scored twice in the ninth to tie the game and added four more in the tenth to win the game. McAllister went yard in this one and six hitters had multi-hit games. Anthony Scranino and Victor Mazzala had three-hit games and Quinn got win #2 with two innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts.

The Maine Black Bears (2-8) took it on the chin at George Washington University last weekend. They would lose two close games sandwiched around a blowout lost on Saturday. In the 3-1 loss on Friday. Colin Fitzgerald went seven innings allowing six hits and three earned runs Sunday in a 10-9 loss. Maine received a HR from catcher Dean O’Neill, a two-run shot in the first. Part of a 2-5, 3 RBI, 2 RS day. They also got a grand slam HR from RF Zack Martin (2-3, 4 RBI, RS) in the 3rd. Owen Wheeler (0-1) took the loss by giving up a two-run HR to CF Ellie Schwartz in the eighth inning.

After dropping two of three to the University of Delaware last weekend, Bryant University (4-5-1) returned home on Tuesday afternoon and got back in the win column with an 11-1 win over Merrimack College. This was a seven-inning game where the Bulldogs scored in five of those innings. LF Gavin Noriega had a big game going 2-4, RS, and 6 RBI. His 3-run HR to right center field got the scoring going for the Bulldogs. On the mound, five pitchers combined on a two-hitter with one earned run allowed by Brooks, the second pitcher used by Bryant, who got the win his second of the year with 1.1 IP,

The AE Player of the Week is UMass Lowell infielder Sean O’Leary. He hit .636, slugged 1.364, with seven RBI, four runs scored, and hit two home runs in a weekend series with USC Upstate. He was just as good with a glove on his hand as he recorded 12 putouts on the weekend. This is O’Leary first weekly award.

MT Morrissey of NJIT is this week’s AE Pitcher of the Week. The grad senior’s performance vs Iona was highlighted by getting out of a bases-loaded jam with a two-run lead in the seventh inning. For Morrissey, this is his first weekly award. The AE Rookie of the Week is UAlbany infielder Logan Morris. In the weekend series win over Longwood. Morris batted .400 with six hits, four RBI, and two RS. This is his first career weekly award.

Next week we will look at the final weekend of non-conference baseball.