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Fresh off of winning their first America East baseball championship in their very first year in the league, the NJIT Highlanders (26-22) found out their fate as the NCAA field of 64 on the road to Omaha was revealed Monday. The Highlanders did not have long to wait to find out where they were headed. The first regional site that was announced was Fayetteville, Arkansas, home to the #1 overall seed, Arkansas Razorbacks. On Friday these two teams, along with the Northeastern Huskies and Nebraska Cornhuskers, will play for the right to move on to the super regionals.
The matchups are NJIT meeting Arkansas while Northeastern takes on Nebraska. For the Highlanders, this will be their first trip to the tournament. How they got there is also an interesting story. Coming out of the winner bracket, the Highlanders were scheduled to meet Stony Brook for the America East championship on Sunday. After two and a half innings of play and with the Highlanders leading 1-0, the sky opened up and the rain came down hard. Add to that the field that was being used, Joe Nathan Field, does not have lights. So daylight became an issue that could not be solved. Thus, because the Highlanders were undefeated in the tournament they were crowned champions and accepted the automatic bid that went with it.
They will head to the regional riding a nine-game winning streak. After starting the season at 3-12, they would end their season winning 18 of 22 ball games. The nine-game streak, as well as 26 total victories, are both school records. They will meet the regular season and postseason champs from the SEC, the Arkansas Razorbacks (46-10) at 2 PM on Friday afternoon.
For the Razorbacks, this is the fifth time in program history they have been awarded a top-eight national seed. It’s the first time in program history to be named the #1 overall seed. As you might expect, Arkansas has been very good at home with a 26-5 record. They have an overall team batting average of .272 with 93 home runs. Brady Stevens hit .300 on the year with 13 HR and 60 RBI, one of five players with double digits in home runs. On the pitching side of things, the staff ERA was at 3.80, led by the man who could get the ball on Friday afternoon, Patrick Wicklanders (5-1, 15 Appearances, 11GS, 2.19 ERA) and closer Kevin Kopps (10 saves, 10-0 record, 105 SO in 66.1 innings).
The Highlanders offense was led by Julio Marcano who batted .333 with 10 HR and 42 runs batted in. Speed was a big part of the Highlanders offense attack stealing 61 bases on 67 attempts. Two players reached double figures, Albert Choi with 27 steals on 28 attempts, and David Marcano with 13 steals on 14 attempts. On the mound, Ryan Fischer, the likely Friday starter, was 4-3 in 13 starts, a 2.77 ERA, and nine earned runs in 74.2 innings. The Highlanders closer was very good this season. Jake Rappaport had 10 saves, a 2.23 ERA, and 48 innings pitched in 25 appearances. The Highlanders ERA was high at 4.66.
An uphill battle for sure for NJIT, but one they are happy to take on.
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Kopps is 10-0, not 10-6!
Looking forward to playing y’all at beautiful Baum-Walker Stadium There will be at least 11,000 in attendance!
Thank you so much for the correction. Good luck with the game. Looking forward to it.