NJIT Salvage a Game With a 14-11 Win Over UML

Sometimes getting 27 outs is not as easy as it seems. On Sunday afternoon at LeLacheur Park, the NJIT Highlanders (11-19, 3-9) almost paid the price for failing to finish what they started. The UMass Lowell River Hawks made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth by putting up a seven-spot, but they trailed by ten runs when the inning began. The 14-11 win allowed the Highlanders to leave Lowell with one victory in the three-game series.

Pitching was the story of this one—specifically, for most of the game, the lack of it. Both teams trotted out inexperienced pitchers to start the afternoon, and the Highlanders got the better of the deal. Christopher Klueber (0-2) started for the River Hawks but never made it out of the first inning. He faced six batters, five of whom scored on three hits and a walk. RBI hits from Austin Francis (two-run double), Dillon Cam (run-scoring single), and Jack Stead (two-run double) gave the Highlanders a 5-0 lead before UML even came to bat.

Lowell got one run back in the bottom of the first against Becker Sybiunski, who was making his first collegiate start. A Sean O’Leary (3-for-6) double to center was followed two batters later by a single to left by Jorge Burgos (4-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 R). It could have been more, but Carlos Martinez was thrown out at the plate on a bang-bang play, leaving it 5-1 after one.

NJIT added two more in the fourth. One run came on a solo home run to left by Cole Campbell off Frankie DeMaro, while the second run was unearned, pushing the lead to 7-1. UML had chances to tighten the game but failed to capitalize on a first-and-second, no-out situation in the third. In the fifth, they had the same opportunity after the Highlanders turned to Tate Riordan in relief of Sybiunski (4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO). The River Hawks plated one run on a passed ball to make it 7-2 after five.

NJIT continued to score against a River Hawks bullpen that could not find enough outs to keep the game within reach. Two runs in the sixth, two in the eighth, and three in the ninth put the Highlanders up 14-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth. That is where things nearly fell apart for NJIT. The River Hawks sent 13 men to the plate, scoring seven runs on seven hits and an NJIT error.

Three pitchers were used out of the Highlanders’ bullpen to stop the bleeding. UML eventually brought the tying run to the bases and the winning run to the plate in O’Leary. Facing Brendon Opat, who was tasked with stopping the unthinkable, O’Leary popped out in foul ground to Rowan O’Connor on a 1-2 pitch to end the game. The 14-11 victory snapped a seven-game conference losing streak for NJIT.

River Hawks head coach Nick Barese stated after the game, “If you do not pitch well and play good defense, bad things usually happen.” He noted that the ninth-inning rally says a lot about his team’s character, but he lamented the walks allowed by his staff. While the team only allowed four walks total, the three free passes issued by Seamus Scott—who was making his league and home debut in the ninth—proved costly.

Overall, Barese thought it was a good weekend. He plans to use the mid-week matchup against Stonehill on Tuesday to get work for pitchers who haven’t thrown much lately before hitting the road for a conference series at UMBC next weekend.