LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) had a standout day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk-off hit to lift the UMass Lowell baseball team (13–17, 5–6 AE) to a thrilling, 4–3 win against NJIT (10–19, 2–9 AE) in the tenth inning on Saturday night at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.
Tied 3-3 to begin the 10th, the Highlanders put one on base, but Geisler stayed composed and collected three consecutive outs to close the visitors' half on a swinging strikeout. Burgos then ripped a single down the right field line and moved to second on an error. With one out in the bottom of the tenth, Masse cracked a single to center, allowing Burgos to race home for the game-winning run as UMass Lowell secured the series with the extra-innings victory against NJIT.
"Overall, it was a really good win," said head coach Nick Barese. "Early on there Jette let the wheels come off and he did a fantastic job keeping things where they were and giving us a quality start. So, really good job by Jette. The two guys out of the pen that have been lights out for us all year, continue to be lights out in LeFrancois and Geisler. Offensively, you get eleven runs the night before it's tough to replicate that, and we were fighting them a little bit. Credit to NJIT, I thought the energy and competitiveness was consistent the entire game. We had some big plays with the squeeze in the eighth inning and obviously the walk off hit, so it was a tough offensive approach for the guys. I was happy, it was a good win."
Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI, as graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) added a hit and a run in the game. On the bump to start, senior Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) pitched 6.1 innings with four strikeouts. Sophomores Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) and Nolan Geisler (Bayonne, N.J.) each pitched in two innings, allowing just one hit and no runs, as LeFrancois tossed a strikeout and Geisler struck out three batters and earned his third victory of the season.
NJIT got off to a hot start at the plate in the opening inning, knocking two home runs for an early 3–0 lead. The defensive side for UMass Lowell responded well in the second, as Jette logged two strikeouts,l and a double play. After the Highlanders collected two outs in the bottom of the second, Masse was hit by a pitch and DeLanzo stroked a single before sophomore Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) stepped to the plate, and connected for an RBI single to cut the difference to 3-1. The third inning was quick for both sides with no hits in either half. UMass Lowell held firm defensively in the top of the fourth, and although Masse logged a fielder's choice and DeLanzo registered a base hit in the home half, NJIT was able to keep the score unchanged.
The fifth and sixth innings were short for both teams, as the River Hawks kept the Highlanders hitless in both frames. In the bottom of the sixth, UMass Lowell had two runners on after Masse singled and DeLanzo knocked a double, but NJIT once again slipped out of trouble. LeFrancois entered the game during the seventh, mounting a pair of successful defensive frames to bring the River Hawks back up to the plate. Graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) led off with a walk and Masse knocked a double down the left field line to kick off the eighth frame. DeLanzo followed by driving Solorzano home on an RBI groundout before junior Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) also added an RBI on a sac bunt to even the score at 3–3 in the eighth. Geisler took the mound in the ninth, recording two key strikeouts to help force extra innings.
The River Hawks return tomorrow, Sunday, April 12, for the final game of the series against NJIT at Edward A. LeLacheur Park. The game is set to start at 12 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.
