Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, NY—Wagner scored six times in the eighth inning, turning a 2-2 tie into an 8-2 win over visiting NJIT in non-conference baseball Wednesday night at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
Wagner, which managed two runs on three hits through the first seven innings against the first two NJIT pitchers, got six runs on five hits before making an out in the eighth inning against NJIT's third and fourth pitchers of the night.
John Gray, the third NJIT pitcher, took the mound to open the eighth inning and he was tagged with three runs and his second loss in as many decisions after his 12th appearance of the season. DJ Roche, who followed Gray on the mound, was charged with the remaining three runs in the inning before Frank Shivers came in and put out the fire.
Mark Holmes, the fourth of five Wagner pitchers, got the win, bringing his season record to 2-2. He pitched a spotless top of the eighth inning to keep the score at 2-2 and then watched as his teammates poured six runs across the plate in the bottom half.
Gone in the NJIT loss was a terrific start by junior Steven Ace, who pitched the first five innings for the Highlanders and allowed just two runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit batter in a performance that was as good as any in his career.
A spot reliever in 12 appearances as a freshman in 2008, Ace started nine games in 2009 and had some early success that season. He allowed two runs in four innings against Rutgers and two runs in five innings against Northeastern, both in March. But he struggled after mid-April in 2009 and returned to a relief role this season.
In 2010, he had one start in 14 appearances before Wagner and that one start, against Fairleigh Dickinson on April 21, did not go well and he took the loss. However, against Wagner, he generally pitched ahead in the count and had the batters off balance.
NJIT's first reliever, junior John Prestano, also had his strongest appearance as a Highlander, allowing one hit and one walk in two scoreless innings. Prestano, a junior transfer from County College of Morris, worked more than one inning for just the second time in 12 appearances in 2010. His previous best outing was a scoreless inning at Chicago State on April 16.
Wagner got strong pitching all night.
The starter, Dale Hering, pitched five innings and allowed both NJIT runs (one earned). Four different relievers, including the winning pitcher, Holmes, pitched one inning each and they held the Highlanders to one hit combined. Indeed, NJIT, which got four hits through the first two innings, managed just two more over the final seven innings and just one hit after the third inning.
NJIT scored a run in its first at-bat, but Wagner tied the score in the bottom half. The Highlanders scored again in the second inning and their 2-1 advantage held up a bit longer than their 1-0 lead had in the first inning, but it was brief, nonetheless. The Seahawks did not score in the second, instead drawing even an inning later with a run in the third.
The 2-2 tie stood until the bottom of the eighth, when the Seahawks spurted for six runs. Their decisive eighth inning actually began less ominously than the top of the seventh began for NJIT.
The Highlanders opened the seventh inning with a leadoff double by Vincent Del Vecchio. The next batter, Anthony Caiola, who had doubled and scored NJIT's second run back in the second inning, hit a chopper to first base, where Wagner's Vin Avella fielded the ball and made a late throw to third base in a futile bid to cut down Del Vecchio, who was safe on a close call.
With runners on first and third, Kyle McCarthy dropped down a sacrifice bunt that moved Caiola to second base as Del Vecchio held at third. Wagner's pitcher in the seventh inning, Jack Rice, then snuffed out the NJIT threat with a strikeout and fly out.
Wagner's eighth inning began with a five-pitch walk to the first batter, Damian Csakai, who, as the leadoff man in the order was a factor in both early runs and in igniting the winning rallyt. The next batter, Tommy Higgins, bunted the second pitch he saw straight back at NJIT's pitcher, Gray.
Highlander third baseman John Berner, was charging on the play and he and Gray became entangled when they both went after the bunt, enabling Higgins to beat the play at first base. Making matters worse, Csakai never broke stride as he reached second base and when he saw third base uncovered, raced on and reached third easily.
At that point, the odds of Wagner scoring at least run were overwhelming. And the odds proved correct when the next batter, Seth Boyd, hammered a triple to the deepest part of the park in right center field on a count of one ball and two strikes.
Gray then exited to be replaced by Roche, whose first pitch was hammered over the right fielder's head for an RBI double. Roche's second pitch was hit, too, for a slicing double by Avella that landed just fair inside the right field foul line about 150 feet from home plate.
The trouble continued and Shivers, a side-arming freshman right-hander came in with the bases loaded and no one out, with five runs already scored in the inning.
Shivers' first batter, Nick Alfano, hit a fly to center field deep enough for all three baserunners to try to move up a base. The runner at third base scored easily, but the throw home from NJIT CF James D'Aloia was cut off by the shortstop, Del Vecchio, who threw to 1B Teddy Bickert, who was covering second base and put down the tag there to erase the runner there for an unusual double play. Shivers retired the next batter to end the inning.
Wagner's Higgins was the only player on his team with two hits and one of those was his bunt that was intended as sacrifice early in the eighth inning. He also drove home the first two Seahawk runs. The first RBI came on a ground out in the first inning and the second RBI was on a two-out third-inning single.
Csakai, the leadoff man, scored the first two Wagner runs and he stole a base to set up each. He singled to open the first inning, stole second and then moved to third base on a wild pitch before Higgins' RBI ground out.
In the third inning, Csakai was hit by a pitch with two outs, again stole second base and raced home on the Higgins single.
NJIT got its first run after D'Aloia led off the game with an infield hit and eventually scored on a two-out single by Matt Tomczyk.
The Highlanders got their second run after Caiola, making his first plate appearance since April 21, doubled to left center field leading off the second inning. He moved up to third base on a failed pickoff attempt and then scored on Bickert's one-out RBI single.
NJIT got a two-out hit in the third inning, but didn't get another runner until Del Vecchio's double opening the seventh.
Wednesday's game at Wagner was the last non-conference game of 2010 for NJIT. The Highlanders have 12 remaining regular season games scheduled, all within the Great West Conference.
Next on the slate are doubleheaders against Northern Colorado set for Saturday and Sunday at the Diamond Nation complex in Flemington, NJ. NJIT is slated to host Northern Colorado, tied for second in the Great West with an 11-5 league record, in Saturday's twinbill starting at 4 pm in Flemington.
