NJIT LOCKS UP CACC REGULAR-SEASON CROWN
Keefe Pitches Highlanders To Split With Dominican

April 30, 2005

Courtesy of Mark Mentone NJIT Sports Information

NEWARK, N.J. – The New Jersey Institute of Technology baseball team clinched first place in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with its 11-3 victory over visiting Dominican (N.Y.) College in Game 2 of the teams’ doubleheader on Saturday at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium. Dominican took the opening game, 9-5.

After NJIT (20-16, 18-6) took a 1-0 lead on Phil Resciniti’s (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park) first-inning sacrifice fly, the Highlanders knocked out Dominican starter Matt Delaney (2-2) in the second. Robert Forbes (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) led off the inning with a homerun, and NJIT used three more hits, a sacrifice, an error, and a wild pitch to score three more times.

Dominican reached NJIT starter Dennis Keefe (Linden, NJ/Linden) for three runs in the top of the third, but the Highlanders answered with three more in the bottom of the frame for an 8-3 lead. Keefe finished with four scoreless innings, including three following a 30-minute rain delay. He allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked four in a complete game.

2005 NJIT Baseball Team and CACC Regular Season Champs

Justin Racz (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany) went 3 for 3 and scored three times for NJIT, while Resciniti was 2 for 3 with a triple and three RBI. The regular-season conference crown is the first for the Highlanders in its eight years as a Division II member, and just NJIT’s second in any sport in that time. Chad Duesler (Northville, NY/Northville Central) was 2 for 3 with a double for the Chargers (22-18, 16-7).

Game 1, Dominican scored nine unanswered runs after falling five 5-0 in the first two innings. With his team trailing, 5-4, in the sixth, the Chargers’ Mike Zani (Goshen, NY/Goshen) led off with a  bunt hit, stole second, and scored the tying run on Keith Gebert’s (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) run-scoring single. Gebert advanced to second on a throwing error, and scored when Joe Kubanik’s (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) single was mishandled in the outfield. Domincan tacked on three unearned runs in the seventh. Only two of the Chargers’ nine runs were earned.

Jeffrey Taveras (East Elmhurst, NY/Newtown) earned the win in relief, and NJIT’s Chris Legiadre suffered his first CACC loss since 2002. The twinbill took nearly seven hours to complete, with rain falling on and off throughout the day. NJIT’s Keefe, Zach Porcello (Chester, NY/Newark Academy), Dan Lupo (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) and Resciniti were honored in Senior Day ceremonies between games.