LIVE STATS | VIDEO
BALTIMORE-- UMBC baseball will conclude the 2021 season at NJIT this weekend. The Retrievers are coming off a 1-2 weekend against Stony Brook last weekend that saw the ending of game three shortened and game four canceled due to rain on senior day. The Retrievers come into the weekend at 17-22, 12-22 AE.
NJIT Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (17-22, 12-22 AE) at NJIT Highlanders (20-22, 19-17 AE)
Where: Jim Hynes Stadium @ Kean University - Union, N.J.
When: Friday-Saturday, May 21-22 - Both days DH starting at Noon
How to Watch: Live video at AmericaEast.TV, live stats at NJITHighlanders.com
Social Media: @umbcbaseball, #RetrieverNation, #AEBASE
Scouting the Retrievers:
-UMBC heads into the final weekend of the regular season at 17-22, 12-22 AE after a 1-2 weekend against regular-season champion Stony Brook. The Retrievers held off a late rally in game one to win 8-7 before falling 13-1 and 6-0 in games two and three. Game three ended after just six innings due to rain.
-Ian Diaz (Philadelphia, Pa.) leads the Retriever offense with a .355 batting average and has a team-best 44 hits in 124 at-bats. He has scored 30 runs with a team-best 26 RBI. Christian Easley (Collinsville, Va.) also has 26 RBI with seven home runs, just one short of Diaz who has eight.
-On the mound, Reid Celata (Virginia Beach, Va.) leads the rotation with a 5.94 ERA in nine starts with a 4-6 record and one complete game. He has 28 strikeouts in 50.0 innings. Luke Johnson (Lewes, Del.) has struck out the most batters with 36 with a 2-3 record in 44.2 innings. Shane Gorman (Orland Park, Ill.) leads the pitching staff with a 1.04 ERA in six appearances out of the bullpen.
Scouting the Highlanders:
-NJIT comes into the series at 20-22, 19-17 AE, and are chasing a playoff spot out of Division B. Last weekend the Highlanders took three of four from Binghamton in New Jersey. After losing game one, NJIT rattled off three straight wins, giving up just six runs.
-Julio Marcano leads the team with a .345 batting average in 42 games played. He has 50 hits, 12 doubles, eight home runs, and 36 RBI. Albert Choi is the only other Highlander batting over .323. He has a team-best 51 hits with 24 stolen bases only getting caught once.
-Jake Rappaport leads the pitching staff with a 2.43 ERA in 21 appearances all out of the bullpen. He sports a 6-2 record with eight saves in 40.2 innings of work. Ryan Fischer leads the rotation with a 3.23 ERA in 11 starts. He has a team-best 42 strikeouts allowing batters to hit just .234 off him.
All-Time Series:
-The Retrievers and Highlanders have met 10 times prior to this weekend, including four already this year. The series is split 5-5 but NJIT has won the last four. Earlier this year the Highlanders swept the Retrievers in Baltimore, the first losses for UMBC against NJIT since 2007. This weekend will also mark the first time UMBC has played true road games against the Highlanders.
Torres Chasing 200:
-Senior Christian Torres will be playing his final games as a Retriever this weekend and he can eclipse a mark that no other Retriever has in their career. Should Torres play in all four games, he will become the program leader in games played and be the first player to play in 200 career games. He is also currently eighth in career at-bats.
