NJIT, Kacso create a lifetime of memories in Fayetteville

Safe to say Jared Kacso will never forget his final weekend of college baseball.
The NJIT pitcher and his teammates created a lifetime of memories in early June when the Highlanders qualified for their first-ever NCAA Tournament and earned a trip to the Fayetteville, Ark., Regional, with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play the No. 1 team in the nation on their home field.
America East champion NJIT and MAAC champ Rider became the first New Jersey schools in five years to qualify for the Field of 64. NJIT's reward was the chance to play in front of 11,000 of the most rabid college baseball fans in the world at Baum-Walker Stadium against the team many had pegged to go all the way to a title.
Also on the trip - a photo opportunity with one of the best college basketball coaches in the country, a first-ever school tournament win (and NJ's first NCAA win since 2011), and a had-to-be-there night in the Hog Pen as Fayetteville's adopted team.
Not a bad way to finish an NJIT career that began in 2017, when the Highlanders were 9-40 in the Atlantic Sun.
"About five minutes before the (Arkansas) game, I was out in the outfield just taking it all in," Kacso. "The crowd was getting hyped up, and Kickstart My Heart came on. I looked into the stands and saw (teammate) Kevin Blum's brother (former Trenton Generals pitcher) Karl and he was like 'This is awesome. This is so sick.'"
As surreal as that experience must have been for a team that didn't even play in front of fans until the America East Conference tournament, things somehow got even better. Leadoff better Albert Choi fell behind 0-2 before launching a ball into the seats and one batter into their experience, the Highlanders led the No. 1 team in the country 1-0. The score reached 3-0 in the 3rd and college baseball fans all around the nation took notice.
Reality eventually won out, but not before one heck of a battle and a 13-8 final score. Kacso pitched 3 2/3 innings in what turned out to be his final college appearance.
"I don't really know how to put it into words," he said. "There certainly wasn't any pressure on me. I wasn't tight at all and there was nothing to lose. I'm not getting drafted or looked at. It was like 'Here I am, come get me.'"
NJIT earned respect from all over the country for the way they played and the grit the team showed. People in Fayetteville noticed - and adopted the team without a home field (the Highlanders play home games at Kean University), giving them the ultimate home field advantage the next day.
It's hard to imagine Kacso - or his teammates - have had a better day at the stadium than Regional Saturday.

• During batting practice, the team's media services guru Myles Rudnick pulled Jared aside and told him that Arkansas head basketball coach Eric Musselman wanted to get a picture taken with him. Kacso, a huge college basketball fan, was floored. The swap - a Muss Bus shirt for an NJIT hat.
• Arkansas fans adopted NJIT for their game with Northeastern and the Highlanders thrilled the crowd with a 3-2 win over a team that breezed through the Colonial Athletic Association with 20 straight wins. "Their fans told us during BP how much they loved how we played, how they were more nervous against us than SEC teams," Kacso said.
• A Night in the Hog Pen. The Hog Pen is basically a giant outdoor tailgate on the hill beyond the left field fence. "I can't really equate it to anything," Kacso said. "Maybe similar to the (Jersey Shore) Blueclaws with the lawn seating. But it's fans waiting outside for who knows how long, grabbing their lawn chairs and sprinting from the gate to the left field lawn to reserve their spots. It goes all the way back, people cooking out, drinking beer, eating BBQ, having a great time, all rowdy and crazy."

After Arkansas fans told the NJIT players to come back to the Hog Pen, that's exactly what they decided to do Saturday night to catch the Razorbacks against Nebraska. A security escort took the Highlanders players out to the section where they were shown on the scoreboard "Calling the Hogs," and having a great time.
The entire stadium chanting "N-J-I-T" was something the boys from Newark never could have expected.
"I'll never forget the hospitality they showed us," said Kacso, who joins the real world with a Masters degree in Financial Technology. "Nothing but nice things."
While the clock struck midnight on Cinderella when NJIT fell to Nebraska on Regional Sunday, by then it didn't matter. The Highlanders had already won. They had an amazing experience, they did something no New Jersey team had done in a decade, and they showed America the program is a force to be reckoned with.

The key factor was how close we were as a team. No selfish players. We pulled for each other all the time. It was a great big family. When everyone buys in, even when things are going bad, you have a chance for something special.